Why didn't I find journalism earlier in my work-a-day career world? As a former executive editor at Farm Journal Media, I learned that "getting the dirt" meant digging deeper for an angle that is fresh - the rest was fun and easy and to think I got paid to do it!
What I didn't realize, is that earlier work experience prepared me well for life as a writer. Travel with international marketing firms like Simon and Creata opened my eyes to new cultures, politics and geography. I learned a lot about not only "truth in advertising", but also truth (or the lack of) in journalism.
A healthy dose of cynicism doesn't hurt either - as an ex-journalist girlfriend used to tell me, "everybody's got a shtick". I found that to be true in the bars I played in as a traveling musician based out of Atlanta.
Finally, as a freshly minted wildlife biologist and forester out of school, I literally learned to see the forest for the trees with the Missouri Department of Conservation, where I had the opportunity to draft "Farming and Wildlife in Missouri" - my first major literary effort.
I know - not your traditional journalist's path, but one that has brought me to where I am now, where I just finished up a two-year stint as the managing editor for The Rolla Daily News. Rolla is in the Ozarks and home to the Missouri University of Science and Technology. We have a very diverse community—not only with 80 nations from around the world, but loggers, bluegrass pickers and high tech researchers all co-exist at the local brew pub. It was never a dull day in the newsroom!
