Smalltown SEs and sportswriters - what drives you?

God bless all of you.

 

Clearly, all who have posted on this thread truly do have a passion for small-town sports journalism. Kudos to you all. Part of me wishes I still had that, but for me, it's all worked out for the best.

It's funny I think, because after reading these, I feel like it was my ego - or at least, my feeling of going nowhere - that ultimately drove me out. Yet, I now work in PR/Media Relations, where I truly enjoy assisting media, pitching stories that are successes, and managing communications - all behind the scenes. And that's where I'm happiest. Maybe that says it all.

 

The equation I posted goes back to when I was doing it. I ran through walls for 17 years before switching to news.

Don't think I could do it today.

 

I loved covering a couple of universities, local preps, and writing a column. When I eventually got to a metro (not a full-time gig), I was only doing preps. It was fun covering big time college sports and having an opinion column on a small paper.

Like 99 percent of the sportswriters like me who got out of the business, it was about low pay and long hours. Not one journalist I know said they hated the writing, the creative aspect of the profession, meeting interesting people, writing opinions, or watching exciting games.

It's all low pay and long hours ... and crappy management. It's too bad because for the most part the field attracts bright, creative, interesting, hard-working people, and then the profession drives them away.

 

An all-time winner.

 

Beat me to it

 

I have covered the World Series and the Super Bowl, but nothing ... absolutely nothing ... compares to small-town Friday Night Lights.

 

I think that's the key. If you're looking at a job as a stepping stone to another job, you won't be happy. Appreciate the job for what it is. You get to cover sports for a living.

I haven't been in the industry for long, but I love it. Maybe that will change as I grow older, but for now I just try to appreciate each day on the job for what it is: doing something I love to do.

 

By a mile ...

 

That in a nutshell sucks and can drive anyone away!! Fortunately, we are not there and hope we don't get there

 

As someone who was the SE at a small shop to start out, part of it was ego. You were "The Man!'' when it came to sports in that community. It was pretty cool for a long time, then it got boring. At some point, the best ones want a new challenge and not just stay somewhere because it's routine and easy