Take care of yourself

By Nate Taylor

As a young journalist, I am thankful for Shannon J. Owens of the Orlando Sentinel for speaking to us on Monday.

I got a lot of useful tips from her. She is an SJI alum. She is older than us, but is still dealing with some of the types of issue that we as young journalists are facing in the newspaper industry. She knows exactly what we are going through as young journalists.

It was great a session and I really enjoyed a lot of what she said. What caught me off guard was Owens saying that sports reporters need to prepare when it comes to covering a story.

She then went further, saying sports reporters need to take care of their bodies. Owens said many times sports reporters are just like performers, especially when it comes to writing a game story or feature on deadline. Just as the athletes we cover needs to be prepared and fully rested, so does a journalist.

After hearing what she said, I thought about what I did to take care of my body when I interned at The Quad-City Times last summer. Let’s just say I didn’t get up early in the morning, and I certainly wasn’t watching my diet

Now I know I have to watch what I eat, get the right amount of sleep and make sure I get enough exercise during my internship at The Minneapolis Star Tribune this summer.