Aspiring journalist seeks answers

Learn Spanish.

 

Yeah. That's a good idea. Most agate clerks torment writers. So you are well on your way. Good idea.

 

I have a journalism degree, and it doesn't mean shit. I was just as good a writer when I entered college as when I left. I got better actually working at a real job.

If you love sports so much, get a business degree, get a MBA, get a law school education and represent athletes/coaches or work for the corporate structure of one of the leagues or a team.

If you think about it, with the NFL Network growing, league and team Web sites and e-mail alerts providing just as much coverage as independent outlets, how long with those newspaper jobs be around anyway? By the time you get out (assuming the trend continues), coverage will be "hyper local" as it's been coined. There won't be a lot of brand loyalty to newsprint, etc., when fans want to be blind and have sugar-coated news about their favorite team.

You'll be doing what you love and making a shitload more money than writing about it. Rant over.

 

I never said that ESPN is what journalism is all about. I just mentioned that I watch the program, and i bet alot of you do too. Yes, the NFL network is growing, along with all the other sites that cover sports. They need writers to cover sports just like all the newspapers do.

 

Watch ESPN and read the magazine all you want. Just don't be on the screen, in the pages, or even working for the company out of college. You will see plenty of people on this site rip the WWL mainly because they would like to be the person cashing a decently sized paycheck and have their name recognized by readers or viewers all across the county. For example, I think Bill Simmons is the scum of the earth, but if ESPN offered me a couple hundred thou to have his job, I would jump at it in a heartbeat.

 

And, sportsfan, for the good of the profession, PLEASE learn to actually spell before you make your first moves towards your chosen career.

You're(sic) posts are appalling, and your(sic) lucky you didn't discover this sight(sic) a few months ago, when everyone here would have maid(sic) fun of you. We've calmed down some, but the fact remains ...

In the actual real world, the possessive "I" is actually capitalized. Until Webster's says otherwise, I'd go with that.

(The "it's just a messig bored, i wuz writing in a hurrie and didnt chek my speling" excuse doesn't work here, by the way).

 

Get an MBA.
So, when you're stuck 15 miles outside Nowhere, MT., and you're 30, and your girlfriend of 11 years just popped out your first, you can go find a job to put food on the table.

(Damn, that was even too cynical for me).

 

Do not insult Montana, dammit! Nowhere is in South Dakota

 

I don't think 30-year-olds are allowed to have 11-year-old girlfriends -- even in Montana.

I could be wrong, though. It may be a plan to help populate the state.

 

No, but it's allowed in South Dakota [/hostile at insults to her great state]

 

At this link:

http://www2.ku.edu/~acejmc/STUDENT/PROGLIST.SHTML

is a list of accredited J-schools. It's not the end of the world if you don't go to Mizzou or Northwestern — it's less cutthroat at smaller J-schools (meaning possibly more opportunities at student publications and the local newspapers). Another consideration: at a college in a bigger city, there's more opportunities to latch on as a clerk, messenger or stringer at that city's major newspaper, as well as more suburban papers and weeklies. Experience is so important, not just for your resume, but also to see how the business works — I learned more in three months as an agate clerk than in 4 years of J School.

Another thing about J School — don't be surprised if the profs and instructors don't afford sports journalism much respect. All the more reason to get experience outside your college paper, you'll learn from sports journalists who take it seriously, where a prof might gloss over sports journalism in one class session or not at all.

Some other bits of advice (some if it already stated here):

— Don't expect a big salary right away, or even after 20 years, and be ready to move to a small-town paper for your first full-time job out of college.

— Expect to work most Fridays and Saturdays, even as a clerk. If this bothers you because you aren't going to be able to party those nights, find a school in a state where bar time goes past 2. But be prepared, for the rest of your career, you are going to work most weekends.

— If you do work for a non-school paper, ask lots of questions. Learn everything you can. As long as you aren't annoying about it, most sports journalists will be happy to help.

— Don't sweat your grades too much. A 4.0 GPA with no practical experience means nothing. A 2.5 with immense experience and good clips means much more.

 

Ding-ding-ding-ding. We have a winner.