Life update

Wow, it's been a long time since I've posted to this. I've been so busy with my job and personal life that this is the first time I've been able to sit down and just write on my own.

As predicted in a previous post, many people did leave the station within the last few months. Not all of them were exactly because they hated working there; anchor Becky Hillier, for example, left because her husband took a job in Alaska.

So we have a lot of fresh faces, including the news director, but I think we have a good bunch of people. I feel like there was a sense of despair in the newsroom when our previous news director left, but now that some negative elements are gone, that feeling is no longer there.

Our new news director comes from Detroit, which is good because he has a real knowledge of what a high-level newscast is supposed to be like. He's really good at challenging people to think outside the box, and he's brought a lot of fresh ideas to the table. And, for the first time, I'm actually getting real feedback on how I'm doing on my newscasts. It's crazy.

Speaking of my newscasts, I am now producer of the Morning Show on Monday through Friday. That little change occurred at the beginning of July, when two producers left within a matter of a couple weeks. We already knew one of those producers was leaving several months before, and I had known for quite awhile that I'd be getting a promotion once she left, but we didn't know exactly when.

As far as the job goes, I'm still working overnight (11pm-8am), but I'm definitely liking the hours more than my previous position. There's more writing involved, and so far it's been a little stressful trying to get everything in on time. It didn't help that I didn't have an associate producer two days out of the week and had to stay for at least ten hours on Wednesdays and Thursdays. But now that I do have help on those days, things are looking a little brighter.

I do miss the format of my old show, though. And it takes some adjustment to get used to what the weekday anchors like and expect compared to the weekend anchors.

I think the stress will go away with time, once I get into a groove and do a better job with time management. Almost all the time my shows are looking good once they hit the airwaves, but it's those moments leading up to that deadline that really get my heart pumping and make me worry if it will all come together. Creating two hours worth of a show is a tough task, and I think I have high standards that make it even tougher but better at the same time.

I still don't think I'll be doing this for the rest of my life, and right now I still plan to go back to school in '08. I am a little worried about my financial situation if I go back to school, but I may be able to get a teaching or research assistant job when I go back. Plus, my financial situation will improve in the long term once I complete my degree program. I still don't quite know what I'll be doing, but I plan to apply to both the journalism school and the school of public affairs at UW-Madison and see which one will fit my needs better.

I'm not really concerned about getting in; my biggest concern right now is finding time to prepare my application. I've yet to take the GRE test, and have trouble finding time to study for it. Usually when I'm done with work, I'm kind of burnt out and don't really want to think about much. And most of my evenings I spend with my girlfriend or other friends, so I don't have that much alone time to just sit and think.

I look forward though to getting back to a somewhat normal schedule, and I know that I'll do well in school and will be working toward my eventual goal of being a professor.