Journalists aren’t known for writing well when the topic is themselves, and I probably won’t be the exception to that rule.
I’ve written thousands and thousands of words in my stories here at The Coaching Commons, but now, I struggle for each and every syllable. I’ve written and re-written—or perhaps the better way of saying it is written, scrapped, started over—a few dozen times before deciding to simply write this final story from the heart and let go the results.
And so here I am, and I hope you’ll forgive the personal nature of this post.
I’m signing off as the first—and ultimately, the last—Community Supported Journalist at The Coaching Commons. The job has meant more to me than I ever could have expected, and I am profoundly grateful to have been given the opportunity to cover this amazing world for all these many months.
When I took this job, I was handed so many things—a host of reporter’s tools and equipment, a supportive and patient team eager to help me be my best, and an audience of coaches around the world, who had been underserved by traditional journalism.
I got to stand on the stage others built for me and tell some amazing stories. And I must say I enjoyed every minute of it.
I had the opportunity to talk to people in all corners of the world, and many of you have become friends—in Australia, and China, and the U.K., and all over America. It’s been so wonderful to have weekly contact with some of the most giving and interesting people, always willing to share their time with me. I’ll miss that very much.
As a reporter, this assignment was a gift.
It was a rare opportunity to try something new and different—to try and create a new way of bringing journalism someplace where it really hadn’t been before. Sure, a simple Google search will turn up all kinds of stories being written every week about coaching, but most are introductory—written for an audience about coaching, not for coaches.
What a profession deserves is informed journalism that understands the beat and delves ever deeper into it; a trade press that operates at a level far more involved than mainstream reporting ever could. That’s what I tried to provide for the Coaching Commons’ readers, and I am very, very proud of that.
A coach can tell in a few moments when they’re talking to someone who knows the field, and an emerging profession deserves to have at least one reporter on that beat.
I hate that I’m losing that job.
Of course, nobody likes to lose a job. And for me, the loss of this assignment is doubly difficult—it’s a professional and a personal loss. I feel that I have failed to prove the case to coaching that a journalist is something worth having, even something worth paying for.
And personally, well, it’s tough to lose a paycheck. Fortunately, though, in this case—compared to other newsrooms that are folding—I’m the only layoff.
I’ve learned so much from so many of you, I can almost hear your tough questions and words of encouragement. I guess as I leave daily reporting on coaching, I go with an inner coach who’s a lasting gift from all of you.
Thanks so much for everything.
