Should working at a large daily still be a journalist's goal?

It all depends on the situation I guess. Working for a large chain struggling beneath a crushing debt load or doing everything it can to cut bodies to maintain profits like Gannett has to be scary when you see that your chain is planning more layoffs.
As for family-owned papers, again it depends on the situation. I know of a couple family-owned dailies around my area that have had the utilities cut for not paying the bills. While at ours (a 21,000 6-day circ) we have had no layoffs during the economic downturn and still have a sports staff of four full-timers and two part-timers.
There are good places to work, that care about the product and the people who produce it and then there are others just scraping to get by.

 

Wow, do I ever know what this feels like. Sometimes it's nice to know there are others out there having the same experience you are.

 

My goal when I was younger was to work for the big paper in the state.
When i got my first job out of college, I didn't think it was that big of a deal - and this was at a APSE Top 10 winner - because it was a small-town paper.
I still aspire to work at the big paper, but it won't make or break my career if I don't. My goal now is to just become the most well-respected sports journo in the state and put out a quality product every day (or week, in this case). So far, so good.

 

Sirs, Madames,

At the risk of seeming esoteric, my goal has always been good work more than a good job. No one has ever accused me of being a careerist and some would hang anti-careerist on me. I've worked at large dailies and for national magazines and I can't say that either sated a life's ambition. When I tried to get into the business it wasn't a job that attracted me but rather a chance to write about occasionally interesting characters and events.

YHS, etc

YHS, etc

 

"Well all I'm saying is that I want to look back and say that I did it the best I could while I was stuck in this place. Had as much fun as I could when I was stuck in this place. Played as hard as I could when I was stuck in this place. Dogged as many chicks as I could when I was stuck in this place."

 

My goal is to touch as many souls as possible.

And when I mean touch, I mean "have sex with"

And when I mean souls, I mean "hot soccer moms"

 

I don't know, I always was a sucker for the idea of "community" journalism — having a hand in everything your paper is doing, being small enough you can connect with sources and readers — and I've enjoyed doing that.

Still, I wouldn't mind trying a sports beat in a bigger market if it comes up, it would be different work, but still rewarding.

As for the whole pay/job security market, I'm making less than I'm worth where I'm at, but I still have a job. I chose an independent/small chain with just two papers and advancement isn't as easy as somewhere with internal postings. Then again, I look at some people who left for bigger chains and they're out of work within a year. I'm not sure there's any set formula, just know the company you're going to go to work for and make sure you can enjoy the job that they're asking you to do.

 

This is the greatest post I have ever read on this forum.

 

That's a good goal ...

 

If you are doing it for status, you'll probably never have enough. But you want to be at a place that at least can think big once in a while and allow you to stretch yourself -- otherwise you are just kind of on a treadmill.

 

I agree with this, adding that you don't have to be big to think big.

 

exactly...my job is still enjoyable because I'm able to set my schedule and it's flexible enough to give me plenty of family time. We're all dealing with the financial crunch right now, but at least I have quality of life as far as time spent is concerned...that's enough to keep me happy.

Although getting off furloughs and back onto stable financial ground would be nice.