Newsroom

To follow up on Ben’s excellent post, here’s a picture of my first newsroom, at The Press-Sentinel, in Jesup, Georgia, circa 2001. I’m on the right, covering my face, exhausted. The news editor, Drew Davis, is in the center. The photo was taken by Hank Orberg, our sports editor, the only other member of the editorial staff. If you look closely you can see a wire-mesh tray on my desk where they placed handwritten columns from old ladies in tiny towns like Odum and Madray Springs. “Miss Lala Winston had as her guests this weekend her cousin and cousin-in-law, Mr. and Mrs. Frank Gordon, of Uvalda, Georgia. Ice cream was served and fellowship was had.” My job was to decipher these columns and, if possible, type them for publication.