the editors of the "anderson democrat" discovered riley's poems in the "indianapolis journal" and offered him a job as a reporter in february 1877. riley accepted. he worked gathering local news, writing articles, and assisting with typesetting. he continued to write poems regularly for the newspaper and to sell other poems to larger newspapers. during the year, riley spent working in anderson, he met and courted edora mysers. the couple became engaged, but ended the relationship after they had decided against marriage in august.