Wednesday, October 1, 2008

A little advice for a cub reporter

My second note on yesterday's activities is a little less optimistic about the shape of journalism - particularly print - in the world today. 

I don't look very old at all. In fact most people are not surprised to hear that I am A) a cub reporter B) fresh out of college. 

Still, this endeared me somewhat to the two reporters covering the Sledge arraignment from the Eagle-Tribune based out of Lawrence. One of them, Jim Patten, is a veteran police/crime reporter in the area. He's well known and well respected and his son is the press liaison over in Salem, N.H. The other was a photographer attached to the Patten and ended up being our pool photographer (meaning he was the only one allowed into the courthouse and the subsequent AP photos you can find online are all his). 

They were talking about how the arraignment was already more than an hour late and commenting on how they (particularly the photographer) had had to bounce around southern New Hampshire on a wild goose chase of sorts before finding out that the court appearance would be in Derry. 

"There just isn't any fun in it anymore," the photographer said as he sat next to me. 

"As a recent college grad, that's sort of down turning to hear," I said after butting in on the conversation. 

"I'll tell you what I tell all the other kids around the newsroom," Patten said to me after a short conversation about the state of things in print media. "Have a fall back career. Find something else you like doing that you can get paid for."

He related a story about a young woman who had just been let go and told me that she had been making more money at her side job, waitressing, then as a journalist. 

"They tell you, 'you're not doing this for the money, are you?' Well, it shouldn't be a vow of poverty either," he said. 

Wise words. 

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