Its always been my dream

Hey, Sizzle, don't get too discouraged. Should be noted: It's still a great field. The pay is not bad at all at the major newspapers, even at preps reporter positions. I'm not married and I don't have kids, but if I did, it would work out fine. My colleagues with families do just fine. I work a lot out of my apartment, which would be an ideal situation for hanging out with kids or eating lunch with the wife. Sure, we're often out at night, but the day time often is free time, when I do laundry, run errands, grocery shop, work out at the gym, etc. And having essentially two to three months of year on vacation -- on the payroll but with no responsibility expect an occasional small story -- during the offseason isn't a bad deal either.

I once saw a bank commercial that repeatedly tells a kid, "Don't do this," "Don't do that" etc. ... or you just may become a successful entrepeneur. Great message. Don't let the naysayers bring you down.

 

After reading what most of you have posted, I must agree...
Almost 19, I have my fair share of experience, but far from <i>a lot.</i>
I've interviewed the Maple Leafs coach, hockey owners and past NHL greats, and let me tell you, they treat you as if you're a veteran. Fair, equal and professional.
Even though the novelty of attending pro games is somewhat there, I know at the end of the game, it's my job to get down there, grab quotes and eventually get a story out.
For some reason, I feel as if my writing takes one step forward, then one back. Maybe I'm still developing my voice? Who knows. But one thing's for sure, I still have a long way to go before I land some big gig.
I'm not in college yet, but I do freelance for two newspapers. Either I land a job in writing by Christmas, or it's off to J-school -- which isn't all that bad.
And if you really want to get good, do what I do. Play NHL07, Madden 07 or MLB07 -- whatever. Play the season out and write the gamers. So far, I've done 13+ gamers, a trade and line change story. Mix it up. Then compare to what is really happening with the team in the real world.

 

I'm sorry, I spent 15 minutes reading through this thread and I couldn't get over this statement... Rest assured you DO NOT have more experience than 'a good portion' of college students. I wrote twice a week for my 60k daily starting at 16 years old and I thought I knew everything too. Nothing you have done (stringing, typing in stats, etc.) so far cuts your teeth as much as internships, EIC in college, etc.
And as far as advice for an aspiring journalist, I would stay along the same thinking... be humble. Don't go into an internship or college paper thinking you know everything, because I promise you don't.

 

Yeah, building on that...

Kiddo, I worked 40 hours a week, six days a week on part-timer wages at the local paper while going to school full time AND working an additional 30 hours a week in a work-study job, all to help pay for a degree my (rather financially sound) parents were just too lazy to help pay for themselves.

Four years after graduating, I'm more or less more fortunate than someone of my intelligence or talent deserves to be. But yet and still, I've had to deal with the occasional person who sees me, sees my age and assumes I'm a cocky, clueless, pointlessly self-assured kid.

Statements like the above, from those in your age bracket, are why plenty of young writers have to deal with that sort of thing.

And even if you DO have more experience than most college kids, even if you walked in on Albert Pujols snorting coke off Jeff Gordon's butt-cheeks while Terrell Owens sodomizes an eemu in the next room and you break an exclusive story on the whole sordid mess, you still have NO real experience.

When, or should I say if, you get a full-time newspaper jobs, you'll work alongside guys with kids, mortgages, child-support payments, alcohol abuse problems, whatever. THAT'S experience.

Getting a chance to cover some stuff isn't experience. Until your goals evolve from attaining Young Fucking Stud nirvana and finger-banging Mary Jane Rottencrotch, you haven't a morsel of experience.

 

Damnnnn ... I'm glad I'm only half-experienced.

 

"End of thread."

 

Hmmmm.... anyone have thoughts on this?

 

Same thing I did with APBA when I was 13. Great practice.

 

re: writing "video-game gamers"

Reminds me of the story that Mel Allen used to tell, about when he was a kid sitting in the upper deck at Yankee Stadium broadcasting games to himself complete with bio information on Lou Gehrig and Joe D and others.

For anyone who's ever kept complete stats for an APBA season (or any other simulation game), we could have practiced writing gamers this way, too.

Obviously, there's a lot more to covering a game and writing a story afterward. But the more practice you get, the better off you are. Keep writing.

 

I thought the same thing. But let me tell you something: Yes, you do. You just won't figure it out until you have to ... or really want to.
For all the grief the sports writing business gave me over the course of 15 years, I wouldn't change one damn day. I got to make a career out of my two favourite activities: Writing and sports. I got to meet some pretty damn amazing people and I got to do some pretty damn amazing things.
When I was 14, I said 'I'm going to work at the Calgary Sun one day.' And I did.
I got to realize a dream and get paid pretty damn well for a job where the biggest risk of injury is a broken fingernail. OK, there was the time I was shooting a volleyball game and took a ball off the side of the head but I got over it pretty quick.
My advice to the thread originator is this: If this is really what you want and the opportunity exists, do it. You won't regret it. You may just have the time of your life.
But for God's sake, the way things are going, have a backup plan.

 

nice post flash. and, i think it would be good to have a backup plan regardless of the state of any profession you enter.