| My
first job ...
By Ricardo Pimentel, columnist, The
Arizona Republic, Phoenix
Ricardo Pimentel |
My first job was as a night police reporter at The San
Bernardino (Calif.) Sun. No. 1, I learned I didn't
want to be a police reporter. Other useful lessons: Don't
be the person in the newsroom who always says, "No, I
can't." Be the person who says, "Yes, I can, and
I'll bring you back a story better than the one you assigned."
Be this person, and the freedom to pursue stories you want
to pursue comes as a matter of course. I, of course, learned
the need for accuracy, fairness and balance. But I also learned
that editors are suckers for good stories, that willingness
to work is rewarded and that office politics is better left
to other people. I learned that the right mentors can teach
you a lot and help you get where you want to go.
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
|
