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maybe i've had enough of chasing the dream

Discussion in 'Journalism topics only' started by rcsoxfan, Nov 10, 2008.

  1. rcsoxfan

    rcsoxfan Member

    Maybe i've had enough of chasing the dream of getting out of small town sports and moving to a college or pro beat. At the beginning I knew it would tough with no j-school degree in 10 years of doing this for a living. And i knew it would be tough being over 40 and trying to get se's to look seriously at my stuff.
    but when i reflect on how tough it is to work in a one-man department, with no stringers and no photographer, except for my wife who volunteers, with a 9:30 p.m. deadline and covering three high schools, i realized that i may be stuck here until the final word is said.
    I guess this is a thread for those out there who are toiling away on a staff that requires you to go out of town three or four days a week to cover one team or requires you to work more than 30 hours a week to earn you fat paycheck.
    i don't mean to sound bitter, but at the same time maybe i'm just tired of being the sports guy at a paper that noone respects to begin with...even though i've heard from local fans that they do appreciate what i do when i cover their kids...but in the end i question as to whether or not thats enough for me anymore...maybe i should get out and do something else, trouble is, this is the only thing i've been good at...so i guess i shouldn't complain.
    that comes from a guy who sends his stuff...including the 10 or so stories i write a day during the spring sports season, while the news guys are writing two each...plus the various columns, features and dribble that comes with community journalism...guess i'm done venting now....thanks guys...what do you think?
     
  2. rcsoxfan

    rcsoxfan Member

    somebody give me some feedback somewhere gees
     
  3. Mizzougrad96

    Mizzougrad96 Active Member

    Get out now, don't look back... You'll be better off in the long run.
     
  4. Flash

    Flash Guest



    There's the nut ... and it's a question only you can answer.

    When I was in your position, I took it all a bit for granted ... being on the scene, interacting with amateur athletes, their parents (for the most part, they were good ones in my city -- with a few bad eggs thrown in for measure), and the readers.

    When I loved to a big city metro, I realized how valuable that time was.

    Now that I'm not in the business, I miss it all ... except on payday ... and at night ... and on the weekends ... well, some of it I still miss at those times ... but ... well, you see what I'm getting at, right?
     
  5. Ace

    Ace Well-Known Member

    If you are writing 10 stories a day, it stands to reason that none of them are going to attract the attention of a big-city sports editor -- unless you really can somehow focus on doing one story well and just crank out the other stuff.
     
  6. Stitch

    Stitch Active Member

    If you are writing 10 stories a day, then it's time to start looking for a new job.

    Even two stories a day for the news side is tough.
     
  7. rcsoxfan

    rcsoxfan Member

    i do ten a day during the spring when baseball softball track, etc. etc. is going on between the three schools...and during the down time my ME has tried time and again to get the news editor to assign me news stories...how's that for an animal....
     
  8. Flash

    Flash Guest

    Why would you rather wait for news stories to be handed to you than be out finding good sports stories and features?
     
  9. Drip

    Drip Active Member

    You must be shitting me. Two stories a day on news side is tough? Turn in your tape recorder.
     
  10. mustangj17

    mustangj17 Active Member

    If you write 10 stories a day you can use that to show employers in other fields what a determined worker you are. That's still worth something.
     
  11. Stitch

    Stitch Active Member

    I see most news side guys write about a story per day in my neck of the woods at the various newspapers in the area. That includes metros and suburban papers.

    Sports guys get about one or two per day.

    If you're writing more than two per day on the news side, are you leaving your desk at all or just a phone slave?
     
  12. Joe Williams

    Joe Williams Well-Known Member

    Counting bylines?

    Someone's ready for the big move uptown, to a Sam Zell paper where journalists' "productivity" gets determined by column inches.

    There's a big variation, one news story to the next. Some are rewritten press releases. Some are phoners. Others require digging, cajoling sources and getting off your ass and maybe spending (gosh) two whole days or more on it. Remember, too, that sports people have scheduled events, relative fish in a barrel in terms of generating ideas and copy.
     
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