Advice for a young sportswriter

[TallSportsGuy]

Hey everyone. I'm new to this board, and this is my first post. I've been out of college since December 2007, but I can't find any decent full-time gigs remotely close to my area. I am a stringer for a fairly large newspaper, which usually keeps me pretty busy (except for the summer, obviously), but I'm looking for something more. I did work for a weekly right out of college (which promised me solely sports coverage), but in the five month period I was there, they had two redesigns and all but axed the sports section, which in turn fueled me to quit. If I did apply for a full-time gig somewhere, I'd like it to be a daily and within driving distance (no more than five or so hours from home). I have plenty of layout experience, can shoot decent photos and I won a couple writing awards in college.

The thing is, I have pretty strong roots in this area (mainly family and friends). I'm still young (25, will be 26 in a few weeks) and single. I guess my question would be this: Is it worth it these days to move far away for a possible job in an industry that's dying?

 

[Moderator1]

Only you can answer that. You know the state of the industry.
Your versatility will serve you well. To get anywhere, though, you can't have that tether. You have to be willing to move wherever because jobs aren't falling off trees.
I admire young people who still love the game and want to stay with it.

 

[Ace]

TallGuy,

Seriously, if its more important for you to stay close to home, I would look for a job in something else -- communications, PR, whatever and string on the side.

 

[Pilot]

In before someone told him to give u..... damn.

 

[TallSportsGuy]

Thanks for the advice. I live pretty close to Chicago, so maybe there are some PR opportunities there.

 

[WaylonJennings]

String. Volunteer at the Trib, the Sun-Times, the Daily Herald or the Times of Northwest Indiana, depending on where you live. If you can swing it financially, that's a much better career-starter than working in Nowheresville for $15K a year.

 

[TallSportsGuy]

Haha, I am a stringer for The Times of Northwest Indiana. It just sucks not having a full-time job.

 

[Hank_Scorpio]

But you can also get pigeonholed as a stringer.

Newspapers will look at you as just a stringer. They may want to see you working as a fulltimer, running a section or a beat, instead of just being given an assignment to complete.

Of course, you can move up from the stringer ranks, it just may be a little harder to do.

 

[WaylonJennings]

But you can also get pigeonholed as a stringer.

Newspapers will look at you as just a stringer. They may want to see you working as a fulltimer, running a section or a beat, instead of just being given an assignment to complete.

Of course, you can move up from the stringer ranks, it just may be a little harder to do.

I disagree. I think it would be way, way harder to move up as a full-timer in the middle of nowhere than as a stringer in the Chicago area, as long as he makes his intentions known from the outset.

 

[WaylonJennings]

Also, make sure that you keep your comments about the shop you're stringing for very limited on this board, or eliminate the reference all together. Board vets know what I'm talking about.

 

[TallSportsGuy]

I actually have done beats before. I was on the prep soccer beat (both genders) this season, and I covered swimming and track last season (along with features in all those sports). I really want to be a sports editor somewhere, though. That's something I haven't done since college.

 

[RickStain]

Become a young janitor on the side.

 

[playthrough]

What Moddy said. Cast the net very wide and don't hesitate to move. True, it's not a healthy industry, but it's a lot less healthy for those who can only take a gig within a certain radius.

 

[TallSportsGuy]

Thanks for all the advice. How often do you guys post new jobs on here?

 

[playthrough]

Not often enough. But there have been a few good gigs lately.

 

[WriteThinking]

There are some sports editor openings up on the board right now. Just not right in your area...

 

[TallSportsGuy]

Yeah, I saw some of those. There have been a few in Indiana recently, too. I guess I'll just keep my eyes open.

 

[fishhack2009]

Tall:

Good advice here. I'll just add my two cents and advise you to keep your options open. I've been all over the country , and it's made me a more well-rounded journalist. It's definitely a tough market out there.

At my last shop, where I was SE, I had a great kid from a situation similar to yours... would have loved to hire him, but there wasn't a spot. He's stringing to get his foot in the door, and I know he'll be the first guy they call if something opens up. Try to do the same. Get some clips, get some networking, and good luck to you.

This board was a good first step. Welcome.

 

[Stitch]

There are plenty of openings if you are willing to move and switch to news for now. JournalismJobs.com and state newspaper association Web sites are good starts for jobs.

The toughest part of the job hunt is not wanting to move. Sometimes it's just time to go on to something different. Living with roommates or parents?

The longer you wait to get a full-time job, the harder it will be to get one. Editors will see that you graduated two years ago and wonder why you couldn't land a job somewhere.

 

[TheHacker]

Hey Tall, I'd say stay near Chicago because there are going to be lots of other types of job opportunities in a metro area than there would be if you go off into the middle of nowhere. As someone else said, think about PR or marketing so you can start drawing a full-time check while you continue to freelance.

It's true you can get pigeonholed as "just a stringer," but I think whether or not that happens is somewhat in your control. As you freelance, make sure you're constantly looking for story ideas. I have a college kid who works for me who is extremely good at finding his own stories. I send him out to do a game and he comes back with a game story and an idea for a feature. He's done a few good takeouts for us and come up with some really good in-depth ideas. He's out there talking to people, finding things out and constantly looking for his next story.

Now, that's not going to help him at our place because when he graduates later this year, we're probably not going to have an opening, which is a damn shame, because I'd hire him in a heartbeat if I had a spot. But he's got a whole bunch of clips of really good stories that he found on his own. And that's the kind of thing that separates you from the rabble when you go to look for a job.