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If go to the other side, is there no going back?

Discussion in 'Journalism topics only' started by BB Bobcat, Nov 6, 2008.

  1. BB Bobcat

    BB Bobcat Active Member

    What if you get a job working in a team's media relations department? Can you never go back to being a reporter for a news outlet after that? What about covering that team?
     
  2. Ace

    Ace Well-Known Member

    Go back to what?

    I know of several folks who have gone into the real world and come back. Can't think of any who went into media relations, though.
     
  3. Get out and never look back.
     
  4. BB Bobcat

    BB Bobcat Active Member

    I wouldn't want to come back to a newspaper, of course, but if espn.com or mlb.com came calling...

    I guess with the latter it wouldn't really be an issue (since mlb.com is a quasi-PR arm of MLB anyway), but what if you were hiring for espn.com or yahoo.com or something like that... How would you view someone currently working for a team?
     
  5. Drip

    Drip Active Member

    You can always come back. The question is where and what you will be making.
     
  6. buckweaver

    buckweaver Active Member

    Can't speak to the minds of those hiring editors. If you're good enough on your merits, and you know the right people, I don't think working for the team would be any more of a hindrance than anything else.

    But in a general sense, a lot of people have the fear that if they get out of journalism, they'll never be able to get back in. That's just not true. Hell, at least two dozen people I've worked with in various newsrooms have all left and come back in some capacity (including myself, for that matter.)
     
  7. BrianGriffin

    BrianGriffin Active Member

    You certainly can and I've seen it done. The guy sitting behind me right now was in papers, became an SID, and is now back in papers. Probably wishes he was an SID again though.
     
  8. Drip

    Drip Active Member

    I guess you think that you will be "blackballed" but that's not the case. I strongly suggest that you give your idea serious thought before making any decision.
     
  9. Elliotte Friedman

    Elliotte Friedman Moderator Staff Member

    Larry Brooks of The New York Post did pr for the Devils (1982-91) then went back into print. Hasn't hurt him any.
     
  10. Joe Williams

    Joe Williams Well-Known Member

    If you were coming straight from the team's PR department, no, I don't think you would or should be a prime candidate to cover that team for an independent media outlet. At least not without some other beat or role in between. Other than that, if you could find a place for yourself back in newspapers -- and would want it -- I wouldn't think the PR job would invalidate you.
     
  11. BB Bobcat

    BB Bobcat Active Member

    That's great to hear.

    I may not even get this PR job, and if I do I may love it so much that I never want to go back. I was only worried about taking a plunge into some unknown that I might not be able to reverse later.
     
  12. Drip

    Drip Active Member

    But remember not to lose your soul to the seductive ways of the dark side.
     
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