A Day in the Life: Lee Hemphill

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

Lee Hemphill
The State Newspaper
Columbia, SC

	The State newspaper is located in Columbia, the heart of South
Carolina.  It is an average sized newspaper with  a circulation of
122,000/160,000.  We have three full time (two professional) and one part
time employee.  Dargan Richards is the Librarian, I am the Reference
Librarian, Hope Lusignan is the full time Library Assistant, and Dave
Roberts is the part-time (25-hours) Library Assistant. The State is
staffed from 7:30 a.m. to 7:00 a.m. M-F, 8 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. Saturday, and
2 to 7 p.m. Sunday. My hours are normally 9 a.m.-6 p.m. M-F.

	My average day at The State consists of responding to requests for
information from newsroom and other company staffers, and limited response
to outside requests; enhancement of published stories for SAVE; processing
of periodical and supply invoices; working on the 1998 budget; preparing
for internal and external classes; writing my weekly column and other
articles; attending newsroom meetings; etc.  The following is a  typical
day for me:

9:00 a.m.	Arrived at the library and distributed incoming mail
(newspapers, magazines, requests for information, bills, etc.). Checked
internal and external e-mail messages; no action required except electronic filing of schedule
and new-people notices. Made three phone calls to companies about problem
periodical invoices, answered two phone requests for dates that a story
and a recipe ran in our paper, and began enhancing the Health section.

10:00  a.m.	Attended the daily editorial meeting where first-plans for
Wednesday's paper were discussed.  We discussed this morning's paper,
comparing the play of stories with four other dailies in the South
Carolina area; then went around the room with each editor noting possible
stories for tomorrow. After the meeting, I returned to the library and
completed enhancement of the Health section.

11:15 a.m.	Received a request from science reporter for information
about the Mir Cosmonauts; searched Lexis-Nexis Requester, retrieved
several major newspaper articles and printed them for the reporter. 

11:35 a.m.	Made phone calls to local sports card dealers in
preparation for my weekly card column; called other show promoters for
updated card show information.  Began writing column.

12:25 p.m.	Received a request from staff columnist for confirmation
that an individual he is writing about has or has not been in the U.S.
Marine Corps.  I contacted Marine Corps PAO; will call me back.

12:40 p.m.	Lunch -- While out, picked up copy of SC annual report
needed for our files from the SC State Library.

1:30 p.m.	Collected and bundled "contest papers" for the past two
months. These are papers we save in anticipation of journalists who enter
SCPA contests, usually in October/November, and require tear sheets.

2:45 p.m.	Processed seven newsroom periodical renewals
telephonically using the Knight-Ridder Procard.

3:20 p.m.	Provided SAVE searching guidance and training to the
Leisure Editor; he was having difficulty within our new DeWar View system
changing databases to find specific years.

3:45 p.m.	Received a request from a reporter for information about
the local utility company (SCE&G) history. From our database I found and
printed four good articles, and located an SCE&G report and history in our
files, all of which I gave the reporter.

4:30 p.m.	Worked on the Internet for possible new resources to be
included in our developing Electronic Reference Shelf.  Good sites will
also be incorporated into my next Internet class to be presented to all
interested company employees next fall. Charlie Paschal, our resident
Internet writer, and I present quarterly Internet classes for selected
company groups. Appropriate sites are also identified and bookmarked for
each newsroom circle.

5:40 p.m.	 Received a request from our religion writer to find
anything written by major newspapers about the reactions to our flying the
Confederate flag by church groups.  I searched Lexis-Nexis and found three
interesting articles, which I printed a gave to reporter.

6:05 p.m.	Weeded and filed movie and other entertainment photos from
press kits.

6:50 p.m. 	Cleared area and departed for the day.




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