 |
| Lauren Mickler is a news/sports reporter at KEZI 9 in Eugene, Ore. She graduated from the Missouri School of Journalism in 2010 with a degree in broadcast journalism. |
Dear Young Tigers,
There are so many things about life that you have to experience yourself to really understand, things you can only learn by making a few mistakes, and lessons that will only be valuable once you look back on them. But there are some things in life that you learn by example. Some stuff you’ll get right the first time without screwing something up first. I’m here to save you some time -- and trouble -- by sharing some of the things I’ve learned along the way.
My journalism training started long before Mizzou. To make a long story short, my parents met working at a TV station in the late 70s and both ended their careers still working in journalism. My mom spent 25 years as a columnist for the San Diego Union Tribune, and my dad finished 35 years in the business as the Director of Operations for the NBC O&O in San Diego. So, a lot of my education came from them and their friends. My parents worked late, they were stressed a lot, we had to give up swim meets and family trips because they just didn’t have a lot of free time outside of work. That was just the tip of the iceberg.
I guess the first lesson I want to pass on to you is the “tough stuff” about this profession. No matter what sequence you’re in, there are more sacrifices in this line of work than almost any other, and if you want to succeed, you have to get that into your head and be comfortable with it. I know you’ve heard it before, but get really cozy with the idea of terrible hours, terrible pay, hard manual labor, and very little recognition for all that work. Keep in mind, most of your friends will be working corporate or other stable jobs, working normal hours.
