3 Things I've learned from Edna

Murder, greed, drugs; Edna Buchanan has covered it all. In her book, "The Corpse Had a Familiar Face," Edna details her life, past and present and her life on the crime beat for the Miami Herald.

Reading Buchanan's book, you get a sense of her passion for her job. She details her life growing up and how she got into journalism in the first place. The things she has seen, the people she has interacted with and the impact her chosen career has had on her personal life show the different sides of the journalism field.

One of the main things I took from her was the idea that everyone mattered. When all you do is write about dead people, it may be possible to become desensitized to it. Buchanan chose to care about the subjects of her stories. While that type of motivation doesn't apply to all beats, the details of the story: the who, what and ever important why, are all important to strive for. A reporter is only as good as their story. They need to have a purpose for their story, a reason for doing what they do.

Buchanan didn't attend college to become a journalist, which seems frustrating that an inexperienced person has been successful in a field that many spend four years in college for. But that goes to show that some people have a natural talent for certain things. It's not just talent that played a role. It's something she wanted to do. She takes her job seriously. Experience may not always be the best substitute for drive and a desire.

Journalism can be a blessing as well as a curse to a reporter's personal life. It's not a nine to five job. Staying on top of everything was tough for Buchanan when she worked for the Herald. Nowadays,everything is breaking news so a reporter has to constantly be working. As a journalist, the opportunity to meet a diverse group of people is there. While you don't have to be a social butterfly, a reporter needs to be some sort of a people person. Interviewing and interacting with the public is a key part of the job. Starting and maintaining good relationships with cops, other journalist, teachers and city members can be one of the best tools a journalist has in their bag.

Starting as an inexperienced writer, Buchanan has shown many important qualities as a journalist and as a writer. Writing with a purpose, loving what you do and developing a network of sources are just three tools that a journalist can have. Some are ingrained while others need to be developed.