My First Job ...

E.J. Mitchell

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

Outside of internships, my first newsroom job was as a bureau reporter in Baltimore. I worked for the evening newspaper, up against a veteran reporter who lived in and was well-known in the county we covered. Competition was fierce. She was kind to me, brought me lunch, talked about family, etc. But she was ruthless when it came to covering news. She took no prisoners. She would smile in my face, and then break a story on me the next morning. She taught me how to be competitive. By watching her, I learned how to develop a beat, how to work sources and how to break news.

Back to Top

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