One of the joys of reporting is of course... well... reporting. And there's nothing I have heard more of lately than answering machines while trying to track down potential sources.
My other job on campus is directly tied to answering machines. When you call the school's alumni, as student callers do at the Phonathon, the chances of hearing little Charlie answering for his parents on the pre-recorded message increase exponentially because they realize it's Marquette and we're fundraising. That is just part of the job, since raising more dollars for scholarships remains a vital task at the university.
It takes real devotion and persistence to not lose your cool and keep pushing in the quest to talk to the right people. This is one of the things I am learning as a young reporter, because I know my place in the general media world. It's not quite The New York Times level yet.
There's also learning of how to work on more than one story simultaneously. Besides a beat story I have for next week's The Marquette Tribune I also am working on a project that is in the pipeline. Time management is absolutely key in accomplishing the goals and meeting those deadlines.
But with that said, it's a three-day weekend with Labor Day Monday off. So it's time for me to give my fingers a break and quit laboring.
I'm not sure how well sarcasm translates to the printed word as opposed to speech. I will revisit the blog a little later. Cheers.
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