After more than six years of being away from the journalism profession due to a myriad of personal and medical issues, 2013 was the year I was able to make a return.
Following my excellent experience as a News Intern with the Lake County News-Sun, my life hit a snag for several years and since the departure - I wondered if I still had the talent.
Enter in Southern Lakes Newspapers, where I previously served as a Sports Intern eight years earlier for two weekly newspapers (Whitewater Register, Palmyra-Eagle Enterprise) and I was able to make my return.
One thing is certain - having a writer make a return to writing was like riding a bike. I still have the perspective of the citizen in mind, although a bit rusty. But it is a restart I have been waiting for since 2007.
The challenge of writing for two smaller communities is to dig harder for information and generate stories. While attending Village Board and School Board meetings might not be exciting to an outsider, but many small details and items within meetings can be a major story for a small community.
And sometimes being present at Board meetings catches news NOT contained in the meeting agenda issued.
In order to understand the significance of small items on meeting agendas, a reporter needs to know the history of the community. Learning about the history in two small communities is a hard task but once I am able to get over the learning curve it will be much easier to follow.
It takes a considerable amount of time for a reporter to not only learn the history but also the public officials and what they stand for.
