Unrealistic expectations of the business?

[shotglass]

I'm happy knowing that I will likely not turn out that way.

Thanks for the heads-up. It's a relief, at least to me, and a real savings in time wasted, to know that you'll be the one who makes it big. So many people think the same thing, after all. To hold such an obvious absurdity in their heads and in their hearts! Delusional! Now the rest of us can at last ease up and get busy with the very real work of our soul-deadening commitment to professional mediocrity, our serial failed marriages, our comical substance addictions and the rearing of our colicky, ill-bred children. Those of us about to settle into long but little lives of quiet desperation, the supporting players in the grand opera of your life, salute you on the timely revelation of your foreordained success.

jg, in his defense, that's not what he was saying. He's saying that he won't turn out bitter because he's family-first.

 

[PEteacher]

I'm happy knowing that I will likely not turn out that way.

Thanks for the heads-up. It's a relief, at least to me, and a real savings in time wasted, to know that you'll be the one who makes it big. So many people think the same thing, after all. To hold such an obvious absurdity in their heads and in their hearts! Delusional! Now the rest of us can at last ease up and get busy with the very real work of our soul-deadening commitment to professional mediocrity, our serial failed marriages, our comical substance addictions and the rearing of our colicky, ill-bred children. Those of us about to settle into long but little lives of quiet desperation, the supporting players in the grand opera of your life, salute you on the timely revelation of your foreordained success.

Damn, why are you so worked up? This short piece of writing was an amazing, superbly-written, unbelievably-descriptive piece of literature. If that's how your sports stories read, you should be on the fast track to the New York Times. I'm dead serious.

 

[jgmacg]

I'm happy knowing that I will likely not turn out that way.

Thanks for the heads-up. It's a relief, at least to me, and a real savings in time wasted, to know that you'll be the one who makes it big. So many people think the same thing, after all. To hold such an obvious absurdity in their heads and in their hearts! Delusional! Now the rest of us can at last ease up and get busy with the very real work of our soul-deadening commitment to professional mediocrity, our serial failed marriages, our comical substance addictions and the rearing of our colicky, ill-bred children. Those of us about to settle into long but little lives of quiet desperation, the supporting players in the grand opera of your life, salute you on the timely revelation of your foreordained success.

jg, in his defense, that's not what he was saying. He's saying that he won't turn out bitter because he's family-first.

That being the case, I stand corrected. I withdraw the comment, and apologize to House for having made it.

 

[joe king]

EE94, of you're 40, you're not just approaching ``too old to hire.'' You're there.

 

[Tom Petty]

But newspapers often rarely love you back.

Exactly. So I invest in my wife and friends, who do love me back.

My dad has worked in the same mediocre job for over 20 years. He does it because he leaves work at work and enjoys his life outside of work. He hunts, he fishes, he officiates high school football in the fall.

Like Tyler Durden said, "You're not your job."

house, maybe you should excuse yourself from conversations such as this. on another thread, you've already stated you don't respect the fact you're a sports writer and can't wait to leave this end of the profession and get into news.

some of these guys are pouring their souls out on this thread, and to be quite honest, sports guys (people) are different than news guys (people). for a great many of us, 'we absolutely aren't our jobs,' but at the same time, our jobs do make up a part of defining us.

any day now you can get back into news, a more county-job-like approach to being a part of the journalism profession. i'm not trying to be rude here, but it's obvious you don't get what drives sports guys (people) into being sports guys (people).

Tom, I dig your songs, but not your opinion of news-siders. On the thread the other day about "jumping to news," you said newsies lack the work ethic of sports writers. Now you compare news side work to a "county-job." (I'm not sure what that means, but I suspect it's not a compliment).

I agree that some people on news desks underestimate what sports can be like, but let's not get carried away here.

Yes, you guys have tough deadlines and lousy hours and often have to file multiple stories a day. I, a newsie, work more or less regular hours and usually get home for dinner, though I, too, often have to file multiple stories a day.

But in sports, most of what you're writing about unfolds in front of you and you can then go talk to the participants about it, and they're generally willing to talk. Also, preps and maybe small colleges excluded, you have all the stats you could ever possibly need supplied to you immediately by a cadre of helpful flacks.

In news, there are certainly some obvious and easy stories. But many, the good ones typically, are not. You're chasing rumors, connecting dots, trying to figure out which statistics and sources to believe, cajoling and wheedling information out of people who'd really rather not help you and getting a lot of doors slammed in your face. It's not quite a desk job at the DMV.

I'm not saying newsies are somehow "better" than sports reporters. There are plenty of hacks on both desks. But don't give me the implication that sports work is somehow morally superior to news, either. That's bullshirt.

damn irish, i love seeing that kind of passion out of someone from news ... damn, i wished i would have worked with you when i was handing out assignments in a newsroom.

but, at the same time, i would have given anything to have had a news person just once call me at home at 4 a.m. and bench about a source they were having a problem with while attempting to finish a feature or column. but that call -- or trip to a watering hole -- never happened with a news person. somehow, news folks are able to -- somehow -- leave their work 'issues' at the door.

at first, i was going to tell you by no means was i attempting to give you the implication sports folks were superior to news folks, but you know what? we are, only because of the passion we bring when we bring our A games.

 

[shotglass]

Wow ... I'm becoming a belated fan.

One adjustment, and frankly, I want to know if you agree. The newsies DID have that kind of passion ... at 20, at 21, as college journalists. College news reporters could be as intense about the job as anyone I ever saw.

But for some reason, sports people seem to keep whatever it is -- I don't know, it isn't idealism, it's something else -- while those who go the news route seem to become vanilla, perhaps blase about their craft.

 

[House]

That being the case, I stand corrected. I withdraw the comment, and apologize to House for having made it.

I hold no grudges.

 

[BarbersGmen]

Part-time writers and freelancers are in the slow lane. Recent college grads are in the fast lane.

I'm a part-timer and a year removed from college, so does that put me in the middle lane? And how dumb are my husband and I to consider buying a home near a paper that I work 30 hours a week?

 

[Tom Petty]

But for some reason, sports people seem to keep whatever it is -- I don't know, it isn't idealism, it's something else -- while those who go the news route seem to become vanilla, perhaps blase about their craft.

i believe it's just plain passion for what we do shot. i think 90 percent of us here have exactly that, and even if we disagree with each other 99 percent of the time, we can all respect those 90 percenters for giving a damn all the time.

 

[Tom Petty]

Part-time writers and freelancers are in the slow lane. Recent college grads are in the fast lane.

I'm a part-timer and a year removed from college, so does that put me in the middle lane?  And how dumb are my husband and I to consider buying a home near a paper that I work 30 hours a week?

barber, a quick heads up ... i can be blunt at times and i will be now: yes and very. don't buy if you are serious about the profession and you're a part timer.

 

[shotglass]

Part-time writers and freelancers are in the slow lane. Recent college grads are in the fast lane.

I'm a part-timer and a year removed from college, so does that put me in the middle lane?  And how dumb are my husband and I to consider buying a home near a paper that I work 30 hours a week?

Here's the ugly truth about being a part-timer, BG.

Say a full-time opening comes up in your department. The sports editor has two choices. He can hire somebody new and pick up 40 man-hours a week. Or he can hire you, who's already working 30 hours a week, and he'll only gain 10 man-hours a week.

See the problem?

 

[sportsed]

Part-time writers and freelancers are in the slow lane. Recent college grads are in the fast lane.

I'm a part-timer and a year removed from college, so does that put me in the middle lane?  And how dumb are my husband and I to consider buying a home near a paper that I work 30 hours a week?

Here's the ugly truth about being a part-timer, BG.

Say a full-time opening comes up in your department. The sports editor has two choices. He can hire somebody new and pick up 40 man-hours a week. Or he can hire you, who's already working 30 hours a week, and he'll only gain 10 man-hours a week.

See the problem?

To which the people above the hiring editor say, Hire the part-timer ... we're only picking up 10 hours of salary.