Writing History by Chasing Deadlines
Published on Friday, July 26, 2024 at 12:19 p.m.
I remember the first time I walked into the Tryon Daily Bulletin building in August 2018.
As I opened the door, resume in hand, I was struck by the beauty of this antique building: the brick walls, original ceilings, and subtle touches of greenery really gave the cozy space a sense of warmth.
It took weeks to get my then-editor to hire me. I knew I was young and inexperienced. But I persisted, he said. And I liked it. So he hired me as a freelancer, then an intern, and eventually, in 2022, I ended up writing the majority of the articles for the Tryon Daily Bulletin.
A few years later, my career led to a full-time position at a larger newspaper, The Greer Citizen. Six months later, I was named editor-in-chief. And now I’m sitting in my Greer office, beside the latest printout of “The Greer Citizen Closed,” waiting for July 31 to come, and give me a chance to really accept that, for now, my journalism career is coming to a screeching halt.
While I can’t slow down, I’m bracing for impact with open arms, hoping to see Greer Citizen finish and return unscathed on the 31st. But I have scars and bruises, and I’m so attached to my comfort zone, my comfortable job, the people I see every day, that I’m afraid to step forward into the open door.
There’s an interview opportunity with The Post and Courier in my inbox, and I’ll open it when I’m ready, and when I’ve had a breather between the last article and the goodbyes.
Was I nervous when I started at the Guerre Citizen? No. It wasn’t my first job. It was my first full-time job, but it wasn’t my first time working for a newspaper, doing interviews, writing articles.
On my first day, I showed up at work at 9am with no instructions, but had to meet a Q&A deadline by 10am.
With no luck and time running out, I sat in my car and called every opportunity I could until a Q&A opportunity presented itself. In the car, I wrote my first article for The Greer Citizen and sent it out at 9:59.
The deadline was met.
And that’s journalism. It always has been. Meeting deadlines, chasing leads, a far cry from the 9-to-5 office job. Writing columns in bed at night. Conducting interviews in people’s living rooms. Listening to citizens’ concerns and researching issues. Writing stories anyway, knowing that people who have something to hide will dislike you. Taking notes on meetings, even though it’s the part of the job you hate the most. Conducting interviews that move people to tears as they talk about their 69 years of marriage, their memories of their time as a firefighter, or the people they helped as a volunteer at a nonprofit.
It was journalists who told the story of the sinking of the Titanic, newspapers who covered World War II, and it was writers who told the story of the brave pilots and crew as the infamous Memphis Belle made her 25th flight over Europe.
History’s most important moments can be found in print. The letters may be faded, the pages may be yellowed, and there may only be one hard copy of the story you’re looking for, but you can be assured it has been archived.
No doubt history will be told, thanks to award-winning journalists and newspapers like The Greer Citizen and Tryon Daily Bulletin , but once the industry has drawn its last breath, all we have to rely on is technology, our screens and the internet.
The loss of print media hurts me, and I hope it hurts you too. I want to hold on to this piece of history, and I hope you do too.
Editor’s note: Here at Tryon Print, we remain strong thanks to your support, our valued readers, and the community we serve.
