A 17-year tour of hope and disaster

Even after 17 years in the news business, sometimes I think I haven't had a very interesting life. Then I remember the fires, floods, plane crashes and murders, and I realize that I don't have much in common with my neighbors.

This tour of disaster and human nature started in 1987. That year, I collected a journalism degree from the University of Missouri, packed up my rusted-out Ford and headed for a three-month internship in California. I had no money and no place to live. I started near the bottom of the business, working for papers that paid little more than $1,000 per month. But the stories made the sacrifices worthwhile, and in 1997, I started writing a column for The New York Times on the Web.

These days, I'm working as a freelance writer, and it's fair to say that I'm always looking for work. I have experience in writing, editing, computer training, project management and data analysis. I teach news writing and computer-assisted reporting under contract for the Annenberg School at the University of Southern California. In recent years, I have worked as a contributing editor for Interactive Week and have written for several publications, including The New York Times newspaper, Red Herring magazine, Writer's Digest and The Atlantic online.

And I'm still looking for that next great story.