Channel Your Inner Ninja

Channel Your Inner Journalism Ninja

I don’t actually call myself a Ninja. However, I often called upon super Ninja powers when faced with freighting deadlines, imposing writer’s block, stubborn subjects that didn’t want to talk and blank upper fold front pages. I felt the supernatural powers come upon me both with creative opportunities and horrible hurdles. In actuality, I believe the supernatural feeling was me believing I was a badass reporter, photographer and writer and I had the ability and experience to get the job done impressively no mater the obstacle – at least in most cases.

I hope you feel adrenalin rushes like I do when faced with creative challenges. By super Ninja powers, I mean abilities that come with experience, confidence and learning from one’s mistakes. Once acquired, abilities can be chosen from like a chest of weapons waiting for your review, approval and selection. Real Ninja abilities, like stealth (knowing when to shut your mouth), passing through walls (gaining access to places normal reporters can’t), invisibility (staying the heck out of the way), the ability to see things others can’t (stop looking at the obvious to find the real story/picture), and the ability to move with lightning speed (consolidating your time and using interview and reporting tips to speed up the process while getting superior results).

I had a long and interesting career as a newspaper reporter, photographer, writer and later editor, and I did a darned good job and have a wall of plaques to prove it. What I liked most was the challenge to get the job done creatively while often overcoming challenging situations and against difficult deadlines. I did a good job because I had good people to learn from in my early years and as I gained experience I also gained confidence. Confidence is a good thing when you use it for good and not evil.

So get your Ninja outfit on and grab your notebook and camera.