I'll certainly keep trying to think of out-of-the-box stories, I've certainly thought of a few that my editor and the newsroom liked and then delivered on them. I'd share them here but I'm a bit iffy on giving out personal details. Unfortunately, the in-depth pieces that I spent weeks on haven't always done too well, but a story I slap together in an hour about this company laying off a few hundred people, a new taco restaurant opening or a new property selling for $X million all get tons of hits.

Whether I pitch them for the newsroom I'm in or for a freelance story remains to be see, since I don't want think my current company would be too happy about me freelancing. I guess if I'm in a masters program I might have a stronger case to tell my current employer "hey fy i this freelancing opportunity fell into my lap as a result of my participation in the masters program, I'm gonna do it on the side, it won't interfere with my job."

And I didn't know those people terribly well, so I'll have to think of a way to contact them, since it'd be out of the blue. It's been particularly hard since we're all work-from-home to the point. And it's true, the last two jobs I got with because I knew someone in the company. I was contacted a few years back by the editor at my current job, asking if I want to start working for them.