Working for the Associated Press

It that's not the way it's working at your newspaper, legal representation needs to be retained.

 

Thanks for stopping by, John. ;D

 

I second the bust-assery that Zenor has to go through in Alabama.

rb

 

John,
Want to come by for a hug?

 

Cranberry gave some wonderful insight on AP life. I spent six years with the company (four in Atlanta and two in Raleigh) and enjoyed nearly every moment. Anyone who has worked an event with Paul Newberry can probably attest to the fun I had in Georgia.

I really liked having so many resources for help; if I was working on a story and wanted something from Kobe Bryant, I was able to go to John Nadel, Beth Harris or Ken Peters for help. If I needed a phone number (and it wasn't on the list that mistakenly got moved on the wire), I had dozens of people to help me get it.

Also, the variety was pretty special. Over the years, I got a chance to cover the NFL, the NBA, the NHL, the PGA Tour, NASCAR, all the college sports and even figure skating. All my bosses were helpful in letting me get experience and never tried to hold me back.

One drawback to being so spread out, however, is sometimes losing touch with one of the beats. It can be difficult to avoid, but the good ones manage it just fine (Newberry, Pells, Jenna Fryer, Jaime Aron, etc).

I would recommend the AP to anyone, at least the company I remember. Like anywhere else, it has its issues, but nothing compared to some of the places I worked. My e-mail is listed in my profile if you have any specific questions.

 

The best part of working for the AP? They all return you're phone calls.

Don't know if it's still the case, but a lot of coaches would give you some time after they finished with the other media.

Otherwise it's like cranberry said. Sit ass in chair and shovel copy with both hands for eight hours. Then every once in a while something big would happen and you find your name on front pages around the world.