Have you given up?

Nobody can.
I think my big beef is the mass exodus, whether it's the force outs or the get outs. Maybe I watched too much Family Ties as kid and Steven Keaton's ex-hippie, pot-smoking ways are forever etched in my mind. But why can't we, the backbone of the sports writing business, do something to stop it. Or is that just wishful thinking on my part.

Confession, I lied. I drive to work.  ;D

 

I've got a question. For those of you leaving the biz, what the hell are you running to? I've thought about other possibilities and nothing even comes to mind. Most all of us here have sunk so much toil and tears into the betterment of our writing that it would be an absolute waste to give that up for some cheeky desk job. Not to mention that, for me at least, writing (in some form or another) is all I ever want to do.

If I sent my resume to a profession outside writing or reporting, most notably the business world, I'd be laughed out of contention. For those poking around the rest of the writing world, what are you looking for? Because I wouldn't even know where to begin.

 

I figured it out. I'll work in the business for the next few years, get a master's in education or something like that during my time in the business and then start teaching at a JUCO or other college when I'm 45.

 

I've had good friend and talented writer go to law school. Another became a librarian. And yet another became a cop.

 

Even a few hours ago I would have said no way to giving up. But I just got an e-mail from one of my writers telling me how some coach bitched him out for no good reason, which comes in the middle of a week where we got bitched at for our "biased" coverage of some goddamn elementary basketball tournament.
I've got to be frank, if I didn't have a wife in college and a mortgage and all sorts of other debt hanging over my head, I'd turn in my notice tomorrow. I can live with never working a "major" beat -- in fact I prefer the smaller stuff -- but the bullshit ratio just doesn't seem worth fighting anymore.

 

you might want to check out what kind of income you'd be making before jumping on that ship. it's not as much as you'd think.

 

All I can say to that is "wow."

 

I'll put it this way. I haven't given up, but at the same time, I'm also scared.

I've been VERY LUCKY in my journalism career. I paid my dues in moving up the ladder (the occasional 60-hour week), but I feel like I've been treated pretty well. Unlike a lot of posters' nightmare stories, every manager I've had has treated me like a professional (praise when I do something well, constructive criticism when I screw up). At my current paper, I work a 40 hour week (nights and weekends), and I've rarely had to work OT. And if I have to, they pay me for it. I really like my co-workers.

Sure, I wish I was paid more, that the benefits were better. My managers have been understanding if I want time off to do something special with my family. And if an illness or emergency arises, they practically throw me out of the office. The first thing they would ask me when I return would be if everything was O.K. But at the same time, my night and weekend schedule hurts because I don't feel like I'm giving my family 100 percent of me on a day-to-day basis. I've had to do a lot of 'quality' time because there's just not much 'quantity' time.

To me, there are still a lot of positives about my job. When I tell people what I do for a living, many people smile. And I don't go to work everyday depressed about what I do because I enjoy my job. Yet, I've seen firings (I won't call them layoffs) of some very good people, and I can't help but wonder if that will be me someday.

Sometimes the grass isn't always greener on the other side. My grass has been pretty green in my past and present. But that's what makes me fear my future at times.

 

well, those sonsabitches shouldn't have cheated johnny's team out of coverage. just because johnny's team finished 32nd, doesn't mean they didn't deserve the same coverage as the tourney champs.

 

Don't assume that if you leave the biz you'll be reduced to K-Mart or a "desk job". As much as people dread the "desk job" here, do we really even know exactly what that entails? Some people I know in those desk jobs love what they do. Besides, from an outsider point of view, how is sitting in front of a computer all night editing copy or working in Quark any different than a desk job?

I'm using my writing skills now. I got my job in PR without any prior PR experience. A lot of what I write now are profiles about scientific research, in which I had really no prior experience. What I did have was a keen interest in science and sportswriting clips that showed 1). my understanding of styles and grammar, 2). my ability to write a variety of stuff, from news reporting to personality profiles, and 3). evidence that indicate I can take my ability to write a good sports news or feature story and translate that to writing a good science story. And yeah, I wear business casual clothes and sit in front of a desk much of the day, but I'm not exactly stamping parking forms. Since I left the biz, I've traded on the same skills I used in newspapers, and I've added experience and skills that have made me a much stronger candidate for a wider variety of jobs than just a couple years ago, many of which I would be interested in.

It's about how you present your skills through your resume, cover letter, and clips. Some of the clips I sent weren't my best, but I thought they were the most effective in conveying the potential I offered. And your first non-newspaper job doesn't need to be amazing if it can give you the experience and skills for a good next stop.

 

With all these people giving up, I gotta figure that increases my chances of one day working at the Plain-Dealer.

 

Don't forget about the cheerleaders, Tomas.