Three things you would have done differently

I would have gotten over the whole "sports department vs. rest of the newsroom" attitude a lot faster than I did. I fell for the whole idea of we're so understaffed and overworked, why do they get pizza on election night when we work harder every Saturday, we're the only ones who know what deadlines really are, etc. etc. and it prevented me from getting to know people in the newsroom. As I broadened my horizons, I made good friends on The Other Side.

 

1. Gone to an in-state school, specifically Penn State. Loans are killing me, but in high school, I was convinced I needed to go out-of-state for the real college experience and I was convinced the school I went to had a better journalism school, and that mattered. The truth is, I would have had a similar experience at Penn State and saved a LOT of money.

2. I would have started sooner in college in really taking journalism seriously. It wasn't until my junior year that I really started planning for the future. I should have applied to more internships, read more and so on.

3. This one's tricky: I really like copy editing, but I had always set out to be a reporter. Now, I'm at a big paper making decent money as a copy editor, and I know that unless I get the opportunity here, I'm going to have to make a decision one day: Do I leave for a reporting job that pays worse in a worse location? This is particularly disconcerting because I don't think copy editing has much of a place in the online world (see: Grantland).

 

1. Wish I would have picked up earlier how to handle people better.
2. Wish I would have told the little Napoleon who used to be my sports editor to fuck off.
3. Wish I would have posted on sports journalism message boards more

 

MORE?! More than nearly 50K times?!

 

1. Have a less-myopic view of the world and hadn't held my career back as a result. I put the brakes on my own career advancement in my mid-20s for family reasons -- in part because my now-wife had an even more myopic view of the world and didn't realize her talent could've carried her pretty far in the biz -- and several years later, realized I was stuck at a community paper and had no real choice but to get out of the biz or sacrifice my sanity. That said, I'm happily married and my wife is still very happy working for the same paper. A fellow board member offered me a job several years back, and turning it down was, professionally, one of the biggest mistakes I've ever made.

2. Promote myself early in my career, especially multimedia abilities that I had which were pretty unique in the 1990s. I was too humble/lacking in self-confidence, and didn't realize my own abilities back then.

3. Pursue broadcasting -- which was always my first love and where I have the greatest talent -- rather than newspapers, where I went for the full-time salary and stability to appease my parents, who were more than a little bit oppressive about me finding a full-time job right out of school.

Everything happens for a reason. I have an enjoyable career now, don't make great money but still more than I ever made as a journalist, I don't go to bed at night worried I got scooped, I usually don't go to bed worried about the next round of layoffs (although that has hit my industry hard, too) and I get to freelance major events and broadcast high school sporting events as a hobby. And I get to come home at 3 p.m. every day and watch my 4-year-old grow up.

 

This. THIS. Oh dear God, this.

 

1. Have more confidence. Until recently, I really didn't believe in myself, thinking that where I worked was a reflection of my self-worth. That's no way to look at things. Really, I'm learning a lot of valuable skills that some of my peers may not be. If I had more confidence in college, and the couple of years after, it could've helped me out so much more.

2. Started writing more news in college. I'm a hybrid sports/news guy now. Doing news has really helped my reporting skills.

3. Taken more risks after I got laid off. I latched onto the first solid thing I could grab, when I probably could've done much better.

 

I would have liked to have learned sooner to regard journalism as a job, rather than a calling.

I should have moved more quickly to larger newspapers when given the opportunity instead of worrying about loyalty or a "checker board" resume.

I would have planned a better, readily-available exit strategy.

 

1. I would have stayed at the college where I spent my first two years, rather than transferring to a college closer to home so I could party with my brother and my friends. Wasted two years of college and a lot of my parent's money spinning my wheels because I didn't know what I wanted to do with my life.

1A. Paid my own way to college. I would have appreciated it more and goofed off a lot less. When I did that in getting my journalism degree (which is a second degree), everything fell into place for me.

2. Gone into radio broadcasting, which was my first love. Even today, when I watch a high school game, I'm doing play-by-play in my head. I think it helps me with on-the-spot analysis of what's going on. But I'd still like to be doing the real thing.

3. Been more aggressive in seeking out jobs in larger markets. I'm still at the paper where I started my career, and where I'll finish it. There were family reasons for staying, and it's been a solid satisfying life, no complaints, but I wonder sometimes how I'd have done at a bigger-market paper in a more challenging job.

 

1) Asked.

2) Shut up.

3) Kissed her.

About 100 times I shoulda done each.

 

Nothing professionally.

Taken Spanish instead of French.

Taken fitness/healthy eating more seriously, oh, about 20 years ago.

(Edit: I take it back. I would have been a more dogged reporter earlier in my career instead of just giving up so easily because "He's not going to call back" or "he's not going to tell me..."

 

After a very sheltered, narrow existence, it struck me about 10 years ago that my life was empty. I went to great lengths to broaden my experiences, quite successfully. Now that I am ready to apply that deeper understanding, I can't find a job that isn't shit. So here's the three:
1. Realized that there is so much more to life and the world than the little corner I worked so hard to master. Float above the muck even when you are down in the midst of it, slogging together 70 prep box scores on hoops night. Don't let that shit swallow your life or your soul. Shut my fucking face and paid more attention.
2. Lived a more ridiculous and amazing life. The movie "Cedar Rapids" describes it. I've finally done that, but it took until my 40s. Should have been my 20s. My writing/editing/life choices would have been so much more complete and rich.
3. Re. people. When someone is excellent in one or more ways (especially loyalty), appreciate it, absorb it, learn from it, let them know. When they suck, call them on it -- source, boss, co-worker, whatever -- even if it means you have to punch them in the face. And demand that the good ones do the same to you.
4) Don't limit yourself to three items if you think four are necessary.