As I drifted through journalism school I often had a hard time carving out a niche. Whenever people asked me what I wanted to do, I always told them I wanted to be a writer, but I could never be more specific than that. If they pressed me, I would tell them I was going to school to be a newspaper reporter, but newspaper journalism with its leads, nut graphs and inverted pyramids seemed too regimented for its own good.
Then one day a professor assigned everyone in the class to start a blog. He told us to have fun with it, but besides that, there were no other guidelines. So I started to write about the goofiest shit I could think of. I wrote about the deification of Jack Bauer, and how the last episode of the Sopranos was an indictment of the American Dream. I wrote about the ‘93 Stanley cup finals, and how Marty McSorley’s illegal stick still haunts my dreams. It was an open forum to write about whatever I wanted,and I thought to myself, “that’s the kind of living I want to make.”
So here it is. My venture into the realm of professional writing. The first thing I need is YOU. Readers, please tell your friends. Please! Tell them you have a super cool friend who really wants to make a living writing, and his life depends on their reading.
Second, this really isn’t a blog. It’s a column. Blogs post multiple times a day with entries ranging from 100-300 words. Basically with this site, I am giving myself a job as a newspaper columnist. I will post 2-3 times a week, with entries ranging from 800-1500 words.
Third, the focus will be pop culture and all that that entails. Movies, music, TV, sports and even some politics.
Fourth, I would love for this to be as interactive as possible. This column will be modeled of off Bill Simmons’ site over at ESPN. I would really like to do mailbags where I respond to readers’ e-mails (my e-mail address can be found in the about section located in the top left portion of the page). Also, please comment. If I suck tell me. I have thick skin, and I can take it.
Here I will open up the forum for suggestions for my first column due out in the middle of the week. Please comment.
P.S. Bryan, I know this looks like hell. Deal with it. It’s a work in progress.
Posted by jakespeicher 