THE GRAY LINE TOUR

Published 12:00 am Saturday, July 15, 2000

Leonard Gray / L’Observateur / July 15, 2000

Today is a curious sort of anniversary for me – the 29th anniversary of the day I started this wacky, weird and incredible profession.

Back on July 15, 1971, I was hired by my local free-circulation paper. Afew days later, my first byline appeared in print, profiling a new pharmacist.

And I can honestly say that most of what I knew in doing this job I learned in those first two years, even before I started journalism school. It’s beenin the last six that I’ve learned even more to be able to do it better, thanks to a wonderful teacher.

It’s amazing the misconceptions people have about the press. (By the way,it’s mostly broadcast people who refer to themselves as “media.”) Peoplethink it’s glamorous, high-paying and every day is filled with exciting stories.

In fact, there’s a lot of tedium, some stories one has to really work at to make interesting – punctuated by some really exciting stories. There’salso stories the average person may think is exciting but are actually quite upsetting to cover.

I’ve covered my share of tragedies, some may say more than my share. I’vealso had the pleasure of making many friends in the course of discovering their stories.

This business exposes a general-assignment reporter like myself to an astonishing range of experiences. I’ve been waist-deep in a muddy canal,walking through an evacuated town, aloft in a two-seater airplane going sideways over a construction site.

I’ve interviewed a few celebrities and seen some of them in attitudes one may not associate with their images. James Earl Jones huddled over lunchat a location shoot is an intimidating sight. A humbling one is Gov. Roemeron his last day in office, teary-eyed as he packed up his personal belongings.

However, it’s the other types of satisfaction which helps keep me going.

Nailing a “scoop” on the competition is always satisfying. Being firstwith a massive scoop is even better. That actually happened to me on astory which later acquired worldwide attention. I was first to break it.We don’t make a lot of money, but we do honor each other with annual competitive awards. We’re intensely competitive while on the prowl fornews and features, but we can appreciate hard work in each other.

I’ve endured through amazing technological changes in how news is gathered and prepared for public consumption. The entire computerrevolution came within the span of my career. I can remember the BatonRouge Advocate with manual typewriters in their newsroom, for instance.

Now, I’m laying out pages on computer screens.

What I’m saying in all this blather is that I thoroughly enjoy this work. I’mvain enough to still enjoy seeing my byline in print, and I enjoy the creativity the work demands.

While I thought as a 17-year-old that I would be an AP correstpondent working in London by this time, I’m still happy.

With at least a good 20 years ahead of me, I can hardly wait to see what happens next.

This is fun!

LEONARD GRAY is a reporter for L’Observateur.

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