Our rockin’ newsroom
I don't think I have much of a maternal instinct, but it seems to many that I'm the momma bear of our newsroom -- especially when it comes to the news reporters.So now I will use that outside observation as my excuse for bragging about them.
At the moment, we have six reporters to cover seven counties: Chesterfield, Darlington, Dillon, Marion, Marlboro and Williamsburg. Sometimes, we cover events and issues related to Clarendon and Lee counties, too.
Candace Jarrett is assigned the Darlington County government beat, as Chuck Tomlinson is to the Florence County government beat. Dwight Dana writes mainly feature stories and stories for each week's Faith & Values page. Jamie Durant covers health and environmental issues for us, Jamie Rogers covers law enforcement and public safety, and Shireese Bell covers education.
In the event of breaking news, however (or even in a pinch, like when two city councils are meeting at the same time in Darlington County, for example) any of our six reporters can cover any story at any time.
And they do so willingly.
Folks, I can coach reporters on their writing and their approaches to their stories, but I can't force motivation. You either have that drive to work hard and succeed as a reporter or you don't.
I'm very happy to report that all six of our news reporters do.
Take the sad Ocean Isle Beach fire story. I believe every single news reporter on staff contributed to our coverage in some way. Either they produced reports related to that story, or they picked up the slack for their colleagues who had to temporarily abandon their beats.
And now, as we increase our convergence efforts, working with WBTW News 13 and scnow.com more and more, they're having to adjust accordingly, learning new skills and doing things that newspaper reporters weren't asked to do even five years ago (like report live on the air).
Our news reporters get it. They cover news when it happens, and we can't always predict when that will be. Sometimes, it's after business hours. Sometimes it's on holidays.
Rarely, if ever, do they have a typical eight-hour workday. Rarely, if ever, do they get complimented outside the newsroom for their hard work.
And yet they all approach their work with a positive attitude and the hope that what they do is making a difference. They strive to do their best every day. And they maintain their sense of humor. It hasn't always been that way in my 13 years here at the Morning News.
So Candace, Chuck, Dwight, Jamie D., Jamie and Shireese: here's to you, my rockin' crew!
Posted by on 01/11 at 06:27 PM
Sounds like an awesome team to be a part of..you should all be proud!
What peaks my interest is the convergence effort itself..I often wonder how everyone feels about this..does it broaden ones horizons or just add more to an already hectic work-load?
Does a reporter for a newspaper lose anything, artistically speaking, now that they have to add the on-air live report to their schedule?
Appearing on camera isnt something that you are born with..it often times takes years of training to obtain the “comfortable zone” needed to come off as a professional to the general public. The same as it takes years to learn how to put together a great story for the front page of a newspaper..
Having been a big part in the feature story on the front page of the Florence Morning News and the lead story on TV 13 News in the past..what I experienced was two totally different approaches..of course, back then Media General wasnt involved, and it is possible that things have changed over the years. However, one still has to wonder,.."if this boat is gonna float”..
I think my biggest problem is that I like ice cream...corn flakes..and grits..
..I just dont like ‘em all on the same plate..