2008 Woodie Awards
Priorities went out the window
Anna Sedney
Issue date: 4/30/03 Section: Commentary
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When I got back to the States from my summer in Russia, my first stop was the newspaper office. I did not go home and see my cat or my mom or my bedroom. My sister dropped me off in Lot T, and I went and got my key to Leavey 409. Priorities went out the window when I became editor of this paper. I have sacrificed time, energy, sleep, health, happiness, grades, I-do-not-even-know-what-else so that I could eat sleep breathe The Independent.
Was it worth it? I have yet to decide — I need time to step away from this paper and take stock of what, if anything, I have achieved.
Every issue that came out, I would read on Wednesday with a red pen and correct all the errors we missed in the editing process. It was a sick source of self-inflicted pain, but one I could not live without. Rather than go home and sleep in my bed, I would sleep on the sofa in our office so that I could wake up hourly and check my e-mail, waiting for that last story to come in. Bleary-eyed, at 4 a.m., I would lay that story in, so the rest of the staff could have a crack at it the next day. Certainly, it would not have made one whit of difference if I had come up the next morning at a decent hour to do this work. But The Independent has been my life, and the people here have been my family.
It is customary to thank these people, so I will. First, Glenn, my trusty ME: you let me scream at you when I was frustrated by stories that fell through, writers who fell short, myself when I screwed up. And you never yelled back. You sat there and let me get my frustrations out and then proposed solutions to the problems, solutions I never saw because of my short-sightedness. You have been a good friend, and I cannot express how much I will miss you next year. Kelsey: always the first one in the office and the last to go home. For the past two years you have amazed me again and again, and you have been a steady source of inspiration, strength and friendship. No one will live up to the precedent of commitment you have set. Nick: only a freshman, you have been the best news editor I have seen at this paper. You consistently, and gladly, fill a section with quality and quantity. More importantly, your steadfastness and humor around the office have helped make the place what it is. I can’t even imagine what you will achieve in your next three years here.
Was it worth it? I have yet to decide — I need time to step away from this paper and take stock of what, if anything, I have achieved.
Every issue that came out, I would read on Wednesday with a red pen and correct all the errors we missed in the editing process. It was a sick source of self-inflicted pain, but one I could not live without. Rather than go home and sleep in my bed, I would sleep on the sofa in our office so that I could wake up hourly and check my e-mail, waiting for that last story to come in. Bleary-eyed, at 4 a.m., I would lay that story in, so the rest of the staff could have a crack at it the next day. Certainly, it would not have made one whit of difference if I had come up the next morning at a decent hour to do this work. But The Independent has been my life, and the people here have been my family.
It is customary to thank these people, so I will. First, Glenn, my trusty ME: you let me scream at you when I was frustrated by stories that fell through, writers who fell short, myself when I screwed up. And you never yelled back. You sat there and let me get my frustrations out and then proposed solutions to the problems, solutions I never saw because of my short-sightedness. You have been a good friend, and I cannot express how much I will miss you next year. Kelsey: always the first one in the office and the last to go home. For the past two years you have amazed me again and again, and you have been a steady source of inspiration, strength and friendship. No one will live up to the precedent of commitment you have set. Nick: only a freshman, you have been the best news editor I have seen at this paper. You consistently, and gladly, fill a section with quality and quantity. More importantly, your steadfastness and humor around the office have helped make the place what it is. I can’t even imagine what you will achieve in your next three years here.