Starting at a weekly vs. a daily

I started at a weekly, mainly to see if I liked newspaper work. I loved the writing, but honestly, if you're ambitious, you're a step or two ahead if you start at a daily. If I had it to do over knowing what I know now, there's no question I beat the bushes hard for a daily job before I'd consider taking a weekly job.

The thing about weeklies in the vast majority of places is you have no wire, so you'll write every damn word of it yourself, probably shoot pictures, probably do your own layout.

 

In the meantime, beg, borrow and/or steal to get into one of those four-year institutions.

 

Obviously, if you can get in at a daily, you should do it if you feel like sports reporting is what you really want to do. If you're going to go to a weekly, be really careful about what kind of weekly it is. I cringe when I read about people at weeklies doing all the writing and page layout and taking photos and making the coffee and helping thread the paper onto the press. I was in a situation like that at a small daily and it's really hard to do anything exceptionally well because you're working so hard at so many different things.

I'm presently the SE at a large weekly chain. In my division of our company, we do eight different zoned editions a week with a five-person sports staff. I don't think it's a bad place for a writer to start. Our reporters are writing every day. They're covering preps and doing no less work than they would if we were daily. Yes, we're weekly, we'll always be "just a weekly." But I think there's a big difference between our operation and a tiny fishwrap where you're a one-man show. And I think that would make a big difference when it comes to moving on to another job.

 

I don't understand the sentiment that you get "more" experience from a weekly. It depends on your shop, but I am always writing features, enterprise, more features and more enterprise at my daily gig.

The weekly, being a one-man band, I would think lends itself more to just cramming stats in to fill the damn thing up.

 

I guess my experience has been different... when I was at dailies right out of school, I was doing everything and my writing suffered.

Now I'm at a weekly and my only responsibility is to write. This is where I find I have the ability to write a wide variety of copy.

 

Been working at dailies for nearly seven years, I started at a weekly right out of school, and stayed there for four years. It was great experience, you learn to do everything and write every kind of story. PLus you learn the ins-and-outs of the courts, governemnts, planning, etc. It was just a well-rounded work experience.

The downside of course is the pay, and you have to crap like type in births, weddings, etc.

But the hours are very condusive to having a real life since I didn't have to work every weekend. Plus, I learned to take photos, which is good since I have to do that now at my daily.

 

With those favorable hours at the weekly, you were able to respectfully celebrate Michael Bolton's entire catalog.

 

At many weeklies you'll wear many different hats, from writer to editor, from copy editor to page designer, from photographer to typesetter. Be aware that many weekly publishers are insane, and may require you to be in the office from 8 a.m to 5 p.m. and then you're expected to cover games and sports on your "free" time.

There's been a weekly or two in my past where I got one day off per month, and usually fielded a few phone calls on those days off.

Certain small dailies can be the same way. so watch out.

 

I know all too well, sartrean. Just kills my productivity.

But other than shitty hours, I love working at a twice weekly rag for reasons already stated (minimal deadline pressure, etc.). If only the pay exceeded Wal-Mart cashier-levels...

 

One key to succeeding at a weekly, while establishing a work ethic that will help you succeed at a daily, is to create daily deadlines for yourself. I always wrote the initial draft of my high school football gamer on Friday night (or Saturday morning) after the game. Then, if I needed more quotes or had unanswered questions, I could get those dealt with on Monday.

I always thought the most important day of the week at a weekly was the day it came out. There was a great temptation to goof off and be lazy, but it was also a good day to get organized, clean my desk, get a feature in the notebook and get on a good path for the next week.

 

Certain mid-sized dailies can be the same. I had one who said to a few managers that a 40-hour week and two days off a week were for "pussies who can't handle being a real journalist and that's how we'll weed them out."

 

You're God Damn Right I Did!