ETHAN MAY
The newsroom was unusually quiet this morning. It turns out this silence was the calm before both a literal and figurative storm.
Each reporter was sitting at their own desk working on one of their many projects. I was 20 pages into a legal briefing for one of my election stories when I received an email notification about a clery release. Unable to contain my curiosity, I clicked away from what I was doing to read it.
Four armed robberies in 24 hours? Oh my.
Then I heard a crack of thunder outside. A wicked storm had arrived. What damage would this storm cause? More news had blown in!
Having other things to worry about, I went back to work as I talked to Jeanne about my election story.
A few minutes later, Liz grabbed my attention to ask if I was working on a daily story. There was more breaking news to cover. MU Athletic Director Mack Rhoades would be leaving the university unexpectedly after taking a new job.
More breaking news!
The once quiet newsroom had erupted into chaos as 18 reporters moved in 18 directions to cover all of this news as it broke.
If that doesn’t bring you excitement then you’re in the wrong business.
I immediately dropped my lawsuit notes and started searching for ways to confirm the athletic director’s departure. The rest of the afternoon was one exciting blur.
That’s why we’re here, right?
You can see my contribution here.
Ethan May 