2018: The Year In Review

2018: The Year In Review

December 27, 2018 / 1 Comment

At the end of each year, I always take a moment to examine the ups and downs I experienced. Due to work and our current political/social climate, the majority of my year was so stressful that I often worried I would suffer from a heart attack or stroke. Somehow, I made it through.

What follows is my personal and professional review of 2018. I:

* Produced/edited hundreds of breaking news stories about the second year of Donald Trump’s presidency, the wars in Syria, Yemen and Afghanistan, the genocide in Myanmar, the 2018 Winter Olympics, the peace deal between North and South Korea as well as the Trump-Kim summit, the Austin bomb attacks, the mass shootings in Parkland, Fla., Pittsburgh and Thousand Oaks, Calif., the pipe bomb attacks on the media, former presidents and Trump critics, the midterm elections, the California wildfires, numerous earthquakes and hurricanes, dozens of celebrity deaths, the birth of a royal baby and two royal weddings.

* Penned 30 journal entries.

* Passed the 54,000th tweet mark on my personal Twitter account (@jadewalker).

* Worked on Sift, a new iPhone app that launched in October.

* Launched the Tumblr page Oddly Titled Tomes and relaunched Hooked From The First Page.

* Updated The Written Word and The 10th Muse mailing lists.

* Maintained two Instagram accounts: @thejadewalker and @catsofjade.

* Worked on two novels.

* Wrote 5 poems (two of which were broadcast on NHPR).

* Read 54 books — thus completing my 2018 reading challenge — and numerous magazines.

* Watched 35 films and dozens of TV programs.

* Went leafing in the White Mountains.

* Participated in The Society of Professional Obituary Writers, the New Hampshire Writers Guild, the New York City Writers Group, the South Florida Freelancers Group, the Authors Guild and the Silent Book Club (Manchester, NH chapter).

* Created my first sourdough starter and baked a loaf of bread from it.

* Completed an escape room adventure and saved my partner from a serial killer.

* Thrice hosted vacationing friends in our home. Also suffered from food poisoning after eating at a local restaurant. Sadly, one of our friends came down with it, too.

* Took a class called “The Science of Well-Being” at Yale University.

* Signed up with the Parker Solar Probe: A Mission to Touch the Sun to have my name added to a memory card that will be included on the Parker Solar Probe spacecraft.

* Bought new glasses.

* Joined a gym. Went for a while and stopped. Plan to return.

* Tried to get more sleep. Failed miserably, due to stress.

* Planted herbs and flowers in deck boxes. Amazingly, only the thyme died!

* Installed a second bird feeder and a water bowl.

* Took a Sunday Mourning Haunted Trolley Tour through Portsmouth, N.H.

* Saw comedian Juston McKinney in concert in Concord, N.H.

* Saw the play “Love Letters” at The Palace Theater in Manchester, N.H.

* Attended the Comics Come Home cancer fundraiser in Boston.

* Attended a Q&A with astronaut Scott Kelly in Portsmouth, N.H.

* Dressed up as a butterfly for Halloween. M was a (successful) butterfly catcher.

* Voted in the 2018 midterm election.

* Decorated two Christmas trees and the front of our house and mailed 40+ Christmas cards.

* Suffered from at least 32 migraines and lost 61 days of my life to pain. Average headache duration: 22 hours, 16 minutes.

* Mourned the deaths of an aunt who shared my birthday and a friend I’d known for 20 years.

* Celebrated our 9th wedding anniversary.

* Reconnected with a friend I hadn’t spoken to in 33 years.

* Adopted a litter of kittens.

* Turned 45.

Goals for 2019

* Change careers.

* Organize the pantry and replace the stove.

* Plant more flowers and veg in the garden.

* Sleep at least 7 hours a night.

* Work on my fiction.

* Read at least 60 books.

* Focus on the good.

* Practice hygge.

* Win the lottery.
Quote of the week

May 25, 2018 / No Comments

“People may not have a lot of sympathy for journalists, whether they get access or not, but the result of the government stopping the press from covering events that are clearly in the public’s interest is that the public loses out. And the manhandling of reporters trying to answer questions, which we’ve already seen too much of in the Trump era, demonstrates the disregard some politicians and officials have for the public knowing what they’re doing.” —Michael Calderone
A tiny glimpse at what life as a journalist is like

September 15, 2017 / No Comments

Sit at my desk. Turn on the computer. Take a deep breath and begin.

Read. Investigate. Chat. Write. Add multimedia. Edit. Preview. Publish. Social. Email. Repeat.

Around 3 a.m., take a quick moment to run into the kitchen to turn on the kettle for tea.

News breaks. Remain at my desk and focus on doing 10 things at once.

Read. Investigate. Chat. Write. Add multimedia. Edit. Preview. Publish. Social. Email. Repeat.

Two and a half hours pass and I still haven’t had anything to drink. At that point, I notice my very kind and supportive husband is awake. He turns on the kettle again.

More breaking news.

Read. Investigate. Chat. Write. Add multimedia. Edit. Preview. Publish. Social. Email. Repeat.

Five minutes later, utterly focused on my work, I’m barely able to pull my eyes away from the screen and my fingers from the keyboard when a steaming hot cup of tea appears on my desk. I take a grateful sip.

More breaking news.

Read. Investigate. Chat. Write. Add multimedia. Edit. Preview. Publish. Social. Email. Repeat.

And the tea grows cold.
The media you trust

May 10, 2017 / 1 Comment

“When we’re on the Internet we very rarely look at a front page. We mostly look at what’s on our feed. And what goes into a feed isn’t controlled by experts. It’s often controlled by our worst instincts. It turns out when the ‘hive mind’ decides what’s on the front page, it becomes drama and opinion and controversy and demonization of the other and self-congratulation. And thus the hot takes have gotten so hot, I’m worried the whole country’s going to catch fire.” —Hank Green

I completely understand where Hank is coming from.

News outlets are laying off experienced and knowledgeable journalists by the thousands every year and shuttering newspapers in communities that desperately need solid coverage. To stay afloat, publishers are using clicks/ratings as measures of success, and dedicating more resources to what’s trending rather than in-depth investigation and technological innovation. Even under these difficult conditions, many in the mainstream media are still fighting to shine a light on the machinations of the rich and powerful.

Yet to maintain control over society, the titans of business and government hide their dealings behind closed doors. These men and women utilize bureaucracy to withhold vital information, eliminate regulation that allows for the free-flow of ideas and use misdirection to obfuscate the truth and foment distrust. They’ve become trained practitioners — and sometimes owners — of partisan hype. Or, they hire experts who can spin their talking points into coverage that plays into confirmation bias.

So how does one become an informed citizen? Read widely and think critically.

For the past 27 years, I’ve honed my skills as a journalist to better serve the readers’ needs. While the rest of America sleeps, I investigate, question, critique, edit, fact-check and report the news. I also consume vast amounts of information from a wide variety of sources. In the spirit of transparency, here is my daily media diet:

The New York Times
The Washington Post
HuffPost
AP
Reuters
NPR
NECN
The Los Angeles Times
The Boston Globe
BBC News
The New Hampshire Union-Leader
The Concord Monitor
BuzzFeed
Mashable
USA Today
FARK
CNN
The New Yorker
Time
New York Magazine
Forbes
Fortune
Business Insider
Mother Nature Network
Scientific America
Smithsonian
Digg
People Magazine
Entertainment Weekly
Variety
The Hollywood Reporter
IMDb
Facebook, both my personal feed and this page of more than 175 news sources
Twitter, both my personal feed and this list of more than 1,500 journalists and outlets

This is simply my starting point. Each night, I launch a browser and open these many tabs, but I don’t stop there. I also conduct searches, follow links and travel down rabbit holes looking for… well, interesting stories. The more informed I am, the better I’m able to help readers avoid getting caught up in the fiery hot takes of the hive mind.

As always, I’m here to serve you.

Now, I encourage you to dive in. Set aside your biases. Open your mind. Be curious and explore. The more you learn, the better off our world will be.
2016: The Year In Review

December 21, 2016 / 1 Comment

At the end of each year, I always take a moment to examine the ups and downs I experienced. What follows is my personal and professional review of 2016. I:

* Produced hundreds of breaking news stories about the worldwide refugee crisis, the slaughter in Syria, the 2016 Rio Olympics, the Brexit referendum, the Black Lives Matter movement, the Orlando nightclub massacre, the spread of the Zika virus, the Panama Papers leak, the North Korea nuclear tests, dozens of terror attacks, the Juno probe’s arrival in Jupiter’s orbit, the impeachment of Brazilian President Dilma Rousseff, the 2016 election and countless celebrity deaths.

* Passed the 45,000th tweet mark on my personal Twitter account (@jadewalker).

* Entered an essay contest to win a house in Maine.

* Penned 68 journal entries.

* Wrote 2 poems.

* Worked on my novel.

* Interviewed by Vanessa Lowe for the Nocturne podcast.

* Walked over 1.06 million steps (more than 445 miles) and climbed over 1,060 floors.

* Read 50 books and numerous magazines.

* Watched 39 films and dozens of TV programs.

* Updated The Written Word and The 10th Muse mailing lists.

* Participated in the The Society of Professional Obituary Writers, the New York City Writers Group, the South Florida Freelancers Group, the Journalism & Women Symposium and the Author’s Guild.

* Launched the New Hampshire Writers Guild.

* Traveled to Maine.

* Twice hosted vacationing friends.

* Completed three escape room adventures (and died twice).

* Crossed off an item from my bucket list (was locked inside a bookstore late at night).

* Participated in National Readathon Day.

* Saw Henry Rollins in concert.

* Attended two plays: “Cat on a Hot Tin Roof” and “The Stone Witch.”

* Shot off a large cache of fireworks.

* Completed the Zombies, Run! 5K Virtual Race.

* Suffered from at least 23 migraines.

* Spent nine months caring for my youngest cat Sera, who had terminal cancer, then mourned when she died.

* Celebrated my 7th wedding anniversary.

* Helped my husband find a new job after he was laid off.

* Lived separately from M for months once he landed a great position at a university in Massachusetts.

* Revealed my entire financial background to various firms to qualify for a mortgage.

* Viewed dozens of houses in three states, trying to find one we could afford.

* Bought our first home.

* Turned 43.

Goals for 2017

* Finish unpacking.

* Work on my fiction.

* Write more obits.

* Read at least 50 books.

* Win the lottery.