A circuitous route!

by Adele Chadwick

The daily grind in the newspaper industry is not always the exciting, adventure-filled experience it is often made out to be. Most reporters work long hours for little reward covering stories that might not even interest them. However, for those that do make it to the top of the profession, journalism can be a very satisfying career.

David Harrison, a journalist for the national Sunday newspaper The Observer, was only too happy to share his experiences with Netherton Now.

David, 39, attended Alsop Comprehensive School in Walton with dreams of becoming a great footballer for Liverpool Football Club! Although his Mum and Nan wanted him to become a doctor, they were very proud of David when he followed another of his ambitions and entered journalism.

Before becoming a journalist, David was a student at Oxford University where he studied Modern Languages.

David’s successful career began when he started writing for the university newspaper. He then went on to work for the Liverpool Daily Post , the Liverpool Echo, The Times and The European before joining The Observer in 1991. David described this as "a circuitous route."

When asked about what he liked about journalism, David replied: "I like the variety. It’s unpredictable, which means its not boring!"

In the last few months, David has been to Spain, Colombia and Cameroon in Africa. The most exciting place he has been to is Hong Kong, which David says he likes because it’s a fast, frenetic place that never needs to sleep. He also said: "Liverpool is pretty cool too!"

Amongst David’s favourite articles is his story about the leader of the Tiannamen Square protests in China. He also enjoyed reporting from Northern Ireland around about the time of the ceasefire. When asked about his worst article, he replied: "You’d better ask the editor that one!"

In 10 years time David says he would like to be doing more or less the same thing. He also does some TV and radio, but said that if the job of editor was offered to him there would be a chance that he would not say no!


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