How did you get started in journalism?

I started working for my middle school paper, then editor of the high school paper, then wrote crappy articles for the college paper, eventual strung for a local mid-major and then a really shitty newspaper. Really didn't get started till I got hired by a major metro. Lasted 2 full-years after college in the business before jetting in January.

 

Along the way, I covered every sport at Mustang's high school (and the other three high schools in his hometown) for the local paper, but didn't cover Mustang as an athlete - he's too young of a pup.

Anyhow, I dreamed of being the next Ernie Harwell or George Kell or Bruce Martyn as a kid. I joined my high school's radio station as a freshman and worked there through graduation. As a senior, I landed a sports stringing gig at one of the local papers with a recommendation from the previous stringer, whom I worked with at the radio station.

Stayed with radio in college, but figured as a senior that I'd try print again when the college town's paper was looking for a sports stringer. I figured it was much more stable, especially since I was getting married right out of college. It didn't hurt that one of my clips was of a no-hitter by the college's baseball team.

That led to a sports stringer gig at a bigger paper (worked there 20+ years until it folded last year). A couple months after landing that stringing gig, I landed a full-time gig for a weekly about 30 miles down the road. A couple months later, I jumped to the rival weekly paper and have been there since - 21 years later. I've gone back and forth between news and sports at two sister papers - whatever it takes. I'm on news side now (No. 3 in charge of the newsroom), and am happy (though still poor).

I guess you could say I had a face for radio and a voice for newspapers (waiting for Slappy's insult - we used to work together).

 

I honestly don't remember how I got started in journalism. I always liked getting out of town newspapers whenever we went on vacation, so I guess I always had the bug, but it wasn't until my senior year of high school that I decided that it was what I wanted to do with my life. And by "what I wanted to with my life", I mean "the only thing I didn't absolutely suck at." Ah, destiny.

Spent 14 up and down years in it, had some good memories, some dark moments, some total asswipes and some wonderful friends. Five jobs, two forced departures (one my fault, the other not) and 1,340 high school volleyball matches. Today I started my first non-newspaper job, a writing position for a non-profit. Now newspapering's a hobby, not a vocation. That seems the safer thing to do.

As for unemployment: I had to take it for close to a year. I was painfully embarrassed to take it. It spoke to my inability to be a useful member of society. I knew I was entitled to it, that I paid into it for years on end, but all I could think about was how much of a letdown I was that I let my life devolve to the point it had. And as the only full-timer out of my old shop to not have a real job, I was especially ashamed.

But I accepted it. I took an $8/hour PT job answering phones, did some freelance, picked up a month-long $13/hour job that just absolutely crushed the dying embers of my soul so that I wouldn't have to take the whole thing every week, but not taking it would have led me to bankruptcy ... or something worse.

So I can't and won't judge people who take unemployment (except myself, but I know me better than you). I also won't judge those that won't take unemployment -- my former boss, a person for whom I have boundless respect and admiration, couldn't take it, even though it meant working at a dive as a waitress. It offended her sense of adulthood and self-respect too much. And she's a way stronger person than I could dare dream to be, so I'd never say boo about it to her (she got a good job shortly after and never had to take the benefit).

My point? I ... don't know.

 

Well, in my experience, going back two decades now, they want nothing to do with people like us. I can't remember what I put down as my last working wage in 2000 or 2001, but I KNOW it wasn't $33/hr, or even anything close to half that. Nor was I looking for F/T work--just some overnight stuff to put money in my pocket and leave my schedule free for writing opportunities. Again, not one interview, despite a reasonably solid college education and a history of remaining at my jobs for multiple years.

Reading this thread again tonight reminded me of the summer of 1991, when I was a few weeks out of high school and looking for P/T work in another lousy economy. Same deal: I applied at Caldor's (RIP) for early morning stock that would leave me open to string at night. It came down to me and another guy from my graduating class who wasn't going to the local juco in the fall. He got the gig, not me.

For the next five summers, I would apply for jobs at local department stores when school ended. Never got a single interview.

And I'm sorry, but I can't help but think, every time I look at those stupid corporate-speak slogans about teamwork and all the signs about "Team Members Only Beyond Here," that they don't want anyone who will think to himself that maybe all this hooey about teamwork is a crock of shit coming from a multi-billion dollar corporation that specializes in making sure as many people as possible work 37.5 hours so that the Home Office can save on benefits.

So yeah. I'm pretty secure in thinking independent thought is not welcomed at WalMart or Target or any big box store of its ilk.

 

My family moved the summer before my freshman year of high school. I remember meeting with the guidance counselor at my new school. Found out I could take one elective as a freshman and went for Journalism 1 because I loved to write.

The head football coach was also a guidance counselor there. Saw my brother and I, both of us fairly big guys, and made sure he recruited us. So I started my football career, such that it was, the same day I started in journalism.

After two-plus seasons that included the two worst asthma attacks of my life, very little playing time because I stunk, a back injury and a concussion, I finally got the message that journalism was the one I should focus on.

 

Joined the high school paper my junior year, enjoyed it. Long story short, budget cuts in the district meant no school paper my senior year. Went to college to major in advertising since I wanted to write ads, and chose a school that also offered journalism degree in case I needed a Plan B.
Joined the college paper my second year and enjoyed it. Took more classes, realized I didn't want to be in advertising since the odds of getting a job actually just writing ads were slim, whereas in journalism it would be mostly about the writing. Added journalism as a second major. Got an internship at the local paper before my last semester. When school resumed, boss offered to keep me on as copyeditor for the weekend edition. Came back from Thanksgiving break, he offered me FT job in January if I could graduate a semester early. So I graduated in December and took the job.
Been at four papers (two small dailies, two weeklies) plus freelance work over the years.
And that advertising degree? Never used it.

 

I was writing "game story column/wrapups" for a fan site of a NBA team. Owners of local start-up 10K daily apparently were frequent visitors of the site, liked my work and brought me on as a researcher, where I checked facts and got info for reporters. After a month, started doing some sports before moving away from researcher and to the sports staff after two months. And now, here I am.

 

Took journalism class junior year in HS. Wrote a story off the football team's game, teacher liked it. Senior year wanted to be sports editor but also knew how to do radio stuff so wound up producing school's weekly 15-minute show on local station. Day I didn't get sports ed job, though, was tough.
Also senior year was bench scrub on baseball team. Won a DH on the road, local paper didn't cover it, box scores and story in the paper the next day were screwed up. Late in senior year, took my little clip book of stories I had written, walked into local paper, asked sports editor for a job. To my surprise, hired me as a part-time kid.
Flunked out of j-school as a freshman because local paper was a pm; I'd go in to help put out the paper (I knew what a pica pole was and could count headlines, size pix) in the a.m. and wound up hanging around and skipping too many classes. Started working full time, never got a degree, the rest is history.

 

I always read the sports section of the local daily from the time I was old enough to read and understand sports. I went to a vocational high school where I was the sports anchor for the school TV program (By God's good graces, those tapes are dead to the world.).

After high school, I spent two years taking meaningless classes at the local community college while deciding what I really wanted to do with my life and this turned out to be it.

Went to college, majored in journalism, was sports editor of the school paper for four years, one internship at the daily newspaper in that town, and I've been at my first and current gig for 2 years and 8 months.