Search
Close this search box.

Log in

Top Stories

After my sophomore year in college, I was working in my parents’ hardware store in Mulvane, Kansas. I was at a crossroads with my schooling and thought I might declare a major in political science and go to law school.

My parents were friends with a man named Jim Wampler, a photographer at the Wichita Eagle at the time, who stored a collection of antique cameras on the second floor of the building. I was talking with him one day about wanting a different job, about not knowing what I wanted to do, and he suggested I come to the newspaper and apply for a city desk clerk job. I loved writing ,
but newspapers had never occurred to me. I applied, exaggerating my typing skills, and was hired. The job: Answer phones. Monitor the police radios. Write obituaries. Obey orders. The job was one step up from a copy boy.

The reward was that I knew the first hour of the first shift that this was something I wanted to do the rest of my working life. It was an immediate rush. The news was addictive. The challenge was that there was no room for error. 
I learned quickly that misspelling a name in an obituary would bring down the wrath of the city editor, and that I had to question and verify everything. The third week, I walked out in tears, thinking I’d never be able to do the work. But I got better at it.
 The job set the course for my 30-plus years as a reporter and editor. Not 
just the course, but the high standards I was expected to meet. I learned the customer service skills I still use in my career today, as well as the ability to read people and ask them the right questions. And I was lucky to learn from magnificent reporters and editors. Learning on the job as I did was a privilege. 
I did change my major, but by the time I graduated a little more than two years later, I was working full time as a reporter. 

Copyright 2024 Gulfshore Life Media, LLC All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed without prior written consent.

Don't Miss

Please enable JavaScript in your browser to complete this form.

Please note that article corrections should be submitted for grammar or syntax issues.

If you have other concerns about the content of this article, please submit a news tip.
;