"Getting out of the business" resource thread

Another sign of differences between the in-journalism and out-of-journalism world: The head of our department (about 70-80 people) just reached out to me, to check in and see how I was doing. I started several weeks before COVID, and he wanted to make sure newer employees were still connecting with the culture. I'm guessing this might be a function of life in the healthcare world, where empathy and compassion are important values, but perhaps it isn't.

Imagine the editor of a mid- to large-sized metro calling staffers to check in on them? It's never happened anywhere I've worked and I've worked in decent-sized newsrooms.

 

Man I don’t know what I want to do. Is an MPA worth it? I guess I could go that route. I’m at a loss, but young enough to pivot.

 

I just finished grad school myself (different degree). Before you take the plunge, make sure you have a clear idea of what you want to get out of the program and whether the program and school can deliver that for you. What specific doors would an MPA open that are not open to you now? You might want to talk to people in the field you want to enter and see how essential an MPA is before committing all that time, money, and effort. Good luck.

 

If you got an MPA what field do you want to pursue? You may have answered that and I missed it. And how good a school could you get admitted into that you would want to attend. I tend to think if you have an undergraduate degree (you must) that an MPA is only worth it if the prestige of your graduate school far exceeds that of your undergraduate school.

And I went to Indiana for an MBA. Indiana has a top ranked school of Public Administration. The MBA program is ranked about 20th. It was my impression that an MBA could qualify for most of the non=profit jobs an MPA could get but the opposite was not true. MPA's could not apply for private industry jobs MBA's could get.

 

Wow. Good for you being treated like a human being. I can honestly say no suit has ever said a kind word to anybody I've been around. Even if they won an award there'd be a sarcastic mention like, "That's what you get paid for," or some such joke. Some sports editors are kind but not all sports editors are true suits, either.

 

What MBA program did you pursue? I have no clue what I want to do at the moment.

 

Gannett led the way on this. The "editors" were told to always act superior to their reporters and by all means never hang out with reporters. Only contact with them is official contact like the boss in Office Space. This culture made it easy to give low grades on evaluations and tiny tiny raises if raises were given at all. Despicable.
Any former Gannett suits want to explain to us how it all works/worked?

 

Wrong. They were not "editors." They were "Coaches".

 

I started a cooperate communications job recently and doubled my pay from what I was making working for a daily newspaper. It was a fun run as a sports journalist, but I am looking forward to what's ahead. I know it will be a little overwhelming at first with this new position, but it is nice knowing that I will actually make a good living and work in an industry that is thriving and growing.

 

Congrats!

Would you mind sharing some of the process you used to land the gig? I think successful transition stories are always helpful, because there doesn't seem to be a set path. Did you emphasize certain skills in your resume/cover letter? Did you network? Did you scour specific job boards?

 

I mostly used Indeed to look for jobs. I stressed my strong writing skills, along with my experience in digital, social media and graphic design (Adobe Creative Suite). But it was mostly my writing skills that I stressed. I applied for a lot of jobs and was a finalist for multiple positions. Eventually a company hired me because of those strong writing skills. It wasn't an easy process by any means. I had PR firms turn me own. I also had other cooperate communication jobs not work out. I just needed one company to take a chance on me, and it happened to be a very successful company and for a management position. I will miss full-time sports journalism, but I have other avenues that I can write about sports.