Dave Molloy

Well, that was a fun year. Wow, what a ride.

The last issue of volume 56 of Trinity News came out two weeks ago, and so my five-year career in student media comes to an end. I’ve learned more than I can reasonably list in that time, but here’s some initial thoughts:

• People you work with are more talented, better, and have more potential than you think. I worked under four different editors, and under different news editors, as well as doing those jobs myself. We all did the job differently, but I’ve got a lot of respect for every one of them and the work they did. When it came to choosing my own staff, I honestly had very little idea what I was doing, but part of being in charge is making the best call you can and hoping it’s right. And my staff, in general, exceeded every expectation. I’ve watched unsure amateurs evolve into some of the most capable people I’ve ever seen, and it’s had nothing to do with anything I might have taught them. While there have been disasters, they’re far outnumbered by the successes. Working to deadlines in a stressful environment had taught me the power of relying on people, and how little they’ll let you down.
• I can’t do everything. There are only so many hours in the day, and working insane hours can only be maintained for so long. Something’s got to give, and for me, this year, it was my plans to learn more skills. I learned nothing of the things I wanted to, and a lot I never planned on. I think those things I never planned on learning are far more valuable.
• I have certain strengths and weaknesses. There are better people for some jobs, and part of a successful endeavour is finding them.
• Organisation is the difference between success and failure, or at least between a 2am finish and 10am finish.
• There’s a hell of a lot of talent in the student media in Ireland. Not just in Trinity News- I’ve read some great writing in the papers of other universities.
• There is always more I could have done, and always more to do.

Now it’s time for me to move on. Five years is a long, long time in college media, and I’ve gained a great deal for the hours I put in (and there have been so many). And I plan on blogging. I’ve missed it a lot this year, but the simple fact is that I haven’t had the luxury of time or been reading enough to have anything interesting to share. I’ve simply been doing.

But now that things are winding down, I find myself thinking about media-related stuff a lot more, and I plan on doing much more. Very much looking forward to my last student media awards tonight (it being midnight Tuesday). And I’m looking forward to some new challenges as I try to forge ahead in the media. If you’ve got any interesting job opportunities, let me know, eh?

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Posted by Dave Molloy in •Journalism

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