Think, call, write, repeat.

Over the last few days I’ve fallen into a regular rhythm of coming up with stories (or having them suggested to me), researching the issue online, contacting a couple of people who can explain things and provide quotes, then consolidating all this into short and sweet news pieces.

I then file my copy the news editor, who makes minor changes and tells me it’s worked well, and then it’s gone. Gone forth to the hinterland of the subs, who do something mysterious to it. Then it may or may not end up in the magazine.

So that’s it. The process seems remarkably straightforward. I say this quietly since I’ll probably fall flat on my face over the next few days as I have no doubt underestimated what really happens.

I’ve filed 3 pieces in 4 days which seems a pretty pedestrian pace, although apparently I have a lot on my plate. I’m hoping to learn a bit more about the typical workload when I go for lunch with one of the reporters tomorrow.

I guess I’m viewing all this through the comparative lens of my time at BlueSci, where copy was edited, then second edited, and then proofread. It took ages and incurred many a heated row on logic, clarity and Oxford commas. I’m eternally grateful to BlueSci for providing a training ground in all aspects of magazine publishing, but also a little bit sad that it took away my magazine virginity and I’m sitting here at the Times Higher a bit less bushy-tailed than I might have been.

So yep, if truth be told I’ve been a bit bored. Not so much with the stuff I’m doing, but with the prospect of repeating this cycle for the next fortnight. Grasshopper wants to be a tiger, and is maybe a teensy bit jealous of her friends at the dailies or in broadcasting.

Tomorrow I’ll have a scout around some of the agencies such as the Science Media Centre to see if there are any press briefings going on. This will a) show me what a press briefing is ahead of the Science Festival where apparently I will be spending many hours attending such things and b) get me out of the office and fulfilling my preconceived fantasy of being a superbusy hack zipping around London on the trail of some breaking story.

In other news, I have learned to use shorter paragraphs.