Missing It

Retirement is only a few years away for me -- if the layoff ax doesn't get me first. A few things I'll miss from a copy desk perspective:

The nightly camaraderie with co-workers and the teamwork that goes into producing the section, especially when a big event is going on.

Turning around a story on deadline -- still a challenge I enjoy after all these years.

Writing clever headlines.

Stealing glances at the TV during a close game and the reaction from the sports desk when there's a dramatic finish -- and the disapproving looks we get from the news desk for making so much noise (I've worked on both sides of the room, and while news was rewarding in many ways, I've certainly had more fun on sports desks).

And what I won't miss:

Deadlines that get earlier and earlier and make it difficult to get much night sports news into print.

Layoffs and buyouts -- and rumors of layoffs and buyouts.

Cattle-manure communication from corporate/upper management: "People are our most important resource." ... "These are exciting times in our industry." ... "Best practices." ... "Rightsizing." And so forth.

Upper management that discourages creative design and headlines because some marketing guru said readers don't care about such things.

Newsroom people who treat the desk like a back-office operation instead of professional equals.

Management by metrics.

 

I have more than 20 years in the business myself but I am in limbo right now.
Part of me wants to find another full-time job where I can make substantially a lot more money and support my wife and family.
On the other hand, I don't know if I can deal with having a regular job with normal working hours. I am not wired to be an 8-5 person.
But I did tell my wife that if I do leave the business and find another job, I am going to spend a good deal of nights stringing games. I can't give up the rush of covering games and putting together stories entirely.
My wife is fine with that idea, by the way.

 

With all the doom and gloom I'm the biz, I still love it. I doubt I'll ever have a job as fun as the one I have now.

Long way to go before retirement (barring a lottery hit or the death of a long, lost rich relative) so I'm sure I'll finsih my career doing something else.

But I've tried to stop worrying and enjoy it while it lasts.

 

I thought I would miss it, but I really, absolutely, totally don't.

I've been out of the business for about four years now. I've been in my current job for about a year, writing for an in-house marketing team, and have already been promoted twice. When I leave at 5, my work stays there. I work out more, eat healthier and have almost zero work-related stress. I can afford to take vacations and own a car that was made in this millenia. I have enough free time to maintain the best romantic relationship of my life. When I want to write more creatively, I do, just for shits and giggles. When I want to attend a sporting event, I do, without having to worry about deadlines or keeping a running play by play.

I can say, unequivocally, that all the good things that have happened for me in the past few years were at least an indirect result of leaving the business. Sure, it was nice having sports be my job, and the things I write about now for a living are much more bland. But for every thing I liked about the business, I can name at least five that I like about not being in it.

This is just my personal experience. I don't regret for a second going into the business. It was a lot of fun while it lasted. But when I realized that it wasn't going to last, I started searching for my escape plan. Maybe I was never going to be a lifer like I thought I would be coming out of college. Maybe I was never as passionate about the grind as others were/are.

I've said this to a lot of people who have asked me about leaving: Sports used to be my passion. Now, life is my passion and sports is a pastime, and I like it much better that way.

 

Been out since 2011 and I definitely still miss parts of it. But those parts are not worth the overall experience.

My job now is a much more positive atmosphere, not to mention the financial advantages. And I freelance whenever I can to get that writing-on-deadline rush.

The bottom line: They couldn't pay me enough to work full-time for a newspaper again.

 

You are correct. Rain delays are the worst.

 

A few months ago, my last journalism boss called me and asked if I'd be interested in working with her on a new magazine project. I politely declined, but asked around to a few friends still in the business on her behalf.

They all laughed at me. Every single one. To a person, they all said the next time they switch jobs, it'll be to a nonjournalism job or to the unemployment line.

They'd rather be unemployed than re-up in the journalism industry.

 

Thanks to all for lending a sympathetic ear. I'm glad I don't feel alone, and I'm glad some of you don't feel the way i do -- it makes me hope that someday I won't miss as much about my previous life as I do now. I can appreciate all the things listed here that are not missed. I will not miss angry parents, high school all-star teams, the AP wire, dimwits on the phone, taking a pay cut and having vacation time taken away.

I equate working in the business the past two decades to being on the Titanic. The ship was sinking and I had the opportunity to get on a life boat. But parts of me today still marvel at what a beautiful ship it was — before it hit the iceberg.

In my new job, stress is of a different kind, and I only feel a touch of it Monday through Friday, from 8 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. I don't take work home with me and weekends are spent with my family. It's not a bad living at all. I never knew what I was missing.

 

That's fucking poetry.

 

I kind of feel the same way. On occasion I will find myself on my day off stuck in late afternoon rush hour traffic and wonder, "How the hell do people spend every day sitting in this shit without going insane?"

I believe Ryan_Sonner once related his early morning commute/parking routine in D.C., and it sounded like a truly miserable existence.

 

I got out last July and miss the hell out if. I've discovered that I'd rather write about basketball rather than be in the business of basketball, because there are some shady as hell folks involved with it.

Plus, dealing with parents in youth sports is a different animal.

Call me crazy, but I want back in.

 

OK, you're crazy.

Any other requests?