We’re excited to introduce you to the always interesting and insightful Jeremy Housewright. We hope you’ll enjoy our conversation with Jeremy below.
Jeremy, thanks for taking the time to share your stories with us today Often the greatest growth and the biggest wins come right after a defeat. Other times the failure serves as a lesson that’s helpful later in your journey. We’d appreciate if you could open up about a time you’ve failed.
Yes, I do have a story about a time that I failed. Since I can remember, I have loved to write and always wanted to be a writer. In high school, I did all the usual stuff, yearbook, school newspaper, even worked on the school TV station. My junior year, I was given an assignment from the English teacher. The assignment was to write a 10-page paper over a controversial topic. Well, at that time, rap music was being blasted for profane lyrics, anti-gay lyrics, etc. Eminem was taking the brunt of this assault by politicians, parents, etc. There was an all out assault on the 1st Amendment, so that’s why I decided on that topic. I worked and worked and worked on this paper, doing hours of research. I had a great argument on why not just rap music, but all music and media should not be censored. I invested myself into this paper. I even went to a former middle school teacher and had her edit the paper, to make sure it was totally free of errors. The day came to turn it in and I was sure I had done more than what was asked by the teacher. Fast forward a few days later and I get the paper back. The teacher gave me a C-. Then, to make matters worse, she wrote this on the paper, “You don’t have the talent to make a career as a writer, find a new path” I was absolutely heart broken. I think I went home and cried, then got super mad. I was going to tell this teacher exactly what I thought of her. But, I had a conversation with my grandfather about it. He calmed me down. I decided to use that as motivation, which I did for a long time. I kept that paper in my locker the rest of my high school career. I took that paper with me to college. Whenever I would feel down, or started thinking I couldn’t achieve something, I would pull that paper out and look at it. That was my motivation so achieve my goals. I graduated from SIUE and became a sports editor, then moved into teaching English and Journalism of all things. I wanted to make sure that kids were never treated like that teacher treated me. To this day, I make sure to never crush a student’s dream, because for some of our kids, that’s all they got. Oh, and I ran into that teacher one night on the Metrolink, following a Stl Blues game that I was covering as press. She tried making small talk with me. I said this to her, “Thank you. I wanted to thank you for helping me get where I am today.” She, of course said, “Oh, you’re welcome. I love hearing from my former students.” I then said, “You know what I was doing tonight? I was covering the Blues. I just came from interviewing some players and coaches. Do you remember when you wrote on my paper that I should find a new career? Well, I’m glad I didn’t listen to you. But, thanks for lighting a fire under my ass for these past few years. I’ll never forget that, and hopefully, I will never tell someone that they can’t achieve their dreams.” Then, I walked away. I guess the moral is that I took a negative experience, that could have ended any dream of writing I ever had and turned it into a positive motivator. 20 years in the journalism business, having interviewed pro athletes, actors and actresses, musicians, artists, presidents and many more says that she was wrong. I also just released my first book. There were times during the writing process that I thought back to that moment in high school. That kept me going and motivated me to finish the book. It will motivate me to write a second book, which I’m currently working on. Don’t let anyone ever tell you that you can’t do something.
Awesome – so before we get into the rest of our questions, can you briefly introduce yourself to our readers.
I have been a journalist for 20-plus years, covering everything for high school to pro sports, interviewing comedians, actors, musicians, presidents, athletes, and much more. I’ve covered everything from films to murder trials. I just released my first book titled For the Love of the Show: Pro Athletes Tell Their Stories. It’s available on Amazon and Barnes and Noble’s website. Along with that, I also an an editor for ReviewSTL.com, one of the top entertainment sites in St Louis. I have taught myself to shoot photography, a hobby I really enjoy. It has really helped catapult ReviewSTL above a lot of sites in St. Louis. I have a small but great staff that works their tails off. I would put our work up against any entertainment site in St. Louis. We are constant professionals. I earned my Doctorate in 2019 in Education Leadership. I love teaching students, as it keeps me young. I’m a big kid at heart. But, journalism is my passion. You can find out more about me at my website, jeremyhousewright.com.
What’s the most rewarding aspect of being a creative in your experience?
I love when people read my work. It’s seriously my drug. I used to be addicted to smoking when I was young and then probably food for a while, but it’s definitely the thrill of someone reading my work, whether it be my book or any articles or interviews I do. I thrive off their reaction and feedback. I welcome their criticism. There’s no doubt that is my drug. If it’s negative feedback, that’s ok. I respect anyone’s opinion that is logical and has reasoning behind it. I love hearing that people like photos that I take. Putting something out into the world for people to see, listen to, or read is what is rewarding to me. For me, knowing that I made an impact on someone’s life, day, or minute, that means something. That one person took the time, no matter how long or short it was, to check out something I created. Yeah, that’s rewarding to me.
How’d you build such a strong reputation within your market?
My reputation has been built on 2 things: Professionalism and NEVER missing a deadline. In my 20-plus years in journalism, I’ve never, ever missed a deadline. I will never forget the night my dad passed away from cancer. I was the last person to see him at the hospital. As I was driving home that night, I got the call that he passed. The next morning I was in my college newsroom at 7:30 a.m. meeting a deadline for a story I had. That may be strange or off-putting to some, but that’s how I’m wired. As a journalist, we are only as good as our last piece. Now, I left after I had my article put to bed, but the point is, that I always meet my deadline. I’ve had to do some crazy things to meet deadlines over the years. It could be stopping at a McDonalds in another state to use the internet to send an article, or running in a Walmart and using one of the the floor model computers to send a story, I refuse to be late. I am always professional. I believe in that. In fact, that’s what bothers me about a lot of young writers, or these guys who run a podcast from their basement and have no real journalism experience. They just think they are journalists because they have a microphone and a loud mouth. Sometimes, professionalism falls by the wayside. I’ve had my articles copied, questions used, or photos used without credit, by some of these clowns who run their own little site and think they are media. Sorry guys, I don’t respect that. I treat people fairly, show up on time, and LISTEN. As a journalist, the big thing is listening. I love to hear people tell me their stories, that’s why I wrote a book. I can sit and listen to someone tell me a story for hours and then write about it. Treating everyone with respect. I remember when I was at the Trump Rally here in St. Louis. I was so upset at the actions of people and how that clown talked down to others, that I wanted to tell him off, but I stayed professional. I listened and told the story in an unbiased way. It was tough, but it’s part of the job. I’ve had to call a mother several hours after her son died in a an auto accident on the way to football practice. It was the most difficult thing I’ve had to do, but it was required for the job. Professionalism will get you a long way. The best compliment that I love to get about ReviewSTL and our staff is that was are always professional. To me, that is what elevates us above all the other sites out there.
Contact Info:
- Website: jeremyhousewright.com
- Instagram: dr_jeremy_m_housewright
- Facebook: JM Housewright
- Linkedin: Dr. Jeremy Housewright
- Twitter: @heinousj
- Youtube: @reviewstl
- Other: www.reviewstl.com