Always Learning

Our morning opened with Kenny Irby, Poynter’s senior faculty for visual journalism and diversity programs, dropping in and saying some words, a couple that really stuck.
“This business is life long learning, when you feel you’ve learned everything you need to stop,” Irby said. After Irby’s quick drop-in we had two speakers Michael Anastasi, 1st VP of APSE and Managing Editor at the Salt Lake Tribune, and Malcolm Moran, Knight Chair in Sports Journalism and Society at Penn State. Anastasi spoke to us about a career in management and his time as an editor. My first year in SJI, 2010, I thought the editors sat behind their desk and barked out orders but I learned quickly at The Oklahoman from Sports Editor Mike Sherman that editors attend all sporting events. He has covered five finals and six World Series in his time as an editor and the Olympics. We learned about Anastasi’s first reporting gig as a cops reporter. His first day a cop killed someone, his second day a guy escaped his court hearing and a police officer proceed to open fire on a main street, his third day a fire burned down a building, and his fourth day there was a marijuana bust. An eventful week if I say so myself. Next was Moran and gave us great tips on deadline writing and we learned the four P’s: Preparation, Purpose, Patience and Premise. As young journalists we have to learn our history and always come prepared for games. His best tip was getting to events three and a half hours early and going to practices during the week to get a leg up on other journalist.