[Journalists] moving past mid-career vision loss

[Elizabeth Campbell]

Hi Nate,

Can you please contact me? My information is below.
I've been blind since birth, so I haven't dealt with the mid career vision
loss. But I think I can help you out.



Elizabeth Campbell
Government affairs reporter
Direct Line: 817-390-7696
Fax: 817-390-7789
Cell: 817-247-6862
email: liz at star-telegram.com
www.star-telegram.com
Twitter: @fwstliz

-----Original Message-----
From: Journalists [mailto:journalists-bounces at nfbnet.org] On Behalf Of
Nate
Sent: Friday, March 08, 2013 3:06 PM
To: journalists at nfbnet.org
Subject: [Journalists] moving past mid-career vision loss

Hi all,

I worked as a writer and editor for 14 years before losing my vision last
year and I am getting ready to start a program at the Colorado Center for
the Blind to get the training I need to return to work.   However I was
also just informed by my employer they likely will not hold my position
open (I have been  a one-man multi-state bureau for an online news service
and while they have tried to cover my region with stringers and
contributions from other reporters, they need to place someone here.) They
have promised to bring me back as a freelancer as quickly as possible
after I am done with my program, but I know I meed to be prudent and look
at finding full-time gigs as well. (And I really don't want to uproot my
family again.)

So I am wondering how others who have suffered a mid-career loss of vision
have dealt with that when it comes to having to sell yourself to new
employers.  I suspect my biggest issue is that I have been writing for a
niche service for the last two years so I have not been able to stretch my
legs much as a writer. I have to go back to mid-2005 for the  last time I
wrote regularly for a general audience. Those clips are going to obviously
be pretty stale but I doubt much of my newer stuff is really usable (and
will be at least a year old by the time I am done with voc. rehab.) . I
was an assistant metro editor at a pretty good-sized daily in another part
of the country. in the intervening years.

I fear I am going to have to rebuild my portfolio with new clips I amass
as a freelancer late this year or early next year,  And of course that
brings the challenge of selling myself as a freelancer with the same stale
or dry clips.

So again, I am wondering how others have sold themselves ... how do you
explain the time not writing? Do you address blindness immediately? (My
gut says no.)
 How much do I emphasize what I did earlier in my career? (I'm damn proud
of my earlier work, but it seems tough to refer potential employers  back
the better part of a decade to show them what I can do now.)

Thanks for the feedback in advance.

Mate

Sent from my iPad
_______________________________________________
Journalists mailing list
Journalists at nfbnet.org
http://nfbnet.org/mailman/listinfo/journalists_nfbnet.org
To unsubscribe, change your list options or get your account info for
Journalists:
http://nfbnet.org/mailman/options/journalists_nfbnet.org/liz%40star-telegr
am.com