It took one week. Just one week.
Having committed myself to blogging, if not daily, at least regular tidbits of glorious insight and information from the Advertiser newsroom, I stopped. I made it past the first fence but stumbled at Beechers Brook, in Grand National terms.
My defence? Events, dear readers, events.
Too much work, too little time. Throw in a mini-staffing crisis at Advertiser towers and a 2-day trip to Bristol for a company conference and, before I knew it, my commitment to blogging was about as successful as my commitment to not eating cake.
And, for those that know me, that aint too successful.
Anyway I'm back, back for good (hopefully) until the next obstacle comes between me and cyber dominance.
My last two weeks have been spent filling in for news editor Gabriel Shepard, now the proud father of a beautiful baby girl. While he got to grips with nappies, dummies and sleepless nights, I spent some time back at the coalface.
Since November, my role has expanded to overseeing not just the Advertiser but also our other titles in East Surrey and Sussex. With great power comes responsibility, they say, but it in journalistic terms it means more meetings, more use for the Sat Nav and less journalism.
But, for the past fortnight, I was back reading copy, putting stories onto pages and at the heart of the creative process. And I loved it - late nights and a few hairy moments aside, it reminded me just why I love this job and I love journalism.
Now, I've handed the reins back to the excellent Mr Shepard, while I get to grips with a to do list which is, quite literally, as long as my arm (copyright: Andy Townsend, 2011)
I've been in on the news meeting, I'm buzzing about the great stories we'll run this week and I'll love tweaking our headlines and running order tomorrow afternoon, to help produce the best possible paper. I also, my list tells me, must do everything from process invoices to 'deal with complaint' and 'sort out pool car forms'.
As my old boss used to say, "I used to be a journalist once.."
But, you know what? I still love what I do and I never, ever look at the clock.
Who else can say that about their job?
Having committed myself to blogging, if not daily, at least regular tidbits of glorious insight and information from the Advertiser newsroom, I stopped. I made it past the first fence but stumbled at Beechers Brook, in Grand National terms.
My defence? Events, dear readers, events.
Too much work, too little time. Throw in a mini-staffing crisis at Advertiser towers and a 2-day trip to Bristol for a company conference and, before I knew it, my commitment to blogging was about as successful as my commitment to not eating cake.
And, for those that know me, that aint too successful.
Anyway I'm back, back for good (hopefully) until the next obstacle comes between me and cyber dominance.
My last two weeks have been spent filling in for news editor Gabriel Shepard, now the proud father of a beautiful baby girl. While he got to grips with nappies, dummies and sleepless nights, I spent some time back at the coalface.
Since November, my role has expanded to overseeing not just the Advertiser but also our other titles in East Surrey and Sussex. With great power comes responsibility, they say, but it in journalistic terms it means more meetings, more use for the Sat Nav and less journalism.
But, for the past fortnight, I was back reading copy, putting stories onto pages and at the heart of the creative process. And I loved it - late nights and a few hairy moments aside, it reminded me just why I love this job and I love journalism.
Now, I've handed the reins back to the excellent Mr Shepard, while I get to grips with a to do list which is, quite literally, as long as my arm (copyright: Andy Townsend, 2011)
I've been in on the news meeting, I'm buzzing about the great stories we'll run this week and I'll love tweaking our headlines and running order tomorrow afternoon, to help produce the best possible paper. I also, my list tells me, must do everything from process invoices to 'deal with complaint' and 'sort out pool car forms'.
As my old boss used to say, "I used to be a journalist once.."
But, you know what? I still love what I do and I never, ever look at the clock.
Who else can say that about their job?