Am I too late to the "I want a reporter position" party?

I left the business this year. I am very, very happy outside the business.

My advice would be to avoid dragging yourself back in.

And, yes, your age will hurt you. Granted, I wasn't working at the New York Times, but the oldest reporter on my team -- at any point -- was 30. And I worked with about 20 different reporters at my stops.

 

The editor called back a month later when his hire didn't pan out. I didn't return his calls. He was looking too desperate. He burned me once, I sure wasn't going back for more.

 

Good on ya. I'm fairly certain you had a big smile on your face listening to that voice mail.

 

Thanks to all here for the good advice. I feared the "recent college graduate" thing because they're just so willing to work for nothing because mom and dad are footing the bill for their personal hierarchy of needs.

I think I'll add the second page to my resume because there's a couple other things I'd like to include. I'm really interested in sports, features or travel, but not a lot of newspapers have a travel section any longer, since it's considered a luxury. What I'd really like to do is features and talk the editor into letting me do the occasional travel story, once I've paid my dues a bit. I suppose the same could happen if I did sports, but a travel feature would be more apropos and more easily transitioned.

Someone else up here (um, let me look...) SnarkShark, suggested being supplemented with my spouse's salary - well, long story short, I've been traded in for a younger model - but the alimony should be good enough, long enough, that I would be using any salary from a newspaper to supplement the alimony and provide me with insurance. See? It's so cliche it's sad AND laughable.

I'd really prefer to work for a smaller newspaper because I love small towns and they seem to have a bit more stability than places like... Oh, I don't know... The Philadelphia Enquirer. The newspaper I was a stringer for is now owned by Cavitas, and that's gotten me a bit of attention, just not enough.

I really believe these editors are afraid of me, thinking I'd want more pay than they're offering. I do address this in my cover letter, but I guess I'm not getting the point across it really IS okay.

 

Unfortunately, the other thing employers are concerned about when comparing whether to take on a younger reporter or a veteran/older one is their ability, capability and interest/willingness in working more prevalently on not only social media but digital/video/broadcast media rather than the actual newspaper side.

Most of the time, older folks are not as interested in spending all or most of their time doing that stuff. In fact, it's what has driven a lot of them out of the business -- not that they can't do it; they're just don't care to do it, and devote themselves to it 24 hours a day, which is what you have to do if you're going to do it well or do it in a competitive market.

It's the literal, never-ending 24-hour news cycle that has done more people in than anything. They decide that it's just not worth it.

I've said it for a while, and it's a shame, and not right, but this business really is now pretty much just for the young. Anybody over 32 is going to have a hard time either sticking with or getting into this industry anymore.

 

NancyLou: It sounds like a part-time writer or correspondent gig might be a good place to start, if you're really interested in the writing. If you have some good feature story ideas, pitch them to your local paper ... I bet they'll be interested. If nothing else, it gets you some current clips and back in the groove with writing.

I realize that won't get the insurance/benefits you're after, but it might help you toward that goal.

And I'll echo what others have said previously on this site: smaller newspapers might be more inclined to give you a chance if you stress your experience in the news business, your news judgement, etc. Small newsrooms don't have time to train people anymore, and some places (including my shop) are hiring older reporters looking to get back in the business for that reason (provided they'll accept the entry level pay).

 

Coco - thanks for the encouragement. I need it right now.

As far as our local paper, they're primarily a newsletter for the military base and I've offered them articles, which they've turned down - not because they're bad but because they don't think the reading public has any interest in travel, etc. It's an odd thing at our local newspaper...

I'd love, love, love to work for a smaller newspaper. I think it's more personal and helps to integrate the newspaper with the community, and vice versa. People are more likely to read their local newspaper if they feel they're a part of it, whether it's their son or neighbor's daughter being featured for hitting the game winning run or for their volunteer work at the local animal shelter.

Writing for a newspaper is something I've always wanted to do, since I was a little girl, and it's always saddened me that I wasn't able to pursue it the way I should have because I made a bad choice in a spouse.

I tell all who will listen, if I hear anything back initially, that entry-level pay is absolutely fine. If the posting I'm responding to says it's an entry-level position, I don't expect to be paid as though I'm Edward R. Murrow or Andy Rooney. I expect to be paid entry-level wages. It's only through time, experience and proving yourself to your editor that one can expect to move up and get bigger assignments.

I know there's a position out there for me, it's a matter of finding an editor willing to take a chance with me. I'm not in the panic mode right now, as I have "some" time before I can leave Arizona to a better life, two to three months.

 

I'd suggest seeking out freelance work...it accomplishes two things. You can network and be a familiar face when something full-time does come open and you can build your file of recent clips as you continue to apply for jobs.