Jane Brown: Making a Comeback
By: Sammie Hicks and Erin Marks
Taking a Break
Whoever said the straight and narrow career path was the best route has never met Grand Rapids Journal Writer Jane Brown. “I joke that I retired first, then relaunched my career,” says Brown, a woman who eludes an undeniable energy curbed by just a hint of quiet reserve.
After receiving her journalism degree from Northwestern University in Illinois, Brown did not seek a job at a newspaper or television station like most journalism graduates. Instead, for the next twenty years she chose to stay at home and focus on raising her children. After her youngest child left for college, Brown set out with only her college degree and what little professional experience she had to finally search for a newspaper job.
“The only other job I’d had since graduating college was a part-time public relations consultant…I really didn’t like it because…almost everything I wrote was rewritten by doctors who felt they knew everything.” At the time, being out of the professional world for so long and her lack of contacts made finding a job difficult for the now 40 year-old Brown. However, she managed to find a connection through one of her children...the father of a close friend of her youngest daughter owned a small newspaper.
Back On the Job
Brown’s first job in journalism was landed at a small newspaper in New Jersey, which ironically had the same owner as the paper she would one day work for. Seven years later when her husband was transferred to Grand Rapids for his job, Brown was able to transfer to the Grand Rapids Journal, a journal in the greater Grand Rapids Area. Currently a staff writer for the Journal, she describes her average day as somewhat routine while unpredictable at the same time.
“The first thing I do when I come in [the office] is check my email, the Yahoo Finance Website, and my phone messages for breaking news that could still make it into our paper’s third edition, [which comes out at] 9:15am. I also make a lot of phone calls and arrange for interviews….you always have to be ready for breaking news.” Sifting through the countless stacks of loose papers, folders, and notebooks crowding her desk, Brown uncovers the latest edition of the Journal bearing a breaking story she wrote regarding the Delphi bankruptcy.
Trials and Pitfalls
Just as the responsibility to bring truth to the community through her writing has its great importance, Brown’s career as its negative aspects as well: “The biggest challenge is to get everything done on time,” Brown explains. While deadlines can create pressure to get the right interviews and the perfect story, they are nonetheless an important aspect of the job. A career in the journalism industry can bring not only personal stresses for the writers themselves, but also for their families as well: “I often stay up late to wrap up a story, and that infringes on my family’s evenings. The unpredictable nature of this job makes a steady family life more difficult, if not more exciting.”
Already At the Top
As a woman who has accomplished so much during her lifetime, Brown remains incredibly content with her career as a staff journalist. “My goal is to retire as a well-respected business writer. I look forward to continuing this job I love at the Journal…rather than try to move up the editorial chain,” she says, gleaming with an aura of confidence, the sort of confidence that many writers strive for, and hope to achieve during their careers.
Improvement
Given the opportunity to interview such a successful writer as Jane Brown, it only makes sense to ask her to share some advice she would give to writing students who are aiming to make a career in journalism. “To be a journalist you have to love to talk, to stay up late, and to write. Write as much as you can, for whatever publication you can. Any experience helps you get out there and improve.” If anything, Brown is an inspiration to those who find themselves on one life path, but desire for something more. Now is the time to reach for your dreams, whether it’s for the first time or all over again.
