The Newsroom

Another closing weekend in the Vienna Review newsroom. The suspended sounds of five keyboards echoing through the room, other than that, silence. An occasional sigh of frustration or relief slips the lips of the young journalists. Closing weekend is the most stressful period of the month, fuming brains, exhausted students and a table overloaded with chocolate – center stage to fuel our brains and souls. It helps to swallow one frustration or another, triggered by a lack of inspiration.

At times it is hard to focus, sitting in an office with seven people; you have to learn to switch off the background noises. The microwave beeping from the little kitchen, the smell of freshly brewed coffee in my nose... no espresso though, we are still looking for a sponsor for that. Spare coffee-maker anyone?

Dusk falls, and the last rays of daylight disappear behind the horizon. Nighttime in the newsroom – barely anybody notices. Stories have to be laid out, pictures have to be found and processed, and proof reading has to get done; and in between, food has to be consumed to keep the overworked brains going. With tired eyes squinting at the computer screen, the pile of work appears to be shrinking.

But all the long hours pay off when, at the beginning of the new month, we finally hold the brand new edition of the paper, fresh from the press, in our hands. Tired yes, but proud of ourselves, we leave on silent feet, a bundle under the arm, and get our brains in gear for the next round, the planning, the interviews, the research, the writing – and another closing weekend to come because this is our passion.

- Sarah Rabl