Day 165 – The best paper I ever did see
I wonder whether pride in your work plays an essential part in making up a pattern of positive mental behaviour. This week I feel as though I have played my part in putting out a paper which is perfect. Just the right amount of crime, doom and gloom, heart warming fuzzy feeling features, passionate readers letters and the all important guide to what’s going on in our town. Though I have seen the papers prior to print only the subs will see what it is that will be bought by Harborough Mail readers come the morning.
I was writing a story today, a piece about a lesser spotted rare warbling drain occupying bird when I realised that this is what I want to do and though I might only believe it 25 per cent of the time I’m not actually all that bad at it. 
I am getting my first ever paid for feature being published tomorrow. What was nice is that I actually found it hard to write it as in spite of the blog I finally have begun to write when at work like a journalist rather than just another flowery powery feature writer. I do my best to make copy tight, try to be disciplined about pars and whenever I see that creeping into my copy I expel it with a viscous backwards space.
Tomorrow we will be launching a community campaign complete with petitions and slamming several crooks brought to justice at Harborough Magistrates Court. Due to recent cut backs by the government our court is at risk of being cut and if I have to chain myself to the doors and appear in front of magistrates myself for causing public disorder and a nuisance to stop this travesty I bloody well will.
The great thing about small courts that many hard nosed journalists forget is what a source of sparkling copy it really is. Though one naughty lady might have been speeding and face a small fine when in mitigation she said she misread the dial because her ADD kid wouldm’t stop screaming or because she was putting on her mascara, all of a sudden bang, you’ve got yourself a lead.
We have a work experience irl here this week and she is fantastic. Though she is only 15 she writes better copy than some of the trainee journalists I met while at News Assocciates. She understands the importance of an intro, instinctively knows the key facts and keeps asking what she can do. Most important of all though, as all workies should know how, she makes a mean cup of tea. I wish we could keep her.
- Today’s dress, originally from Linea is a kind donation from Belinda Smears. Again my sincere apologies for the flip flop situation I hope my injury will soon heal. In the mean time please do not let my sloppiness and adaptation of slipper style shoes cause you to drop your standards. Unless their well built, lined with with gold or embellished with diamonds they are on the face of it, especially when you can hear people’s sweaty feet flap, nearly as bad as the ugg generation.
