Newbie Podunk writer looking for advice

He worked at a weekly, shot. Enough said.

 

Apparently.

 

I think he started in Fort Laud.

 

True, but wasn't he covering high schools for a zoned edition? Point is doing a good job on the local C.C. beat will put wicket on a more direct path toward better things than writing about "state level athletes."

 

Thanks for everyone's advice, I'll definitely start targeting newspapers with my clips every couple of months just to get noticed, maybe create a little resume website.

I have a month or so before I decide whether to make a run at the community college beat. I’m leaning towards it, but as mentioned, if I stop doing design, my options become much more limited as I become a pure writer.

I think getting out of Poundkville may be the most important part in order to get my career moving in any direction though. And of course the move needs to be vertical, not horizontal. No use going to somewhere like Brownsville, Texas or Fairbanks, Alaska if I can help it.

Choices, choices …

Some points –

1) Yes, I know what a beat is. I did work in baseball and deal a little bit with journalists, so I know what’s like it for them to cover a 162-game season.

2) When I say “state level athletes,” my athlete Q&A’s and profiles have been with MLB, NFL, NBA, NHL, and Division-I football athletes. Most of the interviews took place in the “big city,” some over the phone.

3) Sometimes when I have covered an event like a golf tournament or when the big city team caravan comes to town, I take my own photos, write the story and then design the page – so I understand how it’s on all sides of the coin. I feel for people that have page designers that don’t understand how sports news doesn’t finish until a couple hours, if not minutes, before deadline.

4) And as a page designer, I'm not a big fan of parties either, meaning I have to wake up early and go in when I still could be sleeping.

 

You've already got some good design experience, in that you know Quark (or whatever program your paper uses).

That right there makes you a little better asset to future employers. And chances are, if you do get the CC beat, you'll still be asked to design maybe once a week?

Go for the CC beat, get actual experience on a beat for a year or two, and when you do go applying for the next step up, you will have Quark/design experience in addition to your writing/beat experience.

The broader your experiences are, the more attractive you are to a potential employer. Example: Paper hires you for a beat job, but know that in an emergency, they can feel comfortable that they have someone with design experience to help out.

 

Who pissed in your friggin wheaties, asshole?

 

Good answer. That clears it up.