Fly one time

There was a story about ospreys on the front page of the Chicago Tribune on Thursday. People care about wildlife. People *want* to read about a beautiful, majestic bird so much that it was front and center. And I got to write the story.


I could never have known that I would be here, at one of the largest, most respected newspapers in the world and that I would have a solo byline on page one. Life can throw some pretty wonderful and unexpected surprises at you sometimes.


A part of me feels like I sort of 'won' it, rather than earned it though. The newsroom has changed a lot over the past few years, with newspapers going bankrupt and journalism struggling to survive the changing news culture that emerged like a tsunami. A lot of people left. Or were fired. A lot of jobs disappeared. But, there are still jobs and really talented people compete for them - residents, young journalists who have come from grad school or with gigs at smaller papers. They spend two years at the paper doing whatever stories are thrown at them, pulling overnight shifts to cover crime, surviving the almost-always-inevitable surburb assignment...and at the end, they hope there is a job waiting for them.


I feel like I came in as the trust-fund kid, with my fancy fellowship and editors working to 'give me the experience I want.' I feel like I need to work my ass off too for what I get. I guess 8 weeks isn't long enough for the drudge work. Who knows. I talked to one of the residents about it yesterday (she will certainly get hired when she is done; she's good!) and she told me I have done more than almost any intern there (from AAAS anyway) and that I would not have been given page one if they didn't think I could handle it...that made me feel better, I think.


It was A LOT of work. I was up by 5:30 am on Monday to go to the site, and it was in the 80s at sunrise...but that was an adventure, complete with osprey, tornado sirens, and whipping through thick brush and gullies in the back of a pick-up trying to outrace gathering funnel clouds. THEN, I made it back home to find my power out (this was after a stop to fill the flat tire on the Tribune pool car) and scramble to pack ice into the refrigerator and freezer...then I got to work, did more interviews and Wednesday was D-day. Edit and revise the heck out of it and work tirelessly with graphics to make sure everything was just right. It was back and forth phone calls to the communications director at the forest preserve to speak with the reluctant wildlife biologist who was so vague I had to keep getting clarification ("ok, with this chart you sent, you say 11 poles with nests. does that mean more than 11 poles exist but there are 11 poles with nests? because you told me before you have 10 poles with 8 nests...?"). But, finally, it was done. And then I had emails and a second post to do...


The work never stops. And I love it. Unfortunately, it will be over soon. Too soon. Until then, I'll keep the stories coming!