In the days of 30 percent margins, 700,000 circulation Sunday papers and 500-staffer newsrooms, the copy desk chief walked into my office and said, “We have two people out on the sports desk the next two days; I don’t know how we can get the job done.”
Everything is relative to the time you are in, and measured by the circumstances of the day that you confront. The copy desk chief was top-notch. I regarded him as the ultimate pro, and a friend. He was a roadie for Waylon Jennings in an earlier life, so had been around the block a few times, and probably still draws 39 cent monthly royalty checks from Denmark for the likely one and only anti-war song that Waylon ever performed.
For these reasons, and others, I was sympathetic, but what do you do? So we discussed this notion: “If the sports copy desk is hit by a bus on dinner hour, and could not come back to work, we would still have a sports section in the paper; it would be ugly, but it would happen. We can do anything.” And we could, and we did; we were at a big paper, and pulled off covering and staffing the Olympics like no hometown paper will be able to do again, ever.
As time went by, whenever we had a problem to handle, the desk chief would say, “We can do anything.” I appreciated it, and I think he meant it, too, which makes it even better.
That’s why I like Steve Buttry’s post on challenges journalists face today.
Steve is the social media guru at Digital First Media. He works with a talented bunch of colleagues, and reports to Jim Brady, DFM Editor-in-Chief, a news veteran who has been at the forefront of the digital movement for a long time.
Steve blogs about the issues of staffing, time management, equipment, resources, etc. All familiar and all a reality.
What I particularly like are his thoughts on the personal responsibility of being a journalist, and overcoming the odds and obstacles. Read his blog for the details.
In my first job out of school, I decided I never wanted to manage people again after reading three consecutive articles by the school beats reporter, each using the word “fruition.” How often does that appear in one article, much less three in a row? My easy escape was to swear to never manage journalists again, but that changed. Thank goodness.
Journalists today must know how to push a peanut up the hill. By themselves. And take pride in it.
I’d still recommend journalism as a great career for a dedicated individual, but it isn’t getting any easier. And much of an individual’s success has to do with attitude, and perseverance.
As my first employment confirmation letter, from the executive editor in Savannah, said: “We don’t make a lot of money, but we have a lot of fun.”
Still true today.