|
Degree and Year: BJ '56 Title: Freelance Writer/Columnist, Author City and State: Out in the country on 40 acres about five miles from Russellville, Mo. Dead end road, mostly wooded acreage and a one-acre lake. Life, I suppose, could be better, but I don't see how. My wife of 47 years, Marty, and I are very close, as are our five children, two of whom live on the property we own, two more close-by and the oldest daughter in Minnesota with her family.
I worked for almost two years for the Montgomery (Ala.) Journal (1956-59), with six months off for military service at Ft. Bliss, Texas. I moved back to Missouri as the sports editor at the Mexico Evening Ledger (1959-69). In 1969 I joined the Missouri Department of Conservation as a writer and spent the next 21 years there, retiring in 1990. I've freelanced since 1967 and now am a full-time freelancer, with columns in three outdoor magazines. I have had seven books published, have been president and board chairman of the 2,000-member Outdoor Writers Association of America and am the current historian of the group. I'm also one of only three OWAA members in the more than 70-year history of the group to be awarded all three of its top writing honors. What do you do? Fulltime freelance; mostly magazine articles; mostly in the outdoor field, but some humor, some short fiction. How did you get your job? Applied for the newspaper jobs; was courted by the Conservation Department. Best professional lesson learned at J-School The need for speed and accuracy in reporting and how to quickly organize a mass of material into a story. What is your favorite J-School memory? Probably working the copy desk with William Bickley and Dale Spencer -- a contrast in styles: Bickley was kind and patient; Spencer ominous and impatient...and both were stern taskmasters whose lessons stuck with me. What would be your best advice to current students? Get as much practical experience as possible in as many areas of the field: photography, magazine and newspaper. Some broadcast journalism won't hurt either. I've done some radio and television. What are you working on currently? I have three book manuscripts in various stages of development (and no contracts for any). What do you consider to be your greatest professional achievement? I suppose having gained the respect of my peers in outdoor communication as one of the top professionals. What makes you good at your job? Because I never accept that I'm good enough -- I have much to learn and know there are many others better than I am. I try harder and never quit learning. Who would you like to work with and why? Where would you most like to work? Anyone with a story to tell and anywhere new. I love to meet fascinating people and write about them and I love to travel to new places and have new experiences. What are your next career steps? I want to publish more books, but my career is pretty well set in concrete unless something dramatic comes up. I wouldn't mind doing radio again (I did features for Field & Stream radio for several years), but not as a producer or lead personality -- I like the oddball features that NPR often does. What is your secret to success? I'm not sure there are any secrets. You develop a thick skin so you can accept frequent rejection, you never stop trying to improve...and you pray for quite a bit of luck. Good writing often goes begging for want of that last item. 
|
||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|
|
| Revised: 15 May 2007. Copyright © 2008 The Curators of the University of Missouri | Contact the J-School | |
