As you might imagine, the pace of work is A LOT faster than it was in Columbia. On more than one occasion I have found myself looking back at a shift and thinking “wait, all of that happened?”. There is less time to think, more news to cover, and the bar is set much higher.

I’m a reporter here. I have a photographer, but by no means does that mean I am not a “multimedia journalist”. Less time focusing on photography means more time to tweet, facebook and post to the web. Having a photographer has also done wonders for my writing. I’ve sat through many seminars learning from people like Boyd Huppert, Les Rose and Steve Hartman. Now, I’ve been able to focus on using the techniques those journalists taught me.

There truly is no other city like New Orleans. The uniqueness of this culture is astonishing. However, I’ll save writing about the city of New Orleans for another post.

Adjusting to life in the newsroom has been one matter. Adjusting to life in the real world is whole other subject.

Free time is something I frankly am not very used to. Holding four odd-hour jobs and going to school full-time in college didn’t really prepare me for 40 hour work-weeks. I’ve taken to reading, actually watching television series (not just The West Wing on DVD) and my not-so-secret love of cooking. I’m also looking for some different volunteer organizations to get involved in (I’m taking suggestions). It’ll take some getting used to, but I’m blessed by the fact that I live in a city that friends and family love to visit.

Stay tuned. I’m hoping to get some video of my work up on the site pretty soon. I’ll update everything more regularly too.

Screen grab from the promo for WDSU News This Morning

According to Steve Russell, CEO of Celadon Trucking, that health is improving in more ways than one.

This week I had a chance to attend the 2012 Society of American Business Editors and Writers (SABEW) Spring Conference in Indianapolis. One of the events featured Bloomberg’s Bernie Kohn interviewing Russell.

Russell outlined a few key issues facing the trucking industry today. One of which, oddly enough, is the health and life span of drivers.

Kohn cited some studies claiming that the average life expectancy of a truck driver is 61. Long spans of sitting down, fast-food dominated diets, and odd and often insufficient sleeping patterns all contribute to the less-than-average expectancy.

Russell said Celadon has responded to the health issue through a program it calls “Highway to Health.” The company has a full-service health clinic that has its own nurses and nutritionist. So far the program sounds pretty successful. Russell told the story of one trucker who was already shedding pounds from walking around his tractor-trailer 50 times (approx. 2 miles) and dropping McDonalds in exchange for a slightly more healthy Subway.

Keeping drivers around longer is not just a kind thing to do for trucking companies. The industry is facing a shortage in qualified drivers.

Russell said that in addition to instituting the “Highway to Health” program, Celadon is also fighting the driver shortage by obtaining smaller trucking companies and adding the extra hands to its fleet.

In addition to rising fuel prices, trucking companies are also dealing with more and more states considering and implementing toll roads on major interstates. After the dialogue ended I had a chance to briefly interview Russell about what he thought of toll roads and the possible adding of tolls to I-70 in Missouri. He said that he, and many other leaders who make up the American Trucking Association (ATA) believe the addition of toll roads would be “disastrous”. Russell said it’s not because of fees, but because of the amount of time it can add on to transports. In Missouri, lawmakers have discussed using an “e-pass” format which would allow cars with a specified computer chip to pass through the tolling locations without slowing and be charged the necessary toll. I asked Russell about the alleged time-saving technique but he said that format can cause a wide-arrange of other problems because location where tolling occurs get backed up with drivers who do not have an e-pass.

All in all, Russell was a very interesting man who was more than willing to share his wisdom with everyone. Along with talking biz, he shared tidbits of life lessons he had learned in his years. One being that he never wants to be referred to as Mr. Russell because saying all four syllables is a “waste of time.” Another, is that he doesn’t shave because he thinks the five minutes each day adds up. While my bosses won’t let me skip out on shaving anytime soon, I will implement to “Russell Rule” on my name. Just call me Blake and save yourself some time!

(PHOTO CREDIT: Bloomberg)

Many everyday viewers would argue there’s plenty of political coverage in the news. However, I’ve noticed a significant gap in reporting on state races. It may be hard to believe there’s a lack of coverage since the state capitol is in mid-Missouri, but its sometimes difficult for reporters here to cover races like the one for Sen. Claire McCaskill’s, D-Missouri, seat. With many of McCaskill’s opponents spending time campaigning in their hometowns or in Kansas City or St. Louis, we tend to miss what they are saying. It’s our to job to verify their words and inform people of their platforms. I was troubled when I realized there were stories myself and other mid-Mo journalists were missing just because the candidates weren’t physically in our coverage area.

In response to what I saw as a shortfall, I pitched the idea of establishing a weekly “Smart Decision” report on KOMU’s Sunday 10 p.m. broadcast. The segment compiles a week’s worth of top-notch political news to keep people informed of what the candidates are up to. We already do an excellent job of covering the legislature with our newly-improved state capitol newsroom, but I saw the need to step up our state election coverage.

Putting the segment together presents its own unique challenges. Viewers tend to be less interested in national candidates, but its journalists’ jobs to make sure there is an equal balance between what people want to know and what people need to know.

I’m looking forward to keeping this segment going throughout campaign season. I graduate in May, so there’s a slim chance I’ll see it through to November. If just one mid-Mo voter remembers something from our segment when they head to the polls, it’ll be a success.