For the ex-journalists here...

1. What do you miss most about sports journalism?

I'd say I miss the people, but luckily my last shop has laid off so many people that almost all of my favorite people are now in normal-person jobs and I get to see them more often socially now than I did when I was in the biz. I do miss that nobody in my circle gets a (lady) boner for breaking news like I do, nor do they really care about my insightful Hot Sports Opinions or in-depth analysis of our favorite teams. Also, I feel like I'm the only person who understands the new NBA CBA, but that's a different topic ...

2. What do you miss least?

The hours. The bureaucracy. The pay. The feeling that no matter how hard you worked, it ultimately didn't matter because papers always went the cowardly "last in, first out" route when laying people off. Working holidays. Never seeing family, let alone friends or even making new friends outside of the business.

3. What do you do now?

I work for a management consulting firm - so I'm a bit like Anna Kendrick in "Up in the Air", except I'm not the one laying people off to their faces.

4. Are you happier with your new career?

Absolutely. I haven't been this mentally stimulated since college (I have a degree in Economics and am gearing up to pursue my Masters in the same discipline). I'm on the road a lot - more than I was at times when I was in the business - but my days are days. They're 8-4 and I'm done. I don't have to worry about going out for drinks and having the phone ring with breaking news. I can take a vacation with vacation time, not furlough time. I get quarterly bonuses and performance-based raises. I live in a world where performance and results are measured in a quantitative, tangible fashion - you produce or you don't ... it's not left up to the personal opinion of an editor/reader or pageviews and web traffic.

On top of that, I've found my love of sports again. I get to be a FAN of my favorite teams - I get to enjoy the victories and mire in the losses without worrying about deadlines or story lengths or cheering in the press box. I actually treated myself to season tickets this year to one of my favorite baseball teams and am on track to make it to nearly 50 home games. I enjoy getting to the park three hours early before a game, which I never enjoyed before. OK - maybe that's because we throw down beers in the parking lot for 2.5 of those hours, but still ...

 

1. What do you miss most about sports journalism?
- Being among the last ones in the open-air press box after a Saturday MLS game, just mellowing out for a few minutes as the only sound in the venue is the groundskeepers. Then grabbing a drink with the dudes from other outlets.
- Being one of the few journalists who showed up for practice virtually every single day on my pro beat. I like to think coaches and players see that. Even if they don't, it's a good opportunity to really get to know players' on-field tendencies.
- The challenge of staying on top of everything I needed to on multiple beats with desk shifts and such. Of course, then it became rote.
- Making fun of the prep score seekers, the old dudes who just HAD to have the local high school baseball score before their colostomy bag gave out. Get a life, shut-ins. Go to the game. Support the kids if you care so much.
- Being the guy who was called on my days off to cover for co-workers who acted like lazy jerks called in sick.
- At my last one and a half journalism jobs (long story), I miss the budget and the mandate to produce great stories.

2. What do you miss least?
- Having to act like high school sports were more important than they actually were in the particular market where I worked.
- The pay, but at the time it was OK. Just knew it would be unsustainable going forward. Gotta grow up sometime.
- The hours, I guess. But this was the life I had signed up for.
- Wondering just how important what I was doing actually was. Had told myself early on that what I did had impact on people. Questioned that as soon as the paychecks started squeaking in (a print journalism paycheck doesn't exactly "roll in"). When the verdict became "Not really, not much at all," I realized I was only doing the job because I enjoyed it, not because I was actually bringing anything people couldn't get somewhere else. I think that's the basic struggle of all media now: what can I bring that's unique, and worthwhile?
- Daily looking into the future and realizing that if I hit 30 without a plan to get out, I might never get out. And also knowing that if I hit 35 and still had to cover regular preps as part of my assignments, I would have long since burnt out. Could barely try to relate to high school kids when I first started (though they could be interesting; group of girls soccer players spent much of an interview telling me my hair made me look like either Orlando Bloom or Elijah Wood as Frodo; while they assured me that none of this was a bad thing, the interview, while fun, was largely a shambles to transcribe, and I resolved to only interview one or two people at a time from then on). Couldn't imagine being some dude in his mid-30s, possibly with kids of my own, shoving a tape recorder into teenagers' faces and acting like either of us was getting something positive out of the experience.
- Never feared a layoff. Knew they were coming. Figured I'd get out before then.
- Finally got out when I realized that the budget and "big-time" vibe at my last journalism gig would not translate to just about anywhere else I could end up. The job that was supposed to reignite my passion actually extinguished it, since I knew that anything following would be a letdown.

3. What do you do now?
- I'm in education. Academia, to be exact.
- It's my mandate to keep up on technology and the use of it, and to constantly examine more efficient ways to produce media and disseminate information to media consumers. It's a much better pursuit than constantly worrying about tomorrow's newspaper, or today's newscast.

4. Are you happier with your new career?
- Immeasurably.
- I have the opportunity to work with students and help them think more critically while not necessarily becoming cynical. I also get to learn a few things from them about the nature of how media are consumed by people who have used the Internet since they were in the womb, and who reject newspapers as a viable medium and potential workplace.
- I also enjoy learning how the use of social media has changed fandom and communication in regard to consumers creating and finding their own media rather than relying on "trained journalists!!" and official team statements.
- Based on where I thought sports media were going when I made the choice to put in motion a plan to get out eight years ago, I receive pretty much daily validation that my decision to finally walk away four years ago was absolutely the correct one.
- A couple years ago, there was an individual here who became offended when I was saying people should leave the newspaper business. This person said something to the effect of "Wow, you want a job where you're not beholden to a boss! I wish you luck, I really do." Well, that obviously insincere well-wishing proved prophetic. I largely keep my own hours, get to choose which projects I pursue, have significant autonomy, and make more money than I ever did as a journalist. Finally, I feel like I'm paid for the work I do. I feel extremely lucky.
- Also, I get to be a fan again, which is something I really underestimated. From the time I really dove into sports journalism until I got out (about a decade), it was tough to be a fan. The moment when I knew I wanted to just be a fan again and would relish the opportunity was at the U.S. vs. England friendly in Soldier Field in 2005. First national team game I hadn't drawn a paycheck to watch. Just enjoying the game, and not having to take notes . . . wonderful. I like getting there 10 minutes before the start, and leaving when I please. I choose when to go, and what to go to. I am no longer beholden to multiple schedules of events that I am expected attend and record for posterity.

Regarding the question of the choice to get out and whether the grass was greener:

The grass was not only greener, it surrounded a lush garden with tomatoes of all colors and tastes, plus red seedless grapes, a fruitful apple tree and a pristine fresh-water lake to swim in. I chose to get out because, back in 2005-06, I felt that in five years most of my peers who were forward-thinking and had the opportunity to try to get out (read: those with bachelor's degrees, either no family or an understanding family, the will to relocate if necessary, and the guts to realize that newspapers, the career they loved, were on the verge of catastrophe) . . . would do one of three things:
1. Law school. Because the skills of researching and writing translate, and because every single individual who gets out of law school makes a boatload of money.
2. Teaching. Two years for the teaching credential and/or master's, right?
3. Grad school. Not sure in what. Likely English, but that could lead to another dead end.

I chose what I chose for many reasons. The final nail was when I had finished my master's and was looking for the next opportunity, and a friend said he got his high school teaching credential in two years. Well, I could get a Ph.D. in a similar amount of time, have more prestige, more upward mobility, more impact, and a better standard of life as far as spending time with my family and dealing with students who could be expected to be highly motivated.

I did not anticipate the many opportunities my brethren have found in technical writing or editing for book companies. I never thought SD and PR jobs would have materialized at the rate we all would have hoped, but some have found a good landing spot there. I do think that the state of the media business now is such that most current newspaper jockeys, if they have not put themselves at the forefront of newer media (hey, whatever did happen to SoSueMe, Mr. "I'm a print JOURNALIST!!!"), will have a challenging time.

So, yes, got out, very happy, no regrets whatsoever, glad others have also landed on their feet.

 

You might be missing writing a little bit.

 

1. What do you miss most about sports journalism?

The atmosphere and banter around the newsroom and the press box. Whether times were good or bad, there was always the feeling that we were all in it together. I always liked the jokes and good-natured shots we'd take at each other, and the way it all seemed to come together at deadline (most of the time). Also, the feeling of "winning" a big story, when we had something no one else had. That's priceless.

2. What do you miss least?

Looking over my shoulder all the time waiting for the grim reaper. Watching my industry crumbling under me. Feeling like a blacksmith or buggy-whip manufacturer watching a Model T chug past.

3. What do you do now?

I edit trade magazines.

4. Are you happier with your new career?

Not really. This feels like a job that merely pays the bills rather than a career. It's more like something I have to do than something I want to do. The subject of my magazines doesn't interest me the way sports does and always has. Don't get me wrong, I'm happy and grateful to have this -- and the regular hours are a plus, too. That said, I'd love to get back into the sports business in some capacity. But there's no way I'm ever going back into the newspaper business.

And to answer the addendum question: I was shoved out by a layoff. So as I (and Nuke LaLoosh) said, I'm just happy to be here and I'm taking it one day at a time.

 

1. What do you miss most about sports journalism?

I truly miss the thrill and challenge of writing a compelling story; crafting the lead, piecing the story together like a puzzle on deadline. I miss the creative outlet it provided. I miss the rush and satisfaction of making deadline and of reading the finished product the next morning in print.
I miss the atmosphere of the event, being able to have a perspective unique from the spectator.
I miss the camaraderie of the newsroom and in press boxes. There's a sense of shared experience that few can relate to outside of the field. Luckily, I found this in my later incarnation as a high school coach.

2. What do you miss least?

While I liked being able to wake up late, and the cyclical nature of the job (in season vs. off season), I don't miss giving up nights and weekends and missing the opportunities they presented. I think I almost take that for granted now, which at times leads me to romanticize my early 20s journalism life.

3. Reason for leaving:

There weren't any opportunities for advancement in my market, and I wasn't willing to move to find opportunities. I was in a serious relationship with my future wife and wanted to be able to lead a more orthodox existence with the ability to even take a vacation, save money, live with a sense of spontaneity.

4. What do you do now?

I left to become a high school language arts teacher (including journalism and advising the school newspaper) and cross country and track coach. After five years, I recently relocated and am considering other options. It was a great run, but I found myself overwhelmed and overworked as an English teacher who coached year-round at a running powerhouse (save for Thanksgiving week and part of Christmas break) while also balancing the hours required to advise the school newspaper.

5. Are you happier with your new career?

I found great joy in the successes of my new job: the state championships, the journalism awards earned by students, interacting with young people in different ways and the acknowledgement of being a keystone in a young person's life. But, like journalism, there is also the tedium, the paperwork, the pay. I will probably be back one day, but I need time to reflect on it.

I can say I am truly happy to be a fan. I began reporting at my university my freshman year of college, and because of it I always wore the cap of objectivity. But once I left journalism, I found myself falling in love with my alma mater, which I thought would never happen organically. I really enjoy being able to enjoy that fandom.

 

Good thread topic. I hope to contribute to it very soon.

 

smart, on both accounts.

 

Awesome thread. I replied earlier but it seems to have gone missing.

1. What do you miss most about sports journalism?

The rush of reporting the hell out of a story, busting your butt to get it done and then seeing the final product in your hands. I miss the people I worked with and the freedom I had.

2. What do you miss least?

Management, the pay, the crazy hours, the constant fear of losing my job.

3. What do you do now?

I started my career as a firefighter for a city with a population of about 120,000 17 months ago.

<b>4. Are you happier with your new career?</b>

Unbelievably. It is a new challenge every day and some of the things we get to do are amazing. It's hard work but very rewarding. On the even better side, I get to spend an enormous amount of time with my family (we work 48 straight hours and then get 96 hours off) and the pay has allowed us to live a life we never would have been able to had I still worked at the paper, including just recently purchasing our first home. It's been a tremendous change, and it's all been for the better. As someone mentioned previously in the thread, I've also found I enjoy watching sports MUCH more now. All in all, starting this career was one of the best things that have ever happened to me.

Oh, and they eliminated my position about two months after I left the newspaper.

 

1. Being in the press box/media center/newsroom. Lifelong friendships and memories made there.
2. The daily uncertainty and stress over whether I would still have a job when the new day dawned
3. Working in athletic communications at community college 1.4 miles from home
4. Are you kidding? Absolutely

 

OK, so 100% of former journalists (in this very unscientific poll) are happier since they bolted -- or were booted.

That should say a lot to readers on this board.

I, as a current newspaperman, am very happy for all of those who got out.

May I -- and many of us -- soon follow your lead

 

Christ, the social media BS. I'd forgotten that, in terms of bullshit I had to deal with. I might actually rank that...not ahead of the low pay and weird hours as a thing I don't miss, but it's damn close.

I'm sorry. I realize this is the wave of future times and the direction the business is going, and some people have found ways to make it an illuminating part of the news process...and such. But I'm glad I'm in a job now where I don't have to pretend I don't loathe Twitter and all it hath wrought with every fiber of my being.