Best of luck to you. It's a precarious job at the moment as more full time news photographers are being let go and folks like yourself are given their assignments at a much reduced cost to the paper. Not saying it to make you feel bad, but it's just how they have to operate in the current economic climate. Just make sure you're serious looking at a career path other than photojournalist. I know a bunch of them that have been working for 25 years in the field who are now searching for second careers.