Breaking points

[MidwestSportsGuy]

I'd be curious to find out how those who made the jump into the world of SIDs did so. I moved back to my hometown about two years ago, for no other reason than I wanted to be closer to friends and family. But I've thought the SID route would be ideal, especially at one of the area schools, which has an unbelievable athletic program.

I've become fringe acquaintances with the SID at said school through some freelance writing I've done. Really nice guy, and he does a nice job with coverage and disseminating information, but given the high profiles of some of the teams at his school, I think more could be done. I've thought about approaching him with some ideas, but I've never known exactly what I'd say ... "Umm, you do a nice job. Can I have it?"

That doesn't seem right.

Truthfully, at the school, I think they could really jazz up their athletics website and attract a huge throng of readers, while at the same time helping aspiring young writers on campus get a taste of the business.

 

[Bamadog]

My poor successor today had a top story today about the local rec league soccer program keeping score for its 6- and 7-year-old league games this weekend. It's for a thing called the Kangeroo Cup. Wheeeeeeee!

Top sports story. Under the banner. Teased from the front.

I recall a publisher hammering the importance of community sports, local rec leagues, Pop Warner football and little league in the paper's sports coverage during a job interview.

I'll call it a different sort of breaking point.

I had an interview like that once. Upon hearing that stuff, I immediately torpedoed my chances of being hired.

I got the question about my take on non-traditional sports during a phone interview. I asked them if they considered cow chip throwing or watermelon seed spitting as a non-traditional sport. They hung up.

 

[micropolitan guy]

An accumulation over 30 years of too many nights, too many weekends, too many missed holidays, too many missed family functions, too much of seeing my son for only 30 minutes in the morning and 45 minutes at night, or covering other kid's baseball/basketball/soccer games instead of watching his ... it's only been three months at my new job but I've gone home from work in a good mood every single day.

I enjoyed the newspaper biz, but I don't miss it at all.

 

[Mizzougrad96]

I'd be curious to find out how those who made the jump into the world of SIDs did so. I moved back to my hometown about two years ago, for no other reason than I wanted to be closer to friends and family. But I've thought the SID route would be ideal, especially at one of the area schools, which has an unbelievable athletic program.

I've become fringe acquaintances with the SID at said school through some freelance writing I've done. Really nice guy, and he does a nice job with coverage and disseminating information, but given the high profiles of some of the teams at his school, I think more could be done. I've thought about approaching him with some ideas, but I've never known exactly what I'd say ... "Umm, you do a nice job. Can I have it?"

That doesn't seem right.

Truthfully, at the school, I think they could really jazz up their athletics website and attract a huge throng of readers, while at the same time helping aspiring young writers on campus get a taste of the business.

"I've been thinking about making the move from being a reporter to being a SID. I really respect the job you do. Would you mind giving me some advice so I can follow a similar career path?"

Or you can call the police and say you saw the SID driving a van with tinted windows and offering children lollipops and 50-cent pieces to come help him look for his "missing puppy" and then apply for his job when he's forced to resign after his arrest.



It's your choice...

 

[Brad Guire]

An non job-related matter had me looking at relocating and possibly getting out of the biz about a year ago...I spent the better part of a year looking at jobs across the country -- both newspaper sports gigs, along with SID and PR (in sports) gigs. Got plenty of interviews for papers, but couldn't seem to crack any interest with the SID/PR side. For those that have, what was the key??? I know the jobs are quite a bit different, but still share a basic skill set. Seemed the pay and workload and most SID spots was on par or perhaps worse than what I deal with in my newspaper job. PR seemed the way to go, but almost like selling your soul to take one of those gigs.

I'm without an interview so far, myself. Not sure why I don't measure up for at least an interview at some of these places. Who knows? It seems that working for a newspaper has already given outsiders a negative view of what kind of person/employee I might be, based on stereotypes. I really hope that's not true.

I'm applying to non-sports media relations jobs. I left sports because I didn't want to do the night/weekend thing anymore, so why should I go back even if it's not a newspaper? I once interviewed for an assistant SID spot at Idaho. Moscow isn't the cheapest place to live, and the job offered less than what I was making at the newspaper at the time. So, no. Not interested in sports media relations.

 

[DoctorFace]

When they replaced a highly respected prep writer (whose health issues forced him to step down) with a guy from news who doesn't know his head from his posterior when it comes to writing. This guy's experience in sports journalism, as far as I know, was stringing prep football games for us and a terrible pro wrestling column. Frankly, all of his columns are terrible, though I do enjoy reading them for their terribleness. Maybe that was the whole idea.

It didn't matter in the end. I got pinkslipped six months later.

 

[dieditor]

Pro wrestling column? Wow.

My breaking point was my then girlfriend, now wife. She moved away from family and friends to be with me, and I kept leaving her sitting at home at night while I waited on a late story to come in, or had to stay late because someone called in sick/on vacation, etc. I realized that even if I did ever did get a raise (which wasn't likely) and could afford to married and have a family, I'd never see them.

Plus, I got constantly tired of the "do more with less" attitude. Belt-tightening is one thing, but YEARS of shoestring budgets that get tighter and tighter as time goes on just wore me out. Staffers would leave and not get replaced because the starting salary for a position would be too low to attract anyone.

I guess at the end of the day, the little headaches added up to one big headache, and it just wasn't worth it anymore.

My successor posts here, and I think he does a hell of a job with what he has, which is less than what I had. To put it in hockey terms, he's been killing a 5-on-3 penalty for about 10 minutes straight.

 

[BitterYoungMatador2]

I honestly don't know where to begin. From long hours to crappy pay to worse management it's seriously like letting me loose at a golf superstore with a blank check. Probably the, "I so desperately need to get the **** out of this business" moment came for me in February, 2008. My girlfriend had just learned that night that her cousin was killed in a motorcycle accident. While I was at her place, trying to be there for her, I get the dreaded cell phone call that there was a fire somewhere that I needed to go to...at 12:45 a.m. Of course, I get to the fire scene in time to see half of the firefighters packing up their gear because, in typical fire fashion, they called in 15 trucks just in case and only needed five. And since no one in my office knew how to listen to a ****in' police scanner properly, they just paid attention to the initial dispatch and stopped paying attention thereafter.

So, on a night that I should have been home and had no reason to leave had someone paid attention, I wasn't. I spent the ride home bitching aloud in the car that "something's gotta change."

 

[MidwestSportsGuy]

Or you can call the police and say you saw the SID driving a van with tinted windows and offering children lollipops and 50-cent pieces to come help him look for his "missing puppy" and then apply for his job when he's forced to resign after his arrest.

Consider it done.

In all honesty, thanks for the post.

 

[Trey Beamon]

Haven't hit my breaking point, but I'm getting there.

In my case, no big event has triggered this. I just simply don't like where I'm living and am sick of working nights/weekends in an industry (and job) that is going nowhere.

I want out in the worst way, but I have no idea where to go. I have no desire to go back to school and since I've never been a people person, can't think of many professions where my skills would transfer.

If it wasn't for this country's BS healthcare system, I'd seriously consider quitting right ****ing now.

 

[ShiptoShore]

What an incredibly depressing thread! And a necessary one.

 

[Point of Order]

For those who left the biz full time like myself, was there any one moment that led you to leave besides getting fired or laid off?

http://www.contracostatimes.com/ci_4948766?nclick_check=1

Saban accepts Alabama job

COACH LEAVES MIAMI FOR A RECORD DEAL: 8 YEARS, $30 MILLION
Mercury News Wire Services
Posted: 01/04/2007 08:51:54 AM PST
Updated: 01/04/2007 08:51:55 AM PST

 

[TrooperBari]

I can't point to a single, definitive moment, but I do know I'm on my way out of newspapers. More than anything, I've just come to the realization that no matter how far from home I'm willing to go or how flexible I'm willing to be on my salary, this lifestyle I'm leading just isn't sustainable. All the signs point to my time as a working stiff lasting a lot longer than working in newspapers being a viable career.

If I had to point to a single moment, it'd be a recent "reshuffle" in our paper's management. The people who brought me here -- the people I know and whose concept of journalism I trust -- have been reassigned within our parent company or otherwise marginalized. Their replacements are people far more concerned with the company line than putting out a good newspaper, and ever since the change I've noticed a steady stream of stories covering said parent company's pet interests or singing the praises of its financial performance. It's not even sold as advertorial space -- apparently we're just doing it to curry favor within the company.

The thought of taking on tens of thousands of dollars in student debt doesn't excite me, especially as I've only been debt-free for less than a year. If I stand pat, though, I'll be making $30K (if that) well into my 40s when this industry finally keels over and dies. I know there's a painful, awkward transition in my future -- it's just a matter of when.

 

[JimmyHoward33]

No breaking point for me yet. But I've made peace internally with the fact that if I get laid off eventually, it could be the best thing that's ever happened. And while obviously awful, I still enjoy the day to day and I'm still young enough that I haven't had a major incident with my family.

 

[Stitch]

There have been some posts about how to get out. If you want to go back to school for a master's, a graduate assistantship helps.

There are a few sports information grad assistantships for my new home state of Pennsylvania listed on the CoSIDA website at http://cosida.com/jobs.aspx. The great thing is you get a half or full tuition waiver, plus a small stipend for 10-20 hours of work per week.

Edinboro isn't difficult to get into.

I landed a grad assistantship at a D-II school in Pennsylvania in the university relations department. My future boss was blown away by my resume, which isn't that special. What I have is the ability to write in complete sentences, know layout and web, and can make wise decisions on my own. The department I'm in also offered a graduate assistantship and I'm wasn't close to being a top-tier student.

There are options for going back to school. Jim Carty went to law school and earned a scholarship. Don't think you have to pay full price.

 

[apeman33]

Today, a breaker could have been handed to us in the newsroom: non-compete agreements. Leave the paper and you can't work for one owned by a competing company within 30 miles for a year. This was met with one "That's retarded," one "I'm not signing," and one "When I leave here, I'm going much farther than 30 miles, anyway."

 

[JimmyHoward33]

Today, a breaker could have been handed to us in the newsroom: non-compete agreements. Leave the paper and you can't work for one owned by a competing company within 30 miles for a year. This was met with one "That's retarded," one "I'm not signing," and one "When I leave here, I'm going much farther than 30 miles, anyway."

This is absurd. What benefit are you receiving for agreeing to this? The only non-compete clause I can think of in any walk of life is in pro wrestling, and those were built into guaranteed contracts in which you were paid to sit home during the non-compete period. I don't see how you can be compelled to sign if you don't have a contract right? Mind boggling.

 

[apeman33]

Today, a breaker could have been handed to us in the newsroom: non-compete agreements. Leave the paper and you can't work for one owned by a competing company within 30 miles for a year. This was met with one "That's retarded," one "I'm not signing," and one "When I leave here, I'm going much farther than 30 miles, anyway."

This is absurd. What benefit are you receiving for agreeing to this? The only non-compete clause I can think of in any walk of life is in pro wrestling, and those were built into guaranteed contracts in which you were paid to sit home during the non-compete period. I don't see how you can be compelled to sign if you don't have a contract right? Mind boggling.

In a lot of markets, no-competes are in contracts for TV and radio personalities. But I had never heard a newspaper trying it until today.

And, no, none of us have a contract. I don't even understand why this is an issue unless the company has been having a rash of people going to competitors in the areas in which they own truckloads of papers.

Seeing as Kansas is a right to work state, I'm curious as to whether or not it's even enforceable here.

 

[Brad Guire]

I guess I should be fortunate that it wouldn't work where I live. There's not another daily newspaper within a 100-mile radius from Twin Falls. There is a TV station, but they pay worse than the paper. That's certainly not an option when I leave the paper.

 

[Baron Scicluna]

Today, a breaker could have been handed to us in the newsroom: non-compete agreements. Leave the paper and you can't work for one owned by a competing company within 30 miles for a year. This was met with one "That's retarded," one "I'm not signing," and one "When I leave here, I'm going much farther than 30 miles, anyway."

Unless they're going to refuse to offer you severance if you don't sign, I'd gather everyone together, walk into the publisher's office, and simulataneously rip the non-compete in half.

And if they are offering severance in that case, get the thing in writing, and try to get another job (hard, I know) before you sign it.

And if they're just trying to get you to not go to a fellow competitor, without offering any incentive, screw them.