Big surprise? I think not for many, but if it is, here’s what you need to know about being a newspaper reporter (or journalist, period) in 2013 and beyond. And here’s a diatribe on why one journalist left the business altogether…and she’s only 28.
One of my favorite quotes from her very candid blog post is:
“So here goes. This is the real reason why I left news: I finally came to accept that the vanity of a byline was keeping me in a job that left me physically and emotionally exhausted, yet supremely unsatisfied.”
Ah yes, the infamous byline – the writer’s Kryptonite. I had my first taste in my early 20s and since then have fallen into that trap many times, staying in underpaid writing jobs for longer than I should have, over and over again.
Anyway, I only share this to share this: IT’S NOT JUST YOU.
Working in media sucks on a good day, so don’t give up. But if you do, no one is judging. Just don’t let your talent go to waste. The world still needs good writers and great thinkers.
-sandy.
