Call me 'Professor'

Some news.

Oops, I did it again.

Longtime subscribers to this newsletter know that last fall I swallowed my hatred for the Syracuse basketball team and took on a class teaching campaign journalism at the school.

Candidly, it was hard. I constantly felt ill-prepared. That I was not giving the kids their money’s worth. That I was just sort of winging it. (I have learned that a lot of first-time teachers feel this way.)

But, it must have been at least ok because Syracuse asked me if I wanted to teach the class again this past spring.

I said no. I was still figuring out what I wanted to do with my life. And needed time and space to do it. I enjoyed the teaching. And knew I wanted to get back to it.

All of which brings me to an offer that came my way a few months ago: To teach a campaign journalism class this fall at Georgetown University.

When I first thought about it, I had all the same worries and anxieties and doubts that afflicted me last fall. And still do! But this is my alma mater. Teaching campaign journalism. In the heart of a historic presidential election.

Like, you can’t say “no” to that!

And, I didn’t.

So, my first class is this Friday afternoon. I am not totally ready for it just yet.

But, I am excited. Because one thing I realized teaching last fall is that I really love journalism. And if I can, I want to keep doing it — and passing along what I’ve learned — for as long as I can.

What does this mean for you?

In the near term — like the next 2 days — expect lighter posting. I want to make sure I am giving the kids the best start and experience possible!

In the medium term, I will likely write an occasional piece about my experiences teaching in this newsletter. And as Friday approaches every week, I may turn a bit more to making sure I am ready for class — so the end of the week might not have as many posts as the beginning of the week.

In the long term, I want to offer this space to my students to run their final project — a news analysis or profile or whatever they choose to write. Seeing your name and your work in print is a tremendously gratifying feeling and I want each of them to gave that chance. So, expect to see some pieces from student journalists in this newsletter — likely in December!

I also wanted to take this time to simply say “thank you” to everyone who has come on this life journey with me. The last 18 months have been wildly different than I expected — mostly in a good way — and a lot of that has to do with the community we have built here. I am enormously thankful.

If you aren’t a paid subscriber just yet, I hope you consider becoming one. In doing so, you are investing in me and the notion of independent journalists more broadly. Thank you.