Have you given up?

I have "made it" by most accounts. I have a good job at a better-than-OK (most of the time) paper covering a beat. Yet ... I can't help but think there's something else out there that will allow me to be happy.

For the life of me, I don't know what it is. I've left newspapers once, so if I go again, odds are I won't get back in, at least not at the level I'm at now. So what to do?

Maintain.

 

I went into tech writing. But there are plenty of other non-newspaper writing gigs out there. I looked at some editing/writing gigs in the healthcare industry, a publishing company and the chamber of commerce. Nearly every business has some sort of need for communications people.

Now, the problem I ran into was the stigma of working in sports. People outside of the biz didn't seem to take it as seriously. In one interview I had, I was asked "Do you think you can handle the stress? It gets pretty hectic around here. Sometimes we only have a couple of days to meet a deadline." I responded with "If I can handle working the sports desk on a Friday or Saturday night during football season, I think I can handle just about anything." But that didn't seem to resonate.

Fortunately, my current gig is big on deadlines. And there are several ex-newspaper people including another former sports writer. They understand that I'm well-equipped to deal with deadlines.

 

That's exactly why I don't even describe myself as a former sportswriter or newspaper designer -- so I don't get pigeon-holed. On my application material, it's usually just writer, journalist, or designer. I try to paint myself as a general writer/designer who happened to have spent a significant amount of time in journalism (note: not even "sports journalism"), rather than as a career sportswriter or sports designer now looking to get into another field. As for Wendell's experience about the "working desk on a Friday night" thing not resonating with interviewers, non-newspaper people don't really understand what it means to work on a sports desk on a Friday night. That's why when I talk about my experience with deadlines, I always get specific -- "I'm very comfortable with tight deadlines because for 8 years, I only had 4-5 hours each day to design and edit a six-page section from scratch" or "I am regularly in situations where I have to produce a 600-word story in less than an hour, usually with deadline looming". I also try to stress my versatility ("I have significant experience in a wide variety of writing, including live breaking news reporting, in-depth investigations, personality profiles, and columns"), and I pick clips that back that up. You can also talk about your resourcefulness in finding sources of information or quickly picking up knowledge in order to write about a topic you weren't familiar with. A lot of it is about the way you present your attributes and experience to make them see that you are multi-dimensional rather than one-dimensional.

 

I had an intense passion for this job when I graduated now, 18 months later, I have an EIC who hates me and has taken every ounce of passion, love and drive I had in this business from me

 

is your eic an ass or do you have mistakes falling out of yours?

 

This thread is loaded with some of the most introspective, from-the-heart posts I've seen in the year-plus I've been around here. Thanks, everybody, for keeping it real.
As for me, 38 years in the biz, mid 50s, and now my anxiety level is starting to build. I can do my job, am pretty healthy after a serious scare 4 years ago. But I am in the demographic that might get whacked and ability doesn't seem to be a part of the "selection" process.
Every job I've had here I've been the best at, but I haven't reached the level where I deserve to be because of gender or minority hires. I'm not bitching about that except for the fact that those people won't get hit if the axe falls.
I have never thought I'd like to teach, not much interested in PR. A different job would be difficult to find if I get sent away from here.
Going back, my first job I decided would be my last job. I was gonna be a lifer at this particular place. The pay for a suburban was decent and I lived in a great area, had roots down and family nearby. Then, after 25 years, they decided they didn't want me anymore. That was a bitter time, being laid off for no good reason.
I bounced around a bit then landed where I am now (escaping Singleton in the process), moved away from the family, and hoped this would be my last job. It still might be if the paper can hold on another 8-9 years. But the current deterioration of the product and the workforce have me seriously worried.
I have not given up, but the decision-making by management and the obstacles we have to overcome on a nightly basis make it more and more difficult to keep a positive attitude.
I doubt if I will ever give up on this business ... I'm just hoping the business doesn't give up on me.

 

I still find much to like/put up with on the editorial side and figure to keep at it, but Mrs. Editude has given up. The politics, non-grownup hours, lowered staffs and expectations ... she doesn't need it.

 

This is a great thread.

I know I'm damn lucky to be where I'm at. But I'd like to think I've busted ass along the way and earned my position. Four years ago, I was desperately trying to find a job and took one basically doing below intern work. Now, I cover pro and college teams. I'm fortunate to be where I am, and many days, I love what I do.

I don't think I can be anything but than a writer/editor and dealing in sports. Neither does my wife. But those "other" days, where all you do is shovel shit for hours on end, only to get zero reward for your efforts, they take more and more out of me than they use to.

Last night was one of those nights. I almost walked out on my desk shift when my wife called to tell me our 2-year-old peed in his potty. Another milestone in his life I've missed and another moment where I wondered, and kind of wished I had a normal working life.

 

Ya, I'd have been pissed.

 

shit like that will wear on you more and more as you get older.

 

yup.

 

I left twice (once against my will). I had a chance to work at at financial firm making about $35K to start or get back into the field making about $27K. As much as the extra money tempted me, the thought of getting up at 630 am, wearing a suit and tie and dealing with the BS that could have come along with it couldn't compare to being able to cover sports and get paid for it.

It takes work and a little bit of luck to get where you want to go....I bounced from mid-sized to mid-sized for 16 years before finally getting the call to a major last spring. Once you get there, the trick is to remember what it took to get there and go full tilt on every assignment you get. I've wanted to work at a daily since I was 13 years old and consider myself blessed to no end that I can say I reached a childhood dream. There's nothing I've ever done professionally that comes close to what I do now.