My ‘Sun’ Scrapbook!

So I haven’t posted up the Edmonton Sun articles I’ve been doing regularly over the past two months. As my “freelance”-ing shifts are basically five days a week, I’ve had the opportunity to do a number of stories but I just haven’t been able to keep up with in terms of posting on this blog.

What I have been doing is collecting all of the hardcopy versions of my stories and putting them into what I have named my Sun Scrapbook, a scrapbook with my newspaper clippings.

I had meant to do with this all of the stories I’ve ever done — with all the publications I’ve written for — but much like posting on this blog, the work just piles up and I end up leaving it, so this Sun Scrapbook is the first physical collection of my writing that I’ve ever put together. (The other hardcopies of articles I’ve done for other papers are all piled together in a box in a closet that I hope to eventually sort through sometime in the future).

Anyway, this blog post is my way of bridging the gap between the avalanche of blog posts where I put up my articles to… the fact that I probably won’t be doing that for EVERY story I write anymore.

What I will talk about briefly are the situations and the people that I got to go to and speak with over the past several weeks, and who will now be immortalized forever in my ‘Sun Scrapbook’ !

So far this summer I got to write stories about a brave little boy with a facial birth defect and the generosity by Canadians who helped change his life.

I went to my very first homicide crime scene and after that I went to a gigantic house explosion site that rocked (and continues to rock at this point) a northend neighbourhood in the city. It’s technically also considered a crime scene still so that puts my count of crime scenes been to at 2.

I visited the Edmonton Garrison way more times than I ever imagined I would in my lifetime. What once was a long process in driving out and Google Mapping and trying to figure out where the heck a building was located, I now know my way around the base fairly well I’d say.

I pitched my first story idea — perhaps a long time coming but coming up with original ideas has always been something I struggle with. I can certainly go out and do any story you ask of me but coming up with my own to do is a task that brings me great headache oftentimes… I am working on that though!

I met a firefighter who delivered his own baby and spoke with a man whose wife and son were killed in the terrorist bombing of Flight 182 Air India in 1985.

I also became familiar with other newspaper journalists as well as TV reporters and cameramen who I continually see at events that we all attend.

And in the midst of it all I’ve become closer to the people in the newsroom, I’ve been learning loads, and I’ve been having a blast.

I’ve also (in my mind) made mistakes (minor, but still), and disappointed myself in some stories — whether I didn’t dig deep enough or I didn’t get another voice for a story when I could have or should have. Every time something like that happens I silently yell at myself and tell myself I’ll do a better job next time.

It’s a truly great experience, working for a major daily newspaper.

There is so much that I still need to learn in order to improve myself, but I feel that I am getting an invaluable opportunity working here this summer and I know that this will help me become an even better reporter in the future, and an even better student as I finish off my final year of TV Broadcasting come this Fall.

Linda :)

1 Comment

  • Heather says:

    The scrapbook idea is really cool! I’m kind of lazy so I really rely on my blog to do the work for me. ahaha… Then again I draw a lot so maybe that’s why.

    It might be a little personal, but what was it like being on the scene of a homicide? I keep thinking in my head how awkward it might be for me, but maybe it’s different when you’re actually there?

    And I have a hard time pitching stories too! I come up with ideas but they don’t always work so I’m happier just being handed stories that I can work on.

    Keep going! You can do it! :)

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