Have you given up?

[Pulitzer Wannabe]

When I entered this business, it was with big dreams, as I'm sure it was with most everybody on here. I started off at a tiny paper for barely enough money to get by on. But it didn't matter, because I knew it was temporary. I would kick ass there, kick ass at the next stop and, eventually, work my way to a big paper with big resources and, yes, deep pockets to pay its employees.

Well, it hasn't exactly worked out that way. I have moved up somewhat, and the sad part is I don't know if 22-year-olds getting out of college now would even hope to reach where I am now 10 years down the road.

The thing is, as much as I know it's practical to give up the fight, that no metro is going to come knocking on my door in this job climate, and that it's time to move onto a career that's less frustrating and more lucrative, there is still that voice in me that says, "Keep at it. You'll be rewarded. This may be the year you win three APSE awards and someone, somewhere with those big resources and those deep pockets notices."

My question to everybody: With our profession in the shape it is, with far more jobs being cut than being created, when even $25K a year job postings receive hundreds of hopeful applicants, do you still harbor that hope of hitting the big-time? Of fulfilling the dreams you set out with in this profession?

 

[forever_town]

It's still in the back of my mind. I still harbor dreams of working for the major metros and covering the big games.

However, I'm still in this business because I love what I'm doing now. Even though it's not where I want to be in the next 20 years or even where I would have wanted to be now. I get a lot out of what I'm doing. Unlike some of the people in this business, I CAN imagine being on the other side. I've been there. And I don't want to go back.

The reason the line "If I never see the good old days shining in the sun/I'll be doing fine and then some" from the Eagles' "How Long" appeals to me so much is what it suggests for me. Even if I never reach the lofty goals I had as a youngster dreaming of big bucks, fame and recognition, the fact that I love what I do and I do what I love gives me a rush that money can't buy.

Even if I never end up writing for The Washington Post or I never end up "famous in a small town" to quote Miranda Lambert, I'd like to think I made a difference in someone's life. Whether that be a story I helped someone tell or writers I've helped to get their first bylines, I feel I can do something positive.

Does this mean I don't have ambition? I don't like to think it does. I just realize now that life isn't one stretch of a straight byway. It has curves, twists, turns and potholes. It'd be boring if it didn't.

 

[Kellams]

Please pardon me for going this way, but to answer your question, I honeslty believe this:

 

[John]

Six months ago I was pretty close to quitting the business, then, thanks to some changes at a paper where I knew someone, I was able to jump from a 30K to a (nearly) 100K paper.

I never had dreams of writing for the NY Times or Sports Illustrated. If it somehow happens, that's great, but I just want to be happy with where I am and what I'm doing, and right now I am. And I have little interest in going anywhere else for at least five years.

As for the future, I'll deal with it when it comes.

 

[Pulitzer Wannabe]

Please pardon me for going this way, but to answer your question, I honeslty believe this:

Oh, yeah? You guys hiring?

 

[expendable]

I haven't given up, but I have come to the conclusion that: 1. I'll probably get out of this business within a year, unless the economy tanks to the position where I'm just happy to have a job, and 2. I'm not unhappy that I am where I am. I like my co-workers, and it's neat to work for an independent shop, but if the opportunity arises to move up the chain (or out) I'm gone in two weeks.

 

[hockeybeat]

Maybe this is going to sound very naive of me, but I can't ever see myself doing anything but writing and reporting.

 

[Pete Incaviglia]

Maybe this is going to sound very naive of me, but I can't ever see myself doing anything but writing and reporting.

That's my problem. Yet I want to quit.

 

[mdpoppy]

the sad part is I don't know if 22-year-olds getting out of college now would even hope to reach where I am now 10 years down the road.

I am a 22-year-old out of college and I will admit--I have no hopes whatsoever of reaching where you are.

I am not saying this to knock journalism--I love it and it's my true passion, but the newspaper is dead. It's just the wrong era for us to try and jump into that profession. But, the exciting thing is figuring out how to be innovative in the years to come and jump into the dot-com era.

 

[Inky_Wretch]

Does this mean I don't have ambition? I don't like to think it does. I just realize now that life isn't one stretch of a straight byway. It has curves, twists, turns and potholes. It'd be boring if it didn't.

No, it just means you don't define your self-worth by solely by your job.

Too many people in this business seem to do that. They have the whole "If I'm not covering (Division I programs or professional sports) by the time I'm (X) years old, I'm a failure."

 

[Pulitzer Wannabe]

Does this mean I don't have ambition? I don't like to think it does. I just realize now that life isn't one stretch of a straight byway. It has curves, twists, turns and potholes. It'd be boring if it didn't.

No, it just means you don't define your self-worth by solely by your job.

Too many people in this business seem to do that. They have the whole "If I'm not covering (Division I programs or professional sports) by the time I'm (X) years old, I'm a failure."

At this point, personally, I'm not as worried about what I cover as getting compensated well to cover it.

 

[John]

Just a little more time is all we're asking for
Cause just a little more time could open closing doors
Just a little uncertainty can bring you down
And nobody wants to know you now
And nobody wants to show you how
So if you're lost and on your own
You can never surrender
And if your path won't lead you home
You can never surrender
And when the night is cold and dark
You can see, you can see light
Cause no-one can take away your right
To fight and never surrender

With a little perserverence you can get things down
Without the blind adherence that has conquered some
And nobody wants to know you now
And nobody wants to show you how
So if you're lost and on your own
You can never surrender
And if your path won't lead you home
You can never surrender
And when the night is cold and dark
You can see, you can see light
Cause no-one can take away your right
To fight and never surrender, to never surrender

 

[Damaramu]

Maybe this is going to sound very naive of me, but I can't ever see myself doing anything but writing and reporting.

Me too. I mean I just graduated college. I just entered this business and got my first full-time gig in August. This is all I can see myself doing. It's all I know. I went to college all those years just thinking about this and nothing else.
I guess I could get a job at some office somewhere, but doing what? Anytime I think of an office I think of Chandler Bing on Friends and how nobody knew what he did but he wore a suit to work everyday. That's all I can think of when I think of an office job: wearing a suit and sitting at a desk. I can't imagine the actual job.

Plus when I think of other jobs sports is somehow still involved. Like I work in sports PR or I'm a certified athletic trainer(yay more school). Or I'm always taking off from the office early to go to a sporting event or go watch sports.

 

[Voodoo Chile]

I've gotten out of the business twice and was lucky enough to get back in. I found out the hard way there's nothing else I'd rather do.

 

[Starman]

New blood joins this earth
And quickly he's subdued
Through constant pained disgrace
The young boy learns their rules

With time the child draws in
This whipping boy done wrong
Deprived of all his thoughts
The young man struggles on and on he's known
A vow unto his own
That never from this day
His will they'll take away

What I've felt
What I've known
Never shined through in what I've shown
Never be
Never see
Won't see what might have been

What I've felt
What I've known
Never shined through in what I've shown
Never free
Never me
So I dub thee unforgiven

They dedicate their lives
To running all of his
He tries to please them all
This bitter man he is
Throughout his life the same
He's battled constantly
This fight he cannot win
A tired man they see no longer cares
The old man then prepares
To die regretfully
That old man here is me

What I've felt
What I've known
Never shined through in what I've shown
Never be
Never see
Won't see what might have been

What I've felt
What I've known
Never shined through in what I've shown
Never free
Never me
So I dub thee unforgiven

You labeled me
I'll label you
So I dub thee unforgiven

 

[mdpoppy]

Maybe this is going to sound very naive of me, but I can't ever see myself doing anything but writing and reporting.

Me too. I mean I just graduated college. I just entered this business and got my first full-time gig in August. This is all I can see myself doing. It's all I know. I went to college all those years just thinking about this and nothing else.
I guess I could get a job at some office somewhere, but doing what?

Funny thing is, reporting is probably the lowest paid job you can get with a journalism degree.

Just look--you can market yourself for a lot out there. And if you just graduated, you should be pretty Web-savvy, which opens the door for a lot of jobs these days.

I, too, went to school thinking this was all I would be doing, but once I got into it, I backed out and ran. Now, I'm just doing it on the side and if something big comes up, then so be it.

 

[Mira]

Hey John, thanks for the Corey Hart lyrics.

 

[Piotr Rasputin]

forever_town: for what it's worth, that Eagles song was a cover of an old song by a dude who wrote a few Eagles songs, JD Souther. I only mention it because it just won a Grammy, and I hate when covers win Grammys. Someone else gets a Grammy and sells a million copies of a song they didn't write, yay.

As for the thread . . . . I know the thread means "giving up" in the sense of quitting the business. But in today's world, it can be said that saying "I don't really know anything else, so I'm sticking around" is tantamount to giving up. Depending on the reasoning, of course. "Well, times are tough, but I'm not sure I can learn something new, so here I am." If you are lucky enough to love your job (a sensation many of us have been fortunate enough to experience), the idea of trying something else may seem distasteful. Sometimes, choosing to "give up" and leave the business might be a much more gutsy and productive thing to do than sticking around.

Someone also said people let this job define them. Perhaps . . . I suppose that's what keeps a message board for sports journalists so popular. Your profession is only a part of who you are, but taking into consideration hours worked and money made in that profession, many other things - ability to take a vacation, feed one's family, enjoy a certain quality of life - stem directly from your place of work. Success and failure there are very real things, that can affect everything else in your life. There have been a million comments on this site about the pay levels and hours involved in what we do.

Which is another reason why leaving the business is not tantamount to "giving up." Heck, some would also say that continuing in a job you love, but which hinders every other aspect of your life including family time . . . is giving up.

 

[Pulitzer Wannabe]

forever_town: for what it's worth, that Eagles song was a cover of an old song by a dude who wrote a few Eagles songs, JD Souther. I only mention it because it just won a Grammy, and I hate when covers win Grammys. Someone else gets a Grammy and sells a million copies of a song they didn't write, yay.

As for the thread . . . . I know the thread means "giving up" in the sense of quitting the business.

Not necessarily. I mean giving up the dream, perhaps just realizing this is as far as you're going to take it and realize you'll have to live with it or get out.

 

[cougargirl]

I am not saying this to knock journalism--I love it and it's my true passion, but the newspaper is dead. It's just the wrong era for us to try and jump into that profession. But, the exciting thing is figuring out how to be innovative in the years to come and jump into the dot-com era.

Don't ever repeat that line if you interview at a newspaper anytime soon. Just a word to the wise.