Print journalism or media relations?

I have been involved in print journalism for the last five years and recently I was contacted by a good friend/mentor who told me about a Media Relations coordinator position that could potentially open in a couple months with a Major League Baseball team. Would I be a fool to pass up the opportunity? Or should I stay with newspapers. Which to me is pretty much a dying breed. Granted, I could be wrong.

 

What do you want to do? Media relations for MLB is no bargain, either. You work long hours in a long season. There's a lot of turnover.

 

I just cover preps and some college. Yeah it seems like it is definitely a grind and I would be doing the usual..working with the media..working on the media guide, etc etc. I have never been on that side and I guess that's why the possibility intrigues me.

 

Yeah, but shit, hanging out at the ballpark every day ... sometimes I think about going back for a JD/MBA just to get into baseball front office work because of the lifestyle (I'd never want to be involved with baseball as an outsider/BBWAA, only as an insider/front office person).

I'd at least think about it if I was you. I covered minor league baseball for a few years and being around baseball is just awesome if you love the game.

 

Eventually I'd like to work for a major daily newspaper...branch out into television and do some radio. Lets say I want to do it all haha. So I dont know if this is going in the wrong direction, or simply giving me some good experience in a different field.

 

As KnuteRockne said, the game of baseball is just great. And you cant beat being on a baseball field.

 

If you <i>work</i> for a team, you're not "hanging out at the ballpark."

Maybe George Costanza gave you the wrong idea when he was with the Yankees.

 

I get that.

 

Neither.

 

You should consider that the pay for MLB media relations staffers is similar to that of sports journalists, for the same reason: They don't pay well because lots of people want those jobs. If you get to run the media relations staff -- or get to a major paper -- your pay will be pretty good.

An MLB writer gets to the ballpark around 3 p.m. (for a night game) and leaves about midnight.

An MLB media relations staffer gets to the ballpark at 9 or 10 a.m. and stays until the media is done in the clubhouse, leaving around 11 p.m. Then it's back to the ballpark first thing in the morning.

You do, however, get a championship ring if your team wins.

 

I was the Asst Sports Information Director at a college after I worked at a few papers. I liked it for a while but I hated being at the college 24/7. I never left the place and I missed being able to cover a forest fire and a police shooting once in a while.

But like they have said if you love Baseball and your ready to do nothing else but baseball then take the job. You do get a ring and its a beautiful ring.

 

Do you want to be on the side that fights to get the truth about what's going on (journalists) or the side that tries to obstruct and prevent the truth from ever getting out (P.R., media relations)?

It's not a question about personal finances. It's about morality.