A Little Ditty About an Out-of-Work Sportswriter

I've been saving my money for 25 years, waiting on that rainy day to come. Since about 2005 I've known that rainy day was rapidly approaching as this business is dead. I'll hang on as long as they need me but when the ride is over, I'm ready to enter the next phase of my life, free of the bullshit that newspapers have become.

The author may not have been willing to accept $10 an hour at UPS, but I will and not blink an eye. I'll do that or work for Wal-Mart or be a hotel desk clerk. I'll usher minor league baseball games for minimum wage. I'm actually looking forward to when that rainy day arrives. Newspapers suck.

 

So, death is the only exit? Thanks

 

There are ways out. Blind applications aren't going to cut it. How in the hell do people work in journalism and not build up a good network, or are journalists flailing when making elevator pitches?

 

There are ways out, but most of them probably will involve things unrelated to newspapers, or even general communications.

The media/communications/PR fields are flooded, and despite the networking that journalists may do over the course of their careers, if you're a real reporter, or a long-time desk guy whose work outsiders might not be familiar with or sure about, you may not have been known or necessarily "liked," and so those connections are not really deep or positive in enough of a way that will last beyond the business.

And, despite the fact that we like to tell ourselves that what we do has value, it oftentimes doesn't, because lots of people can write and communicate adequately. Throw in the fact that a lot of those other people competing are younger, may be more energetic, and more social-media savvy and interested, and, well, there you go...

Doc Holliday, in my opinion you have the right attitude in being open to just about anything, and you may actually end up having an easier time getting into something other than media/communications related fields if/when you're done with newspapers. Heck, you may not even want to be in media/communications related fields anymore.

The money may not be as good in other more manual-labor type fields, but I found a clean break to be good, refreshing, and even interesting in its own way.

I wouldn't knock Walmart, if you're open to that. It's not too hard to get in, particularly if you know anyone who works in one near you, and it's possible to move up relatively quickly (I just got another promotion), and even if you don't move up, there are lots of lateral moves around the stores to be made to keep things interesting or until you find something you like. The money still isn't great in hourly positions, but the work can be productive, satisfying and even enjoyable in a non-stressful/work-stays-at-work kind of way. It's also a job that you can take with you, anywhere in the country or the world, if you ever want to move someplace else, whether for family or health reasons, or in (semi)-retirement. Just in the past few months, there have been employees in my store who have moved, pretty easily with the help of the personnel managers, to stores in their future hometowns in Arizona, Tennessee, and Florida. There is real value in that.

Oh, and if you happen to speak Spanish or are a veteran, you will be fast-tracked like crazy, if you want to be and let that be known.

 

I'm hoping mine will last another five years.

That's my career in 2015 --- a four-corners offense trying to run out a slow-moving, years-long clock.

 

Really depressing thread. I'm younger than most of you and am coming up on 10 years in the business. I doubt my position will be around in 30 years (the earliest I'd probably be able to retire). The parent company had trouble about 7 years ago but has rebounded and is doing well enough right now from what we've been told, so there's that. I'm hoping to be around this shop longer, but I'm ready anyday for bad news, either for me personally, my shop, or the parent company as a whole. I'm single, and I save anywhere from 25-50 percent of my check each week and have a nice rainy day fund ready.

I have an exit strategy and may use it sooner than later. In college, I had a student job at the campus mail room. The full-time positions in that department pay over $30,000 and have great benefits. I make less and have mediocre benefits at my shop. Still in contact with that supervisor and may put in for a full-time position the next time one comes open. I'd rather stay in journalism, but I have no doubt that the university (and its mail room) will be around in 30 years, which I can't say for my or any other paper.

 

As little as I make, I can't afford the pay cut required for a entry level job in another field. I keep telling myself something will open up or, at worst, I can move on to a copy desk chief job somewhere. I don't hold a lot of hope for getting a sports editor gig because of my lack of portfolio.

 

If I were you I would jump to the mail room as soon as possible. My wife was in a similar position but she accepted the mail room job because it is with a large government entity and she wanted the pension. Now, after two years, she has been promised a job outside the mail room with considerably more responsibility. And she would have never gotten that job with her qualifications coming off the street.

If you are in the mail room you are in the system and a candidate for a lot of other jobs. You have, for instance, a hell of a lot better job to get a job in the press office than an outsider with a similar background. There are also better opportunities to reposition yourself as a financial aid counselor, etc. In a government if someone likes you the job announcement can be rewritten to qualify you. I have seen it done.

 

Enter the World Series of Poker, make the November Nine, and the be the envy of all your friends. Plus, get free drinks from hot cocktail waitresses the whole time.

 

I've basically been planning this break for a decade now. I'm open to anything new and interesting. Pay doesn't really matter that much because I have enough saved, invested and overall to last me into retirement. I could quit now and probably squeak by but that wouldn't be wise. Don't get me wrong, I'm not rich or wealthy, I've just got a small pile that could make life a lot easier than someone who lives check to check.

As for Wal-Mart, I really wasn't knocking it. I worked at Wal-Mart for a couple of years during college. I built up some great relationships there, people who know me today. My personnel file was full of nice letters and such, although I'm sure that's been dumped in the trash years ago. Still, I could get a job there and would be willing to go back. That's why I mentioned it. No, it's not a "great" job but it would get me by long enough.

My deal is I don't have to work in a "professional" field to feel good about myself any more. Been there, done that sort of thing. I'm quite satisfied with who I am, what I've done and what I've accomplished. Frankly, fading into the background and not being in the middle of everything has a nice appeal to it. Like I said, I'm kinda looking forward to when the rainy day arrives. At the same time, I do love my job. I don't love what has happened to newspapers and how they're run now.

 

Same here. I'm not quite ready to make that break, but I'm definitely looking forward to it.
Not much sense of mission anymore. The newsroom has been reduced to a production line.

 

Yes, production line is putting it kindly. Sad but true, Riptide.