old photo of newspaper photographers (Photo: Shutterstock)

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There's nothing like your first day on the job in a new andvibrant industry. The deep knowledge of your veteran coworkersimpresses if not awes you. You wonder if you'll ever be able tomatch them.

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The short answer is "yes." Sure, it might take some time, butthere's a way you can quick start your "veteran" status. Itrequires a little bit of work, but not "cramming for the finals"kind of work.

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What if you had the ability to step into the shoes of thoseveterans before they became veterans? What if you could travel backin time and see what they saw in the industry as it unfolded? Howmuch would you be willing to pay for this time travelling boost toyour career?

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Truth is, you can do this and all it will cost youis, as I said before, a little time. Perhaps the best wayto begin to secure this advantage is to read about thetumultuous 10 years in the world of the fiduciary (see"The Decade's Top 5 All-Time Most Popular 401k PlanSponsor and Fiduciary 'Must-Read' Articles," FiduciaryNews.com,December 31, 2019).

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Here's the secret to current news articles that even journalistsfail to recognize. Reporters work under deadlines. That can bestressful, but it also can be useful – to the readers ofhistory.

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That's right, I said "history" not current events.

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In order to write quickly and coherently, the reporter often hasto relay just the bare bones of the story. Those bare bones maysound spartan, but they're often chock full of raw emotion,frivolous innuendo, and exaggerated conjecture. The news may bewrong but it's not fake. This is how people actually felt at thetime the story was written.

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And it is these feelings – right, wrong, or indifferent – thatallow you to live the experience "as it happened." There was an oldSaturday morning TV Series called You Are There. Hosted by thevenerable Walter Cronkite, the show took its young viewers on atrip back in time.

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Children saw historic events as they unfolded. They got toexperience the ups and downs of those living that history. Fromthis, it was hoped the kids might find history – as told in livingform – far more compelling than those dry lectures embedded intheir history books.

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In a way, perusing contemporary reporting offers the sameexperience. It's often faster to read than to watch a video, soyou'll capture that experience much quicker.

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So if you're just starting off in a new position or a newindustry, no matter what your age, it makes sense to scan theinternet for those old articles everyone was reading oh so manyyears ago.

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