A Day in the Life: Julia C. Muller

This account was written for the MidAtlantic News Research Conference on July 18-19, 1997.

A Day in the Life of a News Researcher at the Savannah Morning News
by Julia C. Muller
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Background

Our editorial staff  consist of  about 80 people. (We are going through
some turnover right now.)   We have been a team operation since August
of 1995.  Our daily circulation runs about 80,000.

We are a two person operation.  I have been the head since November 18,
1985.  I was the assistant for two years prior.  Sara Wright has been
the assistant since August 1987.  She started in June of that year in
our circulation department.  Our supervisor is David Donald, the editor
in charge of Research & Projects.  The reporter assigned to our team was
moved due to staffing problems. 

We are not electronic but do have Web and e-mail access.  
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
I arrive at 8:50 a.m.  My usual hours are 9 to 6 with an hour for
lunch.  My assistant has already prepared my papers for me.  Today I am
going to start a new tradition.  I am reading the paper before I do much
else.  I had been doing this but somehow my priorities shifted.  I have
to get back on track.

First, however, I check my e-mail.  There is only one message from
Newslib.  It concerns the "Information Stores" question.  I read it and
file the information away.  Not an operation that we will ever have but
could possibly apply the information in the future.  

One of our photographers sees me checking out the Mid Atlantic
conference page and asks me what is it.  I explain that it is a seminar
I am about to attend.  She is impressed with the number of staff members
from the News & Observer attending.  I point out that it is a much
larger paper and therefor can accommodate a larger staff.  I mention
that one of the issues we will discuss is image archiving.  "Take good
notes."  "I will," I respond.  She asks, "Do you need a tape recorder?"
"I think I have one."  But I don't think I'll bring it.  I probably
wouldn't get a good recording.  I have a hearing problem so tapes don't
work for me.  I will take good notes though and let photo know I do not
forget their needs.

Questions, questions.  Even as I work on this diary, our head editorial
writer is asking about where the BMW plant in South Carolina is
located.  Since I drive to Hendersonville, NC about once a year, I know
it is in Spartanburg.  He is happy and goes on his merry way.

Next, I step out to our copy machine to check to see if it has paper.  I
made the mistake of letting staff know that I am mechanically inclined. 
As a result, I am the office copy repair person.  I also check the fax
machines.  I ask the departmental secretary to call for a new toner unit
for one of the machine.  

At about 10:00 a.m. I sit down to read the paper.  There is an amusing
story about an 80-year-old man suing a dating service.  He wants his
money back or 21 more introductions.  The reporter has really captured
the issue.  Unfortunately, he is one of the reporters that is about to
leave our paper.  

I finish the paper.  I then start the "rip down" for later marking.  It
will not take as long since I have already read the major local
stories.  It is a shame that I cannot keep all stories but space doesn't
allow for it.  My assistant is hard at work trying to catch up the
papers I have marked since Sunday.  She was in a car that was rear-ended
Monday and missed two days.  Normally, I would have done some of the
clipping but was unable to do so.  No matter, we catch up by the end of
the day.  We are usually within two days of being up-to-date. 
Otherwise, we guide the reporters to the issue they need.

As I take the papers down, I realize I haven't read our Carolina
edition.  I stop to read the two stories on the front page.  The first
story is a little dense.  I struggle through the story because the
Carolina people call periodically for faxed copies of stories.  I need
to know what issues they are covering.  Sometimes I wish that they made
the news easier to understand.

In the time before our 11:30 budget meeting, I continue work on one of
my ongoing projects.  It is a list of movies and other film projects that
have taken place in the Coastal Empire and Lowcountry.  I started the
project after "Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil" filmed here in
June.  One of our reporters compiled a partial list.  I decided to flesh
it out for future reference.

I attend the budget meeting.  The first lively critique in a long time
ensues.  Since I have read the paper, I offer my opinion on the various
stories.  I am definitely going to be reading the paper before I go to
the morning meeting.  In the past, if I spotted an error, I can question
the editor it concerned.  Today, no errors (that I notice).  I also
contributed to a potential story on a local golf course.  I pulled the
files and left them on the editor's desk.  I know they are going to need
the information.

It is now lunch time.  I take the hour at my desk.  My assistant runs
interference for me so I can eat in peace.  There is no area to eat
one's lunch in quiet so I stay at my desk.

Our Statesboro bureau reporter calls.  He needs to know if we have done
any stories on local owned produce stands.  I tell him that the only
produce type stories we have done recently is on the state farmer's
market.  He ask if there is any kind of listing of produce stands.  I
say I doubt it as most of them are family owned shacks on the side of
the road.  Most are put up just for the season.  I suggest he contact
the state agricultural commission as they may be able to help.  He says
he has a call in to them.  

Our mail clerk bring in a note from someone requesting an obit.  I tell
him I'll take care of it.  The lady had just passed the previous week so
finding the obit was simple.  She had sent a dollar with her request as
well as a SASE.  I send the obit and the dollar back.

At 3:15, I attempt to start marking papers.  One of our clerks walks in
needing the correct spelling of a hospital in Albany.  I go to the
Internet.  Using American Yellow Pages, I find the hospital.  I explore
the site for a few minutes.  This is a habit.  As I do so, one of the
editors passes by and asks what the page does.  I do a demo using our
paper as an example.  "Share knowledge" is our mantra.  I show sites
whenever I can.

Back to marking papers.  I am about half finished when the Richmond Hill
bureau reporter calls.  She needs to confirm some information I faxed to
her a day or two ago.  The fax copies weren't clear enough for her to
read.  I get the original paper and check the information.  I ask Sara
to get the file I had faxed because I couldn't remember the dates on the
stories.  Everything is cleared up and she can proceed with her story.

As I finish  up the next section of paper, a copy editor approaches Sara
and me to pick our brains for information.  She is in need of local
places and events for a project she is about to start.  Since I have
been keeping a master calendar for the last two years, I offer to print
it out for her in the morning.  We share a printer with the photo
department and the afternoons are very busy for them.  The calendar is
now 57 pages long.  It contains local and regional events.  She thinks
it is exactly what she needs.

Now it is time for headlines.  This is another ongoing project I have
going.  Each day I type in the major local headlines from the front,
local and occasionally the sports pages.  The is part of a service I
provide to our editors each month.  The information is the previous
year's headline plus the month's event from the Master Calendar I
mentioned earlier.  It is suppose to help the staff plan for future
issues.  I started doing each day's headlines because it is easier than
going through the microfilm for them.

My editor approaches me and requests an article from last year's TWA
crash.  He wants the local connection.  I find that article plus two
others, make copies and give them to him.  

When I go back to my desk to start a new duty, my voice mail light is
on.  The message is from a local attorney.  He needs to know how many
stories we have on one of his clients.  I call back to find out the
client's name.  After he tells me, I check the file.  It turns out we
have only done six stories.  Not enough for the change of venue he
wants.  He knows what the procedure is if he wants the copies of the
stories for his case.  I see the editor in charge of the court reporter
and tell him about the call.  He thinks the guy is crazy.  I agree.

Well, the day is winding down.  I'll be walking out of the door on time
for a change.  This has been a quiet day for me.  Not really typical.  I
didn't get the number of phone calls as I usually do.  But I am not
complaining.  I enjoy my job.  I appreciate days like this.  It helps me
get through those particularly hairy days that happen.


A Day in the Life
SLA News Division Home

Last Updated: 09/16/02
Amy Disch
Send comments or suggestions to newsdivisionweb@yahoo.com