Tom Henheffer

[Editor's Note: Since writing the following report, Tom Henheffer has been engaged by Maclean's to continue beyond his intern year to work on video for the magazine's online edition and credits his STU training.  He wrote,  "They're looking to start up a new series of daily Wall Street Journal-type behind the news videos online, and because of my broadcast background decided to hand the task to me. So thank God for the multidisciplinary approach."]

So, my first day of work. The alarm blared, I threw off the coat I was using as a blanket, sprung up from the hardwood floor of my buddy’s bachelor apartment, forced a smile through the severe back pain and cursed the fact that I didn’t have time to find a place to live. I donned my new corduroy blazer (thanks, mom) and hit the packed, and sweltering, subway. Dripping with sweat, I got to the gigantic Rogers campus — a 17-story, multi-tower postmodernist mashup of brick, glass and green steel — around 8:30, and stood in the lobby for an hour and a half waiting for my boss to show up. I was expecting a grizzled, grey haired, whisky-smelling news shark — we had only communicated over email — but got a mop-haired twenty something wearing a ratty hoody and jeans. I felt overdressed. And sweaty.

He took me up to the office, which is… an office. We all work in off-white cubicles underneath fluorescent lights. The walls are just high enough to prevent me from talking to my neighbours, but low enough to let anyone walking by know when I’m on Facebook.

I got my first assignment that day, which happened to be in the middle of last spring’s Stanley Cup playoffs. I had to compile a list of videos of the top ten cheap shots in the post season. School hadn’t really readied me for this, but hours on cracked.com had, so it went pretty smoothly.

That was an atypical day, and I was thrown into the world of professional journalism quickly afterwards. I started out small, writing what we call “notes,” which are a magazine’s take on newspaper stories — 350 word pieces that have enough longevity to last for a week while the issue’s on stands. I’ve probably written a couple of dozen national and word notes, and generally handle one to two a week. They range in topic from feuds between small town mayors and residents suing municipalities over backed up sewage, to the Catholic Church’s treatment of nuns and the impact of former Stasi agents in post cold-war Germany. Generally they’re easy and fun to write, but can also present a challenge. I usually get the assignment on Thursday afternoon, with a Friday deadline. It sounds simple, but the stress level rises when I have to figure out how to find the cell number for a guy living in an Indian shantytown that’s in a time zone 12 hours ahead of Canada.

Because I’m an intern, I’ve been saddled with a lot of extra projects that the other writing staff doesn’t have to deal with. During the summer I did my writing for the magazine during the day and had to work on a series of market research essays when I went home at night. That was an exhausting couple of months.

Interns also do “basements,” which are the funny blurbs that appear at the bottom of stories. Topics range from boneheaded employees, to wacky new ways to save the earth, to how celebrities are trying to better themselves (outside of their career). I’ve spent a lot of hours cruising Fark, Digg.com and Google news, slamming back coffee to stay awake while I try to find something that fits into the bizarre niches my editors have carved out.

It was one of those intern-only projects that led me to witness my first ever crack deal. I got a rare out-of-office assignment to interview residents dropping off trash during Toronto’s garbage strike, and while walking downtown in the middle of the afternoon, just a block or two from Yonge street, I saw two scruffy looking guys huddled together. When I was about arms length away, a little baggie containing a tiny crack rock changed hands. “Jesus Christ where did they send me? I’m gonna get shot,” was the first thing that ran through my head, quickly followed by “I see why they didn’t send full time staff.” But it was totally worth it for the story.

Eventually, I did settle in. I managed to find an amazing place to live that’s right downtown, has fairly cheap rent and friendly roommates. And I like the city, although it definitely lacks the soul of the Maritimes. The food is way more diverse than anything offered in New Brunswick, and the pubs are nice too, once you get used to the ridiculous beer prices. I still haven’t adjusted to the horrific clouds of stink juice that waft around downtown, though.

And I’ve worked a nice ass-groove into the proverbial couch that is my job. Some longer assignments have come my way; I’ve got a good beat in the notes section; and I also get to do a lot of film reporting, which is what I’ve always wanted to write. I try to pitch ideas that catch the eye of the back page editors (where the film stuff goes), write whatever I can for the web, and I lobbied to get a press pass to TIFF, which is giving me lots of material to write about as the movies that played the festival are released.

Rebecca Miller

The pass also allowed me to interview Gaborie Sidibe (star of Precious), Alex Lifeson (Rush’s guitarist), and Rebecca Miller (author/director), among others, experiences that were cool and informative.

The highlight of my internship came at TIFF, when I got to photograph Werner Herzog — a crazy German director who’s both eaten a shoe and refused to stop an interview after being shot in the gut, and who’s a personal hero of mine.

Werner Herzog

I was stepping into a whole new world when I moved here, and I definitely had some nerves in the beginning — after seven months I still get a bit jittery when I’m speaking at a story meeting. But STU did a great job of preparing me for work. I owe a lot to the school and especially to the journalism faculty. I had always thought it would be my drinking that taught me the valuable life experiences I’d require to succeed at a serious, real-life job like this, but it turns out I actually learned a lot in the classroom. There’s no better teacher than experience, and writing dozens of stories for class is what got me prepared. Now, that being said, there’s no way I would have landed this job if I hadn’t met the magazine’s head editor at a bar (a meeting facilitated by the school — it was the reception given after he delivered the Dalton Camp lecture). But still, I know my slurred speech wouldn’t have made the impression that got me hired if it wasn’t for my education.

So, onto the summary. Maclean’s is hard — I’ve worked a lot of long hours, and I’m often wafting between extreme stress and extreme boredom. The big city, the big names and actually seeing my byline were overwhelming experiences at first, but the glory fades quickly. It’s real life and it’s a competitive job, and almost everyone works with their heads down. But it’s the perfect place to hone a craft. I have a great portfolio now, and, hopefully, this job will look good on my resume. If anyone’s reading this looking for advice, all I can say is be smart, work hard, listen to your profs, and get lucky.

Tom Henheffer Class of 2009

Short URL: http://www.newbrunswickbeacon.ca/?p=3498

Posted by Tom Henheffer (Originally published Dec. 2009) on May 15, 2011. Filed under From the field. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0. Both comments and pings are currently closed.