Leaving the business -- second thoughts

I left a big-city newspaper sports copy desk about a year ago and now work for a small bi-weekly with less pay but, for the first time in years, I have decent hours and weekends off.

I've got to admit, though: I really miss the big city at times.

-- I miss deadline adrenaline
-- I miss working with talented and motivated bosses and co-workers (there are some here, but not as plentiful)
-- I miss trying to find the perfect headline and the perfect photo
-- I miss splashy 5-column photos with 80-pt heads for big games like the SB, WS and BCS title Game
-- I miss the extra 35 percent of my pay

Of course, I don't miss:
-- those wonderful post-mortems, which are all stick and no carrot
-- the pressure of midnight deadline
-- getting the kids from my ex and turning them right over to the baby-sitter as I go to work
-- the specter of looming job cuts (I'm about the only one at my shop who can lay out the paper)

Just curious if anyone could relate or had thoughts. Thanks.

 

Ask me in a couple months, although I'm about 98 percent sure my answer will be no.

 

Ryan Sonner leaving the business is one of the signs of the Apocalypse.

 

The biggest thing I'll miss about daily journalism - and it's not even close - is the camaraderie on the beat.

 

It seems to me that OtterGrad hasn't exactly left the business. Just a previous job.

I don't miss working the night copy desk at all. But I would miss 35 percent of my paycheck.

 

Ace:

To a large extent, you're right. I still edit copy, put together pages and try to make deadline.

But it's not the same because of the reasons I outlined earlier: Much less stress, better health and more family time, but also much less professional excitement. Just wondering if anybody was going through that same sort of thing (either leaving the biz or stepping down in circulation).

 

Excitement is way overrated. Especially copy desk excitement.

 

Amen.

 

nothing beat the rush of being on a beat. i worked the desk for two years, too, and the comaraderie was terrific, but no rush at all.

the beat life, and kinship with those "competitors," was the best. nothing like it. i certainly considered myself blessed to be part of it in a huge market during a time before the end was near for the biz i so love.

 

I miss the camaraderie more than anything.

The excitement is overrated.

 

Yeah. The best part is you're in some strange city somewhere, at a strange bar or restaurant, hundreds, maybe thousands of miles from home. But you're sitting with the only three people in the world who understand exactly what you're going through.

 

Let's not romanticize this too much. It depends on the three people. Some SE somewhere dictates who goes on a beat for his paper, and sometimes that person is someone you do not care to dine or drink with, based on their tactics or personality. Sometimes that person is so fearful of being downsized that he/she always is in compete mode or just inexperienced enough to not know how to calm down. That makes a tough job tougher.

Always have enjoyed getting to know the folks from other markets, though, covering the opposing teams.