What was your best day in journalism?

[micropolitan guy]

When I was in college, our sports editor found out we were leaving the Southern Conference. Nobody had it except the little ol, once-a-week Collegian, published on Thursday. On Tuesday or so, our newswriting prof, who was also the city editor of the Times-Dispatch, stopped by to see what was up with that week's issue and the SE (trustingly) ran the story by him to make sure it was all buttoned up.

Instead of keeping his mouth shut and giving us the scoop, he tells Bill Millsaps at the T-D and they throw something together for Wednesday to ruin our scoop. ****ing asshole. I saw the SE at our 25-year reunion and he was still pissed off about it.

 

[Cosmo]

Semi-related ... Saps was the best. One of my mentors when I got my current job. Not every day you have a Red Smith Award winner on your edit committee. He's missed.

 

[Driftwood]

As said above, PCLoadLetter, you win this thread.

For me, it was 12 years ago this month when I left the newspaper business. As I was leaving on my final day, my colleagues gave me an ovation - something I didn't expect. And, at my going-away party that evening, a LOT of people showed up - I was really surprised. I always thought of myself as a hard-working grinder, nothing flashy.

Similar.
I got off the Titanic thanks to a very poor decision by the GM (that turned out to be a godsend for me personally).
After going to press on my last day, I walked to the door, turned, said, "Ladies and gentlemen, Elvis has left the building." and held a little flag over my head.
I got a standing ovation from the entire newsroom. GM was pissed and slinked back to his office.

 

[Michael_ Gee]

There are a number of stories I did I'm very proud of (probably an equal number of ones I'd like back), but my personal best day in journalism was my first one. I'd been a fairly rootless twentysomething, then I got hired as listings editor of the old Boston Phoenix. One day in a newsroom, and I was like, "OK, now I know what I want to do with my life." That was a blessing second only to my family.

 

[SixToe]

Among the cool stories, two things stand out to me from these posts.

One is that when needed, sports folks didn't say "Eh, I'm a sportswriter." You answered the call. At heart, we're journalists and reporters who can pretty much do anything, from covering fires or ****bag pedo arrests or the obit for someone significant to a council meeting or funeral.

Two is the amount of institutional knowledge shown in some of these posts that is (or appears to be) gone. With that loss, the paper or outlet is diminished. Every generation loses something, obviously. But when a Sporty says, "Hey, I know a guy who remembers that person who did that thing and can make a call" and they get a lead, or scoop, or nail something, it matters.

I don't want to dump on today's younger generation because they're building their own sources. That takes time and trust. They'll do it. Journalists and reporters always find a way. But losing older vets with a yellowing, tattered Rolodex, knowledge and experience definitely is a big loss.

 

[John]

Well said. A toast to the veteran copy editors who, because of their vast knowledge of the area and its people, saved me from a dumb mistake on more than a few occasions.

 

[BTExpress]

We have a 25-year-old Assistant Managing Editor who needed to be told, "Yeah, Robert Redford dying is a huge deal."

Two years ago we're 20 minutes from deadline at our CENTRAL FLORIDA paper, and "OBIT-WILLIAMS" shows up on the wire. I say out loud, "Whoa, Pat Williams just died."

23-year-old colleague (and NBA fan!) asks, "Who's Pat Williams?"

Yeah, it's time to retire.

 

[Driftwood]

I've been trying to come up with some seminal moment in my sports writing career, but really don't have one I guess because my brain doesn't work that way. My jobs have never been who I am; it's just what I do.
I've told this before in the motorsports thread:
When Darrell Russell was killed, I did this 3-4 part series on NHRA safety. It got picked up. A few weeks later at an event, a PR guy comes in the press box, taps me, and says, "Snake wants to see you."
I was being summoned by Don Prudhomme. He had read the stories and just wanted to say he appreciated what I'd done.

 

[SixToe]

Imma bite my tongue and not hijack this sucker about the Redford-Williams deaths. But, damn.

OK, back to the cool stories and good news.

Here's one.

Back in the olden times, the AP's "Transactions" and Legal Notices could easily be mined for tidbits. It was a great way to see who got fired, hired, traded, released or, in the latter, was trying to build something or filed for bankruptcy.

Another was the AP's little shorty short blurbs from all over. I think they usually were maybe 150-250 words, tops. One day I saw one about a minor league baseball team out west. California, perhaps. It was in trouble with the state employment/labor department about, of all things, the batboys working too many hours on school nights (before summer break) and too late, sometimes, on school nights. Also, being underpaid.

We had a team with batboys. Everyone did, right? I called our team's general manager and asked if he had been in discussions with the state employment/labor department about the batboys working late hours on school nights.

I didn't ask if they were in violation, or in trouble, or were being investigated. Just if the team had been contacted or had any discussions.

Silence. Then an explosion.

"WHO told you about that? We are working with ..." and it was off to the races. I was typing notes as fast as possible and barely got in another question. Didn't need to. He spilled the beans about everything, said they weren't in trouble but were taking care of it, so on and so on. Would use the kids when possible during school months, limited time, then in summer, they get paid, all the things.

It wasn't a gotcha story the next day but IMO a nice piece. I never told him how I found out. He always thought we had a mole in the team office. We did, but that one didn't come from him. Mr Mole said they were out of their minds trying to figure out how we got the story, though.

That was fun.