Owen Siebring@owensiebring
Friday will be my last day at KGAN.
Our station is going through some transitions, and I (along with some of my colleagues) was given the option to either sign a new contract... or have March 20 be my last day.
And I chose the latter.
Frankly it has less to do with the change, and more to do with my current life status. I'm in a serious relationship with a wonderful women who lives in Michigan. So the next step was already going to be a relocation closer to her... this just pushed that decision forward by several months.
The most difficult part of these last days is knowing how many stories I wanted to tell, but will be left unfinished. I won't get to cover the Hawkeye women's team in another NCAA tournament... I won't get to cover Quentin Nauman's final State track meet... I won't get to see the next chapter of Hawkeye football.
This makes it painful to say goodbye, but it is necessary.
It's been a tremendous honor over the last 4 years to cover sports in my home market. Every sports anchor dreams of doing big things in the world of broadcasting... but if you can't make it big, then working in your home market is a special honor that not a lot of people get to enjoy.
I've worked for almost 9 years in this state, and I've had the pleasure of working alongside some of the greatest journalists Iowa has ever known. Calling myself a colleague of guys like Keith Murphy, Scott Saville, Brad Pautsch, Ron Steele, Chad Leistikow, Scott Dochterman, Jeff Linder, Mike Hlas... that has been an honor that I'll never forget.
What's next for Owen? I have no idea. And frankly that's frightening... to be face-to-face with not knowing where my next paycheck will come from; I haven't had to deal with that in over a decade, and it terrifies me.
Next week I'll be going to Kenya for a couple of weeks to visit some of the locations where my girlfriend runs a non-profit. After that, I'll likely be sticking around Iowa a little while longer before relocating to Michigan. But what I'm doing to make a living? I really don't know.
I'm hoping to pick up some freelance work here or there; I have a few leads on that front, but I'm not sure what that might actually look like. I love this job, and deep down I believe this is the line of work I was built for. But it's entirely possible that this is the end of my television career, and a time for a transition to something else.
Again, it's a frightening perspective, and one that I didn't think I would be facing at this stage of my life... but here we are.
If anyone reading this has any connections in western Michigan, or knows of any places to pick up some freelance writing, shooting, reporting, or anything in a related field-I'd be happy to hear about it!
I'll post more when my last day comes this Friday. But for now, just know that every day on this job has been a joy, and I'll miss eastern Iowa dearly.
