It’s been a long while since my last newsletter update, and I’m sorry about that. What follows is a bit of a reflection and update on me, including about my short book of essays.
Life is strange in how we’re faced with highs and lows which can simultaneously focus our attention and but also distract us; lose us in “multi-tasking” and self-reflection alike. As I worked through the PTSD of the car crash in 2020, I started to really do a wellness check on myself. Am I in a position thrive, or just get by? Not every day is a winner, but am I feeling more positive than negative?
There might look to be a certain irony in writing about being named “Best Anchor in Ohio” and writing a blog post about not quitting, and then (as most of you know) leaving radio. I don’t see leaving daily news as quitting anything, rather just pushing myself toward other opportunities to be a better father, husband, and person.
This pursuit of balancing highs and lows, like Icarus, led me many places. I lost weight and have gotten healthier; earned my MBA; evolved my career to find places where I felt like I could stretch my wings (and hope they don’t melt.) I meant what I said, that journalism is a weird blending of profound and absurd, just as is life. What matters is how we ride the waves, with reflection along the way.
Depending on which printer it comes from, Kneading Journalism has a slightly different shade. 
Proof copies of Kneading Journalism, refining the design with each copy. 
How the page looked before fixing the margins–it’s now much better, with room for you to pencil in thoughts on bread or journalism! 
What would a promotional photo be without bread?!
Rediscovering creativity through reflection
So my day-job is now as a Global Content Leader for a professional services firm with a great international team. It’s a new opportunity to use my journalism skills, while viewing the industry from afar. I’ve written before that journalism seemed like my vocation, influencing how I see and interact with the world. Leaving the newsroom didn’t change that.Â
But I’m pouring a little more energy into other creative projects.
I continue to make occasional episodes of my Faith Full Podcast, which began as a way to learn podcast distribution. It has also become another outlet for upskilling my video skills. I also wanted to turn some of my essays on journalism from my website into something bigger. This is where Kneading Journalism came from. It builds on The Baking Journalist project that was meant to unite amateur bread baking with explainer videos about journalism.
I don’t claim to be an expert baker, but I do like sharing what I have learned through many loafs, good or bad. In light of so much negativity around journalism as a profession, and journalists as people (though not often talked about as people, rather villains), I thought a book of essays was a nice next step.
I’m trying to do something interesting, positive, and hopefully constructive, even if I’m no longer plugged into the daily news.
Maybe the distance from the daily grind has allowed me to focus on the craft in a different way.
I hope you’re well, and you’re finding creative ways to thrive in uncertain times.