Leaving the business -- second thoughts

[OtterGrad]

I left a big-city newspaper sports copy desk about a year ago and now work for a small bi-weekly with less pay but, for the first time in years, I have decent hours and weekends off.

I've got to admit, though: I really miss the big city at times.

-- I miss deadline adrenaline
-- I miss working with talented and motivated bosses and co-workers (there are some here, but not as plentiful)
-- I miss trying to find the perfect headline and the perfect photo
-- I miss splashy 5-column photos with 80-pt heads for big games like the SB, WS and BCS title Game
-- I miss the extra 35 percent of my pay

Of course, I don't miss:
-- those wonderful post-mortems, which are all stick and no carrot
-- the pressure of midnight deadline
-- getting the kids from my ex and turning them right over to the baby-sitter as I go to work
-- the specter of looming job cuts (I'm about the only one at my shop who can lay out the paper)

Just curious if anyone could relate or had thoughts. Thanks.

 

[JackReacher]

I left a big-city newspaper sports copy desk about a year ago and now work for a small bi-weekly with less pay but, for the first time in years, I have decent hours and weekends off.

I've got to admit, though: I really miss the big city at times.

-- I miss deadline adrenaline
-- I miss working with talented and motivated bosses and co-workers (there are some here, but not as plentiful)
-- I miss trying to find the perfect headline and the perfect photo
-- I miss splashy 5-column photos with 80-pt heads for big games like the SB, WS and BCS title Game
-- I miss the extra 35 percent of my pay

Of course, I don't miss:
-- those wonderful post-mortems, which are all stick and no carrot
-- the pressure of midnight deadline
-- getting the kids from my ex and turning them right over to the baby-sitter as I go to work
-- the specter of looming job cuts (I'm about the only one at my shop who can lay out the paper)

Just curious if anyone could relate or had thoughts. Thanks.

Ask me in a couple months, although I'm about 98 percent sure my answer will be no.

 

[Ace]

Ryan Sonner leaving the business is one of the signs of the Apocalypse.

 

[WaylonJennings]

The biggest thing I'll miss about daily journalism - and it's not even close - is the camaraderie on the beat.

 

[Ace]

It seems to me that OtterGrad hasn't exactly left the business. Just a previous job.

I don't miss working the night copy desk at all. But I would miss 35 percent of my paycheck.

 

[OtterGrad]

Ace:

To a large extent, you're right. I still edit copy, put together pages and try to make deadline.

But it's not the same because of the reasons I outlined earlier: Much less stress, better health and more family time, but also much less professional excitement. Just wondering if anybody was going through that same sort of thing (either leaving the biz or stepping down in circulation).

 

[Ace]

Excitement is way overrated. Especially copy desk excitement.

 

[JackReacher]

Excitement is way overrated. Especially copy desk excitement.

Amen.

 

[shockey]

nothing beat the rush of being on a beat. i worked the desk for two years, too, and the comaraderie was terrific, but no rush at all.

the beat life, and kinship with those "competitors," was the best. nothing like it. i certainly considered myself blessed to be part of it in a huge market during a time before the end was near for the biz i so love.

 

[Mizzougrad96]

I miss the camaraderie more than anything.

The excitement is overrated.

 

[WaylonJennings]

I miss the camaraderie more than anything.

The excitement is overrated.

Yeah. The best part is you're in some strange city somewhere, at a strange bar or restaurant, hundreds, maybe thousands of miles from home. But you're sitting with the only three people in the world who understand exactly what you're going through.

 

[Joe Williams]

I miss the camaraderie more than anything.

The excitement is overrated.

Yeah. The best part is you're in some strange city somewhere, at a strange bar or restaurant, hundreds, maybe thousands of miles from home. But you're sitting with the only three people in the world who understand exactly what you're going through.

Let's not romanticize this too much. It depends on the three people. Some SE somewhere dictates who goes on a beat for his paper, and sometimes that person is someone you do not care to dine or drink with, based on their tactics or personality. Sometimes that person is so fearful of being downsized that he/she always is in compete mode or just inexperienced enough to not know how to calm down. That makes a tough job tougher.

Always have enjoyed getting to know the folks from other markets, though, covering the opposing teams.

 

[OtterGrad]

Well, I definitely miss the camaraderie on the desk. It's probably the thing I miss most (especially where I am alone on the copy desk).

On a copy desk, you get to know people differently than you would in a normal office setting. For one thing, it's at night, when people are instinctively less guarded. And you're on the same team, working toward the same goal, racing against the same clock, fighting the same obstacles. Agreed that excitement is often overrated. Satisfaction -- especially shared -- is often underrated.

But you're right, Waylon. I should be careful not to romanticize it. For a single dad with weekend visitation, nothing beats having weekends off for the first time in forever.

 

[Ace]

You're not alone, Otter. You have your SportsJournalists.com family.

 

[OtterGrad]

Ace:

That might be the most comforting thing I've heard in 2009. Thanks so much.

 

[spaceman]

Otter, I thought you were pre-med.

 

[Sam Mills 51]

I left the biz 18 months ago for non-professional reasons and thought I was done. I missed it.

I was fortunate enough to be hired on a part-time basis a few months back in addition to a non-biz gig, then dumped three months later for budgetary reasons. Luckily, I had an acceptable fallback.

Dunno if I'll get back in. I'd like to, but that last experience will make me think twice before not having a better professional safety net should the opportunity somehow present itself somewhere.

 

[PCLoadLetter]

Otter, I thought you were pre-med.

What's the difference?

 

[OtterGrad]

Well, I don't think Sanjay Gupta doesn't have to worry about any competition from this neck of the woods...

Although my handwriting is bad enough, to be sure. I'm certainly an illegible bachelor.

 

[WaylonJennings]

I miss the camaraderie more than anything.

The excitement is overrated.

Yeah. The best part is you're in some strange city somewhere, at a strange bar or restaurant, hundreds, maybe thousands of miles from home. But you're sitting with the only three people in the world who understand exactly what you're going through.

Let's not romanticize this too much. It depends on the three people. Some SE somewhere dictates who goes on a beat for his paper, and sometimes that person is someone you do not care to dine or drink with, based on their tactics or personality. Sometimes that person is so fearful of being downsized that he/she always is in compete mode or just inexperienced enough to not know how to calm down. That makes a tough job tougher.

Well, sure, all of that. But part of the fun is all the different personalities and motives and skills, all kind of thrown together.

Maybe I was lucky and ended up on a beat with a bunch of great guys who were also true professionals in every sense of the word. Hell, even the Rivals and Scout guys, persona no grata around these parts, were pro's pros.