In need of some advice.

Steve, the above is really good advice/direction. It has been a looooooooooooooong time since I was in your shoes (in fact, you weren't around when I was in your shoes), but from Ace's post it's clear that not all that much has changed.

When I was doing preps and yearning for a college beat, I was drawn primarily to the stuff you seem to be drawn to -- the press conferences, the Saturdays in the press box, etc. It didn't occur to me, however, that that was the easiest part of the gig. What you actually get paid for (poorly, but them's the breaks) is the stuff to which Ace refers.

Unlike several who advise you to give it up, I won't do that. Life's too short to spend your days wondering "What if?" If you want to give the college beat thing a try, I think you absolutely should give it your best shot. But keep in mind that @Ace is giving you some damn good information about what a best shot actually involves.

 

I couldn't tell if you were joking or not when you wrote this, but it seems like you are serious. You'll realize the things you listed above, while nice, won't matter much as you progress in your career. Your byline has no age, personality or chiseled jawline.

As Ace said, it is about the work you generate. It is about showing that you can spot a potential story, ask the right questions to the right people and hustle to get it done. And the only way to show that is to have the clips to back it up.

Also, take a look inside a college football press box. You'll see looks and personality don't count for much.

(I kid, I kid)

 

If you are young, single, willing to travel and work cheap, start applying... You should have no trouble finding a college football beat.
That doesn't mean you'll be covering Alabama for the Tuscaloosa News. But there's no reason to think you can't latch onto a beat for a small school or minor-to-mid-major D-I program.

Especially if you are as good-looking as you say.

 

Thank you so much for this!

I was also very much kidding with the whole good-looking thing. It was meant for people to laugh at.

Anyway, I have one more question: Have you ever been in the position of being at a very small daily and feeling like you can't upset anyone with what you write about? Mainly because it's such a small community and paper that if you were to break something (like something negative) it'll cause more harm to yourself than be viewed as good journalism?

Thanks again for your advice.

 

Haha, don't worry. I was very much joking. It was meant as something to get people to laugh. I definitely will take Ace's advice. Good stuff in there.

 

That happens at larger papers and national outlets. Write a story that pisses someone off and you could lose ACCESS!!

 

As stated by J_Ham, people get mad even at big papers. You cannot be afraid to upset people -- readers, fans, coaches, players. You aren't doing your job if you don't look under the rocks.

Now, that doesn't mean that you have to blame Johnny Juke for the Podunk Plodders' loss in your story because he fumbled in the fourth quarter.

But if you get a tip that Beloved Coach is pocketing money from the boosters or making kids practice on days they aren't allowed to or whatever, you can't be afraid to look into it and print it if true.

If that pisses people off, tell them that they should be mad at the coach, not you.

You can be friendly with the coaches, but you aren't their friend. You may hve to piss them off from time to time.

People are always mad at the local paper, by the way.

 

Can't because it'll cause more harm to you? Or can't because it'll cause more harm to the publisher?

If it's the former, suck it up. It's part of the job. Someone will always be angry with you over something you write. Or don't write.

If it's the latter, you work for someone who doesn't understand what journalism is.

 

I wouldn't think that as a practical matter you'd be at risk of harming your future prospects by not reporting on something that might cause trouble. Note that I'm not saying that you should avoid such reporting. I'm just saying that the people who will be evaluating you will in all likelihood be completely unaware of the things you could have reported on but simply chose not to.

 

But if I see a bunch of clips that are all sunshine and lollipops -- especially if they include boosterish opinion pieces -- those go in the fireplace pile pretty fast.

 

Yeah, I would assume that if all of your breaking stuff is of the "Local Legend to be Named to State Hall of Fame, Sources Say" type, you're not going to get too much cred for the newsy side of the gig.