My First Job ...

Ronnie Agnew

Ronnie Agnew, executive editor, The Clarion-Ledger, Jackson, Miss.

My first reporting job was in the Mississippi Delta, the poorest region of the state. When I think of my time there, two stories come to mind: First, I recall covering stories about the large numbers of shotgun houses in the town, Greenwood, Miss., and what local officials were doing to rid the city of the dilapidated structures, largely in place to house low-income citizens. The story sticks with me because, during the reporting process, I got to know the people who lived in those three-room shacks as people who had the same hopes and dreams as I did. But they were trapped in the cycle of poverty with no knowledge of how to get out. The lesson that remains with me is to always remember that newspapers have a responsibility to speak for those people because they often don't know how to speak for themselves.

The second story involves a small Delta school called Mississippi Valley State University. When you work at small newspapers, of course, you might be called on to do anything. One day you're covering cops; the next, you're the city-hall reporter. In my case, I was the backup sports reporter, asked to help the sports editor cover a couple of talented football players who were starting to get some national exposure. This was big when you consider that the school barely had 2,000 students and was situated in what used to be a cotton patch. By the end of the season, the sports editor and I had followed these little-known players to many towns in the middle of nowhere. Imagine how gratifying it is today to pick up my old and yellowed clips of my days covering Jerry Rice, the best receiver the NFL has ever seen and his former quarterback, now the head coach at his alma mater. I have applied that experience in a broader context. Never forget the people you meet during your personal journey. Learn from the experience of having known them. One day, you will draw from it.

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My First Job archive

Ronnie Agnew, executive editor, The Clarion-Ledger, Jackson, Miss.

Caesar Andrews, editor, Gannett News Service

George Benge, news executive, Gannett Co., Inc.

Peter Bhatia, executive editor, The Oregonian, Portland

Michael Chihak, publisher and editor, Tucson (Ariz.) Citizen

Bill Church, executive editor, Star-Gazette, Elmira, N.Y.

Don Flores, executive vice president and editor, El Paso (Texas) Times

Karla Garrett Harshaw, editor, Springfield (Ohio) News-Sun

Bennie Ivory, executive editor, The Courier-Journal, Louisville, Ky.

Sherrie Marshall, executive editor, The Macon (Ga.) Telegraph

E.J. Mitchell, managing editor, The Detroit News

Ricardo Pimentel, columnist, The Arizona Republic, Phoenix

Africa Price, managing editor, The Jackson (Tenn.) Sun

Mark Russell, assistant managing editor, The Plain Dealer, Cleveland

John Quinn, senior advisory trustee, Freedom Forum