No, you CAN'T root in the damn press box

[MileHigh]

I made the change from a newspaper job to a PR/Comms person at a major national retailer a few years back. Love almost every minute of it, and my bosses have been excited to have the perspective of a veteran journalist. They have given me the freedom and the confidence to be able to say things like, "This is something we should be excited about it, but media outlets won't care. This pitch is a waste of time" and "This is how we need to frame this release to have a chance of getting it picked up", etc. Having my salary increase by 2.5 times, with very little night and weekend work, hasn't hurt, either.

Anyway, in an early one-on-one conversation with one of our senior directors, she made reference to a female on our team, and said, "We need someone who looks good in front of the camera. She fills that role. But crafting releases, writing content or doing virtually anything that involves her thinking? Very much not in her skillset. We can't let that happen." Felt a little cruel at the time, but after working with this person, it's clear she was right on the money. And in fairness, when it comes to putting someone in front of the camera, that's very much not in my skillset.

This is me. I left journalism two years ago for a PR/comms job with a city. I, too, love it. It's just me and my boss, the comms director, in our agency, of which we get a high amount of media inquiries. He and his boss (the executive director) and the policy team, from what I've been told, like what I bring as a former journalist from the newspaper and TV side of things. The questions they likely will ask and for us to prepare for. Always anticipating the worst. I do a lot of website updating, writing content, etc., more in my wheelhouse.

My boss is great in front of a camera. I am not. But we do monthly mock sessions on the off chance he's gone and I have to do something on camera. It's only happened once, and it was a positive story, not a big deal. No heavy grilling. But he'll come up with subjects that we deal with a lot and has helped me tremendously just in case I do need to get in front of the camera and it's made me much more well-rounded.

Plus, I like the job security and not having the fear of getting tapped on the shoulder -- again.

 

[MNgremlin]

Are you listening, Romi?

 

[BYH 2: Electric Boogaloo]

"You always wish for a little more privacy," said the guy who demands to be called Coach Prime.

 

[LanceyHoward]

"You always wish for a little more privacy," said the guy who demands to be called Coach Prime.

And has a son filming constantly for a potential reality series.

 

[maumann]

Flacking out is a way more lucrative option -- and less frowned upon -- than it was when I was still in radio. That's the reality of the situation, though. By the time you're 40, your chances of reaching a major market, or even a job that allows you to raise a family, are close to zero. And unless you somehow landed a well-paying gig in a mid-level metro, you don't have enough money to invest in a startup or even a record store.

So as many folks on the board have proven, corporations and public agencies lack people with strong communication skills, and are willing to pay good money for those who not only can pitch good stories but know where to find them in the first place. Those jobs are out there if you're willing. But it's difficult to lose the desire for the adrenaline rush that is deadline, seeing yourself on camera or hearing your voice in your headphones.

The parallels to professional athletes are striking. Thousands of college seniors are graduating every June, thinking they've got the tools and talent to anchor the ABC/NBC/CBS Evening News, just like elite athletes all consider themselves making big bucks in MLB, NFL, NBA or NHL. Eventually, 99 percent of them have to figure out a different way to pay the rent.

Was my career not successful because I didn't replace Ernie Harwell as voice of the Tigers or Sid Collins on the Indianapolis Motor Speedway Radio Network, like I started out dreaming of as a kid? Not at all. I still got to be a storyteller on radio, in print and on the Internet for a lot longer than I probably deserved. It just happened in places like Ocala, Melbourne, Vacaville, Rocky Mount, Raleigh and Atlanta instead.

You're all great storytellers, even if you don't have a byline in the New York Times or a feature on 60 Minutes.

 

[Slacker]

If I can't work in a newsroom anymore, I don't want any job dealing with words and writing, etc.

I loved that adrenaline kick of publishing news and vital information on deadline. PR and marketing communications just don't do it for me.

But I respect all of you who could make that transition, and I envy your hefty new paychecks and benefits. Now I'll go cry myself to sleep again.

 

[MileHigh]

If I can't work in a newsroom anymore, I don't want any job dealing with words and writing, etc.

I loved that adrenaline kick of publishing news and vital information on deadline. PR and marketing communications just don't do it for me.

But I respect all of you who could make that transition, and I envy your hefty new paychecks and benefits. Now I'll go cry myself to sleep again.

It's different words and writing and I hear what you're saying.

But ... yeah, hefty new paycheck. All holidays off. No weekends. And above all, job security. I'm happy to to have made that tradeoff.

 

[Slacker]

It's different words and writing and I hear what you're saying.

But ... yeah, hefty new paycheck. All holidays off. No weekends. And above all, job security. I'm happy to to have made that tradeoff.

I guess I'm retired now. That's a pretty good tradeoff, too.

Still gonna miss those newsrooms, though. The ones before everything fell apart.

 

[Roscablo]

It's different words and writing and I hear what you're saying.

But ... yeah, hefty new paycheck. All holidays off. No weekends. And above all, job security. I'm happy to to have made that tradeoff.

I'm still in media/newswriting/publishing, but work from home and basically on my own time other than kind of a morning rush to get things off the ground.

Thought I would miss newsrooms and that environment too, but don't at all. Nothing like the flexibility. I'll take that every second of the day over a crazy newsroom that could be fun with those in it with me, but still came with a lot of office baggage. I don't know if the job security is 100% but it is much better than traditional media, and I am getting paid more too.

I had been out of it for a while and people always asked me why I didn't write blogs or whatever just because. I was like, why would I do that for fun?

 

[Liut]

Flacking out is a way more lucrative option -- and less frowned upon -- than it was when I was still in radio. That's the reality of the situation, though. By the time you're 40, your chances of reaching a major market, or even a job that allows you to raise a family, are close to zero. And unless you somehow landed a well-paying gig in a mid-level metro, you don't have enough money to invest in a startup or even a record store.

So as many folks on the board have proven, corporations and public agencies lack people with strong communication skills, and are willing to pay good money for those who not only can pitch good stories but know where to find them in the first place. Those jobs are out there if you're willing. But it's difficult to lose the desire for the adrenaline rush that is deadline, seeing yourself on camera or hearing your voice in your headphones.

The parallels to professional athletes are striking. Thousands of college seniors are graduating every June, thinking they've got the tools and talent to anchor the ABC/NBC/CBS Evening News, just like elite athletes all consider themselves making big bucks in MLB, NFL, NBA or NHL. Eventually, 99 percent of them have to figure out a different way to pay the rent.

Was my career not successful because I didn't replace Ernie Harwell as voice of the Tigers or Sid Collins on the Indianapolis Motor Speedway Radio Network, like I started out dreaming of as a kid? Not at all. I still got to be a storyteller on radio, in print and on the Internet for a lot longer than I probably deserved. It just happened in places like Ocala, Melbourne, Vacaville, Rocky Mount, Raleigh and Atlanta instead.

You're all great storytellers, even if you don't have a byline in the New York Times or a feature on 60 Minutes.

Great take(s).
Thousands of college seniors are graduating every June, thinking they've got the tools and talent to anchor the ABC/NBC/CBS Evening News
Even though they don't know much history/geography/economics and mumble their speech.
I was thinking just the other day of a college professor who would tell students they needed to practice speaking out loud and rid themselves of verbal crutches and dialects. Seemed like good advice at the time. Today, he'd be fired.

 

[BurnsWhenIPee]

I guess I'm retired now. That's a pretty good tradeoff, too.

Still gonna miss those newsrooms, though. The ones before everything fell apart.

I still miss the newsroom vibe on days when the major stories are hitting hard. And there are days when the PR/Comms thing doesn't move the needle in the least for me.

But like MileHigh said, bigger paycheck, nights, weekends and holidays. And things like off-schedule pay raises and promotions without my pursuing them, "just because we see your dedication, unmatched ability to meet deadlines and the quality of your work."

Make no mistake, I freely believe I was better at my newspaper gig than I am at this job. But the items in bold would never happen in a million years at the paper I left. The most I'd get would be a "be happy you're employed" mindset. The further I get from it, the more it feels like I was the victim in an abusive relationship. When former co-workers and I get together and reminisce, each of us has a "did this really happen, and we were accepting of that?" trove of stories.

 

[HanSenSE]

Count me in too. People aren't going to stop buying groceries, so work is steady and I make a helluva lot more than I ever did at the paper. And when my shift is over, I go home.

But when time (and lately, the local paper's budget allows), love covering Friday night football or whatever they throw my way, mostly for the rush of knocking one out on deadline.