Fields and Trenches

I wrote my first professional article yesterday. It was about standardized test results in our school district. I did some comparisons to the county and state and talked with suits. I think I wrote a good lede. The rest--well, it's test results. I think my editor wanted more statistics, but statistics are boring to read. I suggested someone do an infographic, which he said was a good idea. I certainly won't be doing it--blech. He said he or a graphic designer would do one. I didn't even know they had a graphic designer.

After I mailed it off, I thought I should probably read the damn thing. So I did, and there was a huge cut-and-paste error. I fixed it and mailed it again. I really, really, really hope he uses the corrected one.

I haven't heard anything yet, which makes me worry.

I've spent some time tailing the woman I'm replacing. She's introduced me to some people, and she said she'd give me her contact information, which is very helpful. She seems like a fine person. She's going back to school to get her master's degree in social work. She's written for the paper for three years. She writes in a completely different way than I do. We'll see how people adjust--or not.