John Bordsen
After decades of editing, assigning or copy editing the work of other journalists, I decided to return to what got me into the business long ago: writing.
I always wrote on a when-possible basis over the years. But ongoing changes at The Charlotte Observer – where since 1988 I had a hand, at one time or another, in every newsroom section except sports – allowed less time for doing what I wanted.
We parted ways in May 2016 – oddly, a Friday the 13th with a full moon – with my intention of freelancing feature stories.
As the Charlotte Observer’s long-time travel editor -- and winner of several Society of American Travel Writers awards -- I knew my counterparts at other operations and know what they’re looking for today.
That’s quite an advantage over my earliest years, when I freelanced to weeklies, dailies and magazines back home in the Upper Midwest.
A good deal of my stories I love the most were written before the Internet. And the brand-new, non-electric Corona I used in my “underground press” days in the 1970s has long been gathering dust with those clippings in the attic. That typewriter is about the size of a laptop.
Still works. But there are easier ways to tell stories now.
I’ve rolled up my sleeves to begin anew.
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UPDATE: On Sept. 18, 2017, I received the Charles Kuralt Award of the North Carolina Travel Industry Association for exceptional journalism "bringing positive public attention to the State of North Carolina."
I always wrote on a when-possible basis over the years. But ongoing changes at The Charlotte Observer – where since 1988 I had a hand, at one time or another, in every newsroom section except sports – allowed less time for doing what I wanted.
We parted ways in May 2016 – oddly, a Friday the 13th with a full moon – with my intention of freelancing feature stories.
As the Charlotte Observer’s long-time travel editor -- and winner of several Society of American Travel Writers awards -- I knew my counterparts at other operations and know what they’re looking for today.
That’s quite an advantage over my earliest years, when I freelanced to weeklies, dailies and magazines back home in the Upper Midwest.
A good deal of my stories I love the most were written before the Internet. And the brand-new, non-electric Corona I used in my “underground press” days in the 1970s has long been gathering dust with those clippings in the attic. That typewriter is about the size of a laptop.
Still works. But there are easier ways to tell stories now.
I’ve rolled up my sleeves to begin anew.
-----
UPDATE: On Sept. 18, 2017, I received the Charles Kuralt Award of the North Carolina Travel Industry Association for exceptional journalism "bringing positive public attention to the State of North Carolina."
