#MediaMonday – Max Efrein

Max Efrein, reporter for The Daily Courier

Today’s blog post, as part of our Media Monday series, features Hawaii native and University of Arizona alum, Max Efrein, reporter for The Daily Courier in Prescott, Ariz. Max has worked with us on a variety of client-related initiatives regarding Arizona Division of Occupational Safety and Health (ADOSH), Subway Restaurants of Arizona and Yavapai Title Agency. And today, we’re featuring Max to share his stories, work and little known facts!

Max, what do you want to tell the blogosphere about yourself today?

You could call me a moderate millennial: no concrete direction, a hint of nihilism, a dulled longing for purpose.

I grew up on Kauai, Hawaii’s Garden Island, and made my way to the main land at the ripe age of 11, where I proceeded to painfully habituate from the island life to the entirely too expedited lifestyle many of us subscribe to in this age of information.

It’s difficult determining what path to devote one’s time to, but journalism has so far provided a smidgen of fulfillment and a bucket of color to my life. I compare the occupation to attending vocational school every day and using others’ answers on my tests.

Max Efrein in Ghana, Africa, where he volunteered to help build rain-harvesting systems for villages with limited access to clean water.

As my craft develops, I continue to consider those traits I’ve heard define a quality journalist—style, grace, steel nerves, respect, unhealthy obsessions — but for now, I’m comfortable maturing my curiosity and persistence.

I attended the University of Arizona, where I reported and anchored for the school’s student-run news broadcasting station and eventually became its news director.

After graduating with a dual degree in History and Journalism, I immediately ran off to Southeast Asia to explore the jungle with my mother’s relatively new boyfriend — great travelling companion, by the way. I returned home a month later with about 100 hours of beautiful video footage and no diseases, so that was positive. You may view the video I created about my interaction with an isolated tribal community in the mountains of northern Vietnam here.

Max Efrein interviewing a tour guide in Mandalay, Myanmar.

My initial dream job out of college was to be a broadcast journalist in Nowhere, Montana, but I settled for coming back to my hometown of Prescott, Arizona, and becoming the business reporter for the city’s local daily newspaper, The Daily Courier.

Although it was tempting to sow my wild oats in unexplored territory, I felt touching home base was a wise decision for the early stages of my career. It’s paid off. I believe I’m learning just as much about the fundamentals of quality journalism as I would anywhere else and there is more than enough room to grow in this city of only 40,000 people.

I’ve been gainfully employed as a journalist for nearly a year now and can truthfully say I’m proud of my progress and have learned a tremendous amount. At the rate the industry is changing, I suspect I’ll never know everything there is to know about it, which I find exhilarating.

When I’m not working, you’ll probably find me at the gym, stuffing my face with tasty morsels of food, hiking, practicing yoga or spending time with my family and friends.

Feel free to reach out to me via Twitter or email: mefrein@prescottaz.com.