With the merger of the Intelligencer Journal and Lancaster New Era a done deal, I find myself merging with those stationed in the seemingly endless unemployment line.
I'm not surprised, shocked or hurt; after all, as a business reporter I covered the monthly unemployment reports. Downsizing has been the norm in the newspaper industry for several years, and it's not always pleasant — as my former colleagues at the Reading Eagle will tell you.
That has not been the case at the Intell. For instance, the staff all gathered Wednesday one last time for a barbecue atop the company parking garage.
After that, I packed up my dated dictionaries, thesaurus, AP style guide, family photos and Terrell Owens and Homer Simpson bobbleheads from my desk in the office at 8 W. King St., knowing that my experiences gleaned from working here will prepare me for the challenges ahead.
We learned two months ago that seniority would prevail at Lancaster Newspapers and the new combined staff would boast something like 1,000 years' experience covering Lancaster County alone. I regret not being a part of that team because the combined staff of award-winning writers and editors will undoubtedly establish a superior product.
As you can imagine, it's been kind of surreal working in the newsroom while counting the days until departure. I will miss my remaining former colleagues as well as those departing, including Susan Lindt, Dave Pidgeon, Madelyn Pennino, Mike Yoder, Linda Espenshade, Carla DiFonzo, Chris McKenna, Tim Stuhldreher, Monica Elbert and Laura Thompson, and my business editor, Dave Griffith.
But, as I said, I anticipated the merger and the necessity to cut staff.
That reality compelled me to compete and work harder than I had since earning my journalism degree from Temple University in 1994.
Over the years, I wrote for a monthly sports newsletter, worked for a couple of weekly papers and freelanced before earning my first staff job at Delaware County Daily Times a decade ago.
In 1999, I was newly married, about to start a family and had just purchased a home in Lancaster County. After a brief employment stop in Reading, I achieved my goal in 2003 of writing locally and landed a staff job six years ago with Lancaster Newspapers.
The past two years have yielded my greatest successes as I worked several beats, including business, police and general assignment. I will miss competing for that treasured A1 byline — my apologies to my former colleagues for stepping on your beats.
That said, it was perhaps appropriate that my final A1 story as an Intell staffer was an interview this week with Daniel Seddiqui. He was in Lancaster this week as part of a mission to work 50 jobs in 50 states in 50 weeks.
When he described his mission — and the experience of meeting about 100 new people each week — it occurred to me how similar it was to my life as a journalist. Like Seddiqui, I found that accessing, even for a brief period, glimpses into the lives and perspectives of thousands, from the famous to the infamous, to be a privilege and particularly rewarding.
And like Seddiqui does each week, I find myself staring at a new life in a new and yet-unknown position. Seddiqui, who says he's been rejected by 5,000 job interviewers, said the trick is to stay positive, determined and get your face out there.
Funny that his advice is eerily similar to that given to me in 2003 by late Intell investigative reporter Tom Flannery, a man I greatly admired.
Today I join Tom, as I expect he would have said before his unexpected death in 2004, and say:
Farewell, Intell, I'll miss you!
E-mail Patrick Burns at: dailytimes@yahoo.com