News that's worth waiting for

When is my deadline? That's something my editor hears quite a bit from me because time is just something I do not have enough of these days. Time is a commodity that everyone craves. Time is a currency that we spend without ever knowing the balance. Time is fleeting, and time is just something that no one can seem to get enough of.

 

Having said that, I find myself running out of time on a daily basis. I am pulled between the duties of my full-time job, the rec soccer program in Mountain View, my husband's personal club soccer team, my part-time newspaper duties -- and lets not forget being a wife and mother of two very active daughters.

 

As the fall sports season wraps up, I cannot help but reflect on all the many hours I have spent in gyms and on soccer fields across the state/country. I have loved every second of it and I wouldn't change a single moment of it. I do, however, feel a sense of urgency, a sense of obligation always weighing down on my shoulders to be what I used to be -- a full-time journalist.

 

I did not grow up in Mountain View, but most of you know who I am. I've lived here for more than half of my life, raising my two beautiful daughters alongside my husband, Nathan. I first came to Mountain View working at the Standard News after I left the West Plains Daily Quill. Journalism is my passion. Even though I left the Standard News for personal reasons ... I cannot deny my passion. I love to write. In my over 15 years of experience, I have been praised, awarded and criticized for my work. Yet I continue to try and find the time to bring a level of quality journalism to every piece of work I produce. 

 

In order to be a good journalist, I feel it takes an ability to stand up and report when you see things that are affecting the public. I also feel it takes an ability to know when to sit down, to be quiet and to listen. To take the time to gather the facts so you can present quality information to your readers. Faster is not always better.

 

I will always strive to put out quality information. Will it be a week late? Possibly.

 

Will I be at every meeting? No, I will not.

 

Will I reach out to the person in charge of that meeting and set up a date and time outside of my working hours or on the weekends to catch up on what has happened? Every single time.

 

I pride myself in the fact that I have the knowledge and the experience to continue to bring quality journalism to this area.

 

Am I a full-time journalist any more? No, I am not.

 

Am I full-time resident of this beautiful town we call Mountain View? Yes, I proudly am.

 

I will always work towards bringing you, the reader, the necessary information to make informed opinions. It may take me a couple of issues, but the information will be presented, and it will be presented correctly and factually.

 

Because above all else we have to remember, when the lights go out, the written word will remain.