The Fresh Prince of...Sea-Fair?

Greetings to sports nerds and others alike.

It's a new year, and therefore, time for new start.

When I first began this blog, it was meant to act as a platform from which I could spew my radical propaganda regarding the wide world of athletics.

That hasn't changed.

But many other things have, and as such, so will this blog.

A life update seems appropriate at this point.

The 30 second version begins....NOW:

-My internship at KJR in Seattle is over.

-I graduated from Washington State University with a BA in Communication, emphasis in broadcast production.

-I moved twice in the last four months, from Kent to Lakewood, then Lakewood to Seattle.

-I am currently employed at a large, local beer and wine shipper that supplies beverages to grocery chains. This job threatens to slowly but surely crush my soul. I die a bit on the inside with each day that I spend in this profession.

-I currently live in the U-district in Seattle...as in the University of Washington. Husky-ville. Dawg Central. A metaphorical hive of purple and gold activity. Trust me, as a flag waving Cougar grad, the irony does not escape me .

-I am currently hunting for a job in a TV station news room. I'm going on 6 months now with little to no response from most stations I've applied to.

Welcome to job hunting in a down trodden economy.

And welcome to...

The Journal of an Aspiring Journalist

But, before this blog can take it's maiden voyage, there are a few things I need to clear up. Here goes:

Sean Maginnis (that's me) wants to be a news reporter.

---Why?

Well, there are a multitude of ways I could answer that question, so instead I'll offer some of my favorite answers that others have suggested to me:

1. I want to earn an annual salary that is scarcely more than my total cost of attendance per year in college*

(*The total cost of attendance for an in-state student at Washington State University was somewhere between $17,000 and $20,000 at the time I attended)

2. I want to further hinder my social life and ability to date by working long hours, nights, weekends and holidays, thus all but ensuring the elimination of my branch of the gene pool

3. Because I have a strong urge to alienate myself from every friend and family member I have by moving to a town that no one has ever heard of and can only be reached via biplane, canoe or saddled mountain goat, yet somehow miraculously broadcasts nightly in HD.

4. I thrive on rejection. Furthermore, I enjoy trying to find new ways to stand out on a cover letter that will likely find it's way to the nearest trash receptacle before the news director finishes mispronouncing my name as written on the return address.

I find each and every one of those answers vastly superior in entertainment value to the idealistic reasoning behind my desire to become a journalist, so go ahead and pick your favorite of the four (or make up your own! Suggestions welcome) and call it good.

Next: Why write this?

Simple: To chronicle the process (through trial and error) of landing that elusive entry level broadcast gig.

Essentially, I want to create a road map to getting the job that shows what works, what doesn't work, etc, and so forth.

And should I fail miserably and end up flipping burgers at your nearest friendly neighborhood fast food establishment, or if my experiences are in no way helpful in someone's quest to become a journalist, then perhaps a cheap laugh or two will keep them coming back for more.

BUT BE FOREWARNED:

I will also use this forum to rant about not only sports, but topics in news, politics and life on a regular basis. I might even throw down with some freelance, guerilla journalism(almost as cool as regular journalism, except without pay or any readership to speak of...).

SO NOW THAT YOU'VE BEEN FOREWARNED:

Feel free to continue reading my posts.

Or don't.

It's completely up to you. Or as a certain spandex-clad, eco-friendly, mullet sporting 1990's icon once said: