Anyone ever worked at a Newspaper?

[Rob_In_MN]

Hi,
I've got a character that has a degree in journalism. He's spent 10 years working for a celebrity mag (think Star, People, etc. not Enquirer). He's left that because he's basically bored with it. Now, he's living in the small town he grew up in (much calamity ensues, of course ;)

To make a short story long, he's trying to get a job at a smallish newspaper and his applicable skills would be writing. What sort of questions might he be asked by the person who interviews him? What type of job might he be after at a newspaper? Staff writer? Do newspapers that are not major city newspapers employee editorialists?

thanks :)

[katiemac]

I can't respond to some of your finer questions, but they'll probably want to know why he's switching from Hollywood, what drew him to their newspaper, etc.

Also, he would most likely be asked to provide clips and writing samples, and depending on the paper, may be required to pass an AP style exam or grammar test.

[IceCreamEmpress]

How large a town? How large a newspaper?

Somebody with experience on a national celebrity magazine might most easily get a job in features, or the Arts and Style section, or writing for the Sunday glossy magazine. It's unlikely they'd get a job as an opinion columnist with that particular background, though they might do a mix of opinion columns on entertainment and popular culture with features or Arts and Style pieces.

When you go for an interview at a newspaper, you bring your book of "clips" (reproductions of published articles) and you usually review them with the folks interviewing you. Questions asked include things like what your deadlines were for different pieces, what your reporting experience might be, why you want to work at that newspaper, and similar.

[Rob_In_MN]

The town is around 15k people. I would say the paper isn't really read outside of a 60 mile radius of the town.

Thanks to both of you for the help, I appreciate it.

[Button]

When I got my newspaper job, I emailed clips to the editor. The next day he emailed me back, asked me to come in. He showed me their publication, we talked about what he wanted, and he would call or me with assignments. I worked freelance, so I didn't work in the offices, but it was pretty much go in, talk and that's that.

I have a mate who works in the office for a smallish type town. He was fresh out of journalism school and he had to take an AP test and then he was in. He got assigned something like 10 to 15 a week. I think his runs weekly. Smaller towns don't often have daily newspapers.

[Devil Ledbetter]

Do newspapers that are not major city newspapers employee editorialists?

thanks :)I don't think a small town paper would hire a writer just to write editorials. Their editorials are usually written by one of the editors or perhaps a high-ranking staff writer, who'd be doing it in addition to a lot of other responsibilities.

Very small papers usually have a few staff members filling a lot of roles. So a reporter would probably be his own photographer, etc. where in a larger paper, roles are more defined.

[IceCreamEmpress]

Very small papers usually have a few staff members filling a lot of roles.


This is so true that I want to highlight it. My brother edited a weekly newspaper in a city of ca. 30,000, and many was the time that he wrote every word in the paper himself. The paper was part of a small chain of small local papers, and he shared a full-time reporter/photographer with another nearby paper from the chain. He also had a full-time advertising and classified sales manager. Other than that, it was interns and interested local amateurs, so on the weeks where the shared reporter/photographer was on vacation and none of the interns were around, it was all him.

The culture shock in coming to an environment like that from a national magazine would be mind-blowing, I would think.

One thought, Rob_In_MN--why not pick a real newspaper from a real city of the same size as your fictional one, and ask someone(s) there about their job(s)? Most newspaper folks I know love talking about their work.

[mikeland]

I think you've got a lot of wiggle room on what they hire him to do. All depends on the editor character you're writing. My first thought was that the editor might think he needs the guy as a gossip columnist, but the guy wants to finally do something serious and meaningful. But that's just my brain spinning.

I've freelanced and worked in a couple of newsrooms. An editor will want to see clips and find out if you've really been a reporter. Otherwise, the interview will be pretty much like any job interview.

If your character has really had 10 years of experience chasing stories, even at a celebrity rag, he's probably going to have a leg up on most of the applicants at a newspaper that small. He's just going to seem more interesting than anyone else. But again, it depends on the editor. Does he take his job seriously or is he a quirky oddball? Is he looking to maintain a reputation or make a splash? The conflict between what the editor and the MC want will make the interview interesting.

One thing that hasn't been mentioned is that many small newspapers do not produce most of their own stories. They get them from wire services and sometimes send reporters out to get a paragraph or two that ties it to local interest. He might get stuck pulling copy off the wires, which might spur him to write an editorial, which might get published by the editor if it hits him at the right moment.

If you're looking for an example of a small town newspaper as a plot device, check out The Shipping News by Annie Proulx.

[chiun]

Yep, at small papers (circulation usually about 5000) you have an editor (usually the owner) and a few part time reporters. They perform numerous tasks, including their own photography. Editorials are usually generic, non-contentious, and written by the owner. In this way, they can assure none of their pals are inadvertently denigrated.

[Smiling Ted]

As for the celebrity magazine angle -

I knew a reporter for the Enquirer. His take was that working for the Enquirer was a Faustian bargain - you got paid far more than you would at a mainstream paper, but no one in "serious journalism" would hire you after that. Ever.

You might consider working that into your background: Your character is looking for the smallest paper he can find because only there could he hope to get a job.

[jasperd]

I've worked for three weeklies. I probably broke every rule there is but I just walked in and asked for a job as a writer. The first one told me that I had no experience and no degree but they would hire me to sale newspaper ads. I agreed, knowing that once I got my foot in the door, I would find a way to write, which is exactly what I did. I got my golden opportunity about a month after I started (I never once sold an ad). The publisher took me out to "show" me how to sell ads because I was such a terrible sales person. As we were driving around, every single writer that worked for him (about 8 people) called him on his cell phone and told him they couldn’t' make it to an interview that night for an article that was to be written and turned in by the next day. I put him on the spot and he let me interview and write the piece. The other writers threatened to quit if he let me write again because they were degreed and I wasn't. So, I took the clip to another newspaper and they hired me as a staff writer. When I moved, I got a job at another weekly as a staff writer.

Perhaps, you could draw some information from that for insight. Traditionally, you would probably email a clip to the editor of a newspaper and as long as you've had something published, it's quite easy to become a staff writer.

[andrewhollinger]

I had a thought about your character getting the job.

If he's coming back "home" he'll probably be the hometown legend or success story. The only reason people in that town would even pick up a magazine like People: to get a glimpse of the hometown star.

The editor may be bumfuzzled, but surely he would give your character the job. How could he not?

Now whether your character is successful at small newspaper audiences, who knows.

[johnnysannie]

I've worked at several newspapers, two in small towns, one about 10,000, one about 2,000.

The main areas of interest for the newspaper in hiring would be
1. Can the prospective applicant write? Clips and possibly an on-site "test" in writing a news story would demonstrate this ability. And yes, I have been subjected to the on-site "test" of writing skills.

2. Why does he want to come back? And more importantly, will he stay? The newspaper that I now freelance for could have hired me fresh out of college but didn't because they couldn't believe that I would stay around the small town. Years later, I've proved them wrong but confirming that the character would stay awhile would be a big issue for most newspapers.

If the character is already established as a writer for magazines, the hometown paper would probably be aware of his talents and the interview might be very casual. In one of my former jobs, I just asked the editor who already knew I freelanced and he suggested that I write a particular story. I did, he ran it, and I was hired.

[Twizzle]

With that kind of exp, I'm not sure there would be an interview. They'd just be grateful to get a qualified writer...if there was some kind of vetting process, it would be write this story, if good, we'll use.

They're overworked and understaffed, and they rely a lot on freelance writers-at least the ones I wrote for. All I did was write an op/ed and a cheeky cover and the editor called, said anytime you have something send it in, we need writers. Well, I did. I ended up with 2 columns. But always as freelance. Because that's the thing, their staff was so small (and the majority were fresh out of college writers or interns), pay so dismal, and "real" openings incredibly rare. You did much better as freelance and they preferred it that way.

Our's is a town of 24K, and their circ was about 60k. The other paper was a circ of the 24K.

[Rob_In_MN]

wow, thanks for all the info everyone! I even got a few plot ideas!

[deathwizard]

The town is around 15k people. I would say the paper isn't really read outside of a 60 mile radius of the town.

Thanks to both of you for the help, I appreciate it.

I worked at a major newspaper for 25 years. A person who worked for a large celebrity magazine could name his job at a newspaper with a 15K or less circulation, from publisher and/or managing editor on down. Remember, you'd be talking about a newsroom staff of a dozen or less with a severely questionable level of talent.

[bluemoonscribe]

Hi, Rob,

I worked at a smallish newspaper for about 7 years. I started off as a obit clerk. I basically wrote obituaries all.day.long. for an entire summer. Oddly, it was also my job to assemble the livestock reports. Draw from that what you will. I got my "big break" when none of the reporters wanted to work the weekend Fourth of July holiday and I volunteered.

I came back as a news intern the next summer and parlayed that into a fully time job. Most reporters, tabloid or otherwise, spend their careers compiling clips from their various stories. You can't get a jobs without clips.

If you're going to work for a small town paper, you're probably going to be a general assignment reporter. Small papers can't afford a courts reporter, a cops reporter, a business reporter, etc. So you're going to need to be able to cover anything from fires to school board meetings to business development.

Most of the people you interact with will know each other from way back, so sometimes you'll feel shut out. Unless you were from the town where you're reporting- I was- and the people you are trying to interview have known you since you were a baby and in some cases were your elementary school teachers.

Also, people will feel comfortable complaining to you. They'll complain that all you're trying to do is sell papers, despite the fact that newspaper revenue is mostly from ads. They will complain the paper is too expensive. They will complain that you don't print the broadcast times from Walker Texas Ranger, despite the fact that the show was cancelled 7 years ago.

You need a sense of humor, you need a smattering of knowledge on a wide range of subjects, you need to know when to turn on and off the small town charm.

Feel free to PM me if you have any questions.
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[bluemoonscribe]

I don't think a small town paper would hire a writer just to write editorials. Their editorials are usually written by one of the editors or perhaps a high-ranking staff writer, who'd be doing it in addition to a lot of other responsibilities.




Generally the publisher and managing editor are involved as well. Sometimes they are the same person.

[MDSchafer]

I've been in a similar situation. I've been a reporter a good amount of time and have corporate experience in marketing with a massive company, and a number of the small papers won't even talk to me because they're, rightly, concerned they won't be able to offer me a salary I would be willing to accept.

One thing to keep in mind the pay in journalism is offensively low. I actually got a job offer at $18,000 which is actually lower than the wage I got when I broke into the business. Basically he would be offered about $5,000 to $10,000 less than what a starting teacher in the county school system would make. A lot of small papers live and die by taking advantage of recent college grads who are willing to work at the poverty level for a few years in the hopes of moving on to the big show.

On another note, most small papers aren't hiring and are literally fighting daily for their survivor. I recently went back to my first paper and they cut the newsroom staff by a third. Times are hard for print media in America, not so much in England or parts of Europe, but throughout America, especially in small towns.

[windyrdg]

One of the things that no one mentioned is that a small, and probably weekly paper, no longer has a printing press. There's a kind of three-tiered system. The really big papers that serve major metropolitan areas have large printing plants. The small town weeklies have nothing but a computer and a darkroom. The mid-sized papers print their own daily edition as well as many of the smaller ones.

When I owned a newspaper, I had to make a weekly "press-run" with camera-ready pages forty miles to the nearest daily. They started their morning paper at midnight, so mine had to be on and back off the press by around 10. The actual printing (4,000 copies) took less than half-an-hour. Then I loaded the bundles into the back of my van and headed back home.

There's also been a lot of consolidation of ownership. The era of the crusty publisher/editor owning the paper is long gone. Now days you'd probably be interveiwed by a publisher who is the equivalent of a branch manager.

One of the things you'll run into with a small paper is the need to please the advetisers. So the introduction of a new salad bar at the local restuarant becomes newsworthy.

The best part of the job is that as a reporter you can ask someone just about anything and they'll usually answer. Amazing the things you find out. You might be able to contrast the tabloid world (stars with entourage and bodyguards) to being able to walk up to anyone and say, "Whatcha doin'?"

[johnnysannie]

One small detail that I neglected to mention is that most small town papers today - dailies and weeklies - are owned by large corporations who own many, many newspapers. Both the paper I currently freelance for and the one before that are in this situation.

[cmyk]

I've been a newspaper editor, news and features at medium and large-ish papers.

We'd know after barely looking at your clips that you were qualified (although we might ask how heavily you are edited, and if you had a problem with that, just to check your attitude).

We'd be VERY suspicious of why you want this pissant job, and how soon you're going to leave us in the lurch. We'd be very interested in your local personal, familial connections and how long they might keep you here. Maybe 6 months of a rainmaker is worth it to a tiny paper, and the rest is a bonus.

You'd probably be offered staff writer, or maybe a writer/editor split job.

But journalists are storytellers. Most of my interviews have just been shooting the shit, while being very much aware that everyone is noting the cut of my jib. Talking about travel, and "did you ever meet, did you read" kind of stuff. So anything is fair game. Just tell a good story.

As others have pointed out, very few places have one tiny independent 15,000 circulation paper anymore. And tiny papers are so different from one another. Some are all wire crap, others are practically written and edited by a couple of people. Some are great, come are barely readable. Local police blotters are the high points of the week for many.

So, there's really not one single truth. If there's a lot of action, a weekly is more realistic though. You can't be going to night meetings and getting locked in a bank vault and seducing the town solicitor AND write 4 cover stories on deadline.

Have fun!

[Dai Alanye]

You've probably got more advice than you need, but I'd like to pile on. As you've noticed—different papers, different circumstances. I'm presently doing an occasional column for a couple of locals owned by the same small company (as are several others.) They asked my wife—who has worked in the field for years—to do it, but she was too busy and nominated me.

As yet, the matter of pay for this latest gig hasn't come up, but they normally pay contributors of my status $20 for a 450-650 word article. I once received a generous $30 for a long book review.

Starting wage for a full-time reporter was $7.50/hr several years ago. The chief editor overseeing five locals received $32, 000 for a sixty-hour week, and was responsible for all functions except ads and general administration—that is, all editorial work, page layout of the main paper, employee supervision, selection, and dismissal, and accepting the publisher's advice and static. Wages are probably higher now but there have been no raises for three years. The local "editors" get little more than the reporters.

I put editors in quotes because these people are primarily reporters with extra duties. Staff for local papers usually consists of one reporter, an office secretary who often does obits and rewrites, a shared sports reporter, sometimes a shared photographer, a few "correspondents" or stringers, and local businessmen or government officials who write technical columns for the publicity. I probably fall into this latter category despite the creative aspect of my writing.

The qualifications for both reporters and editors are all over the map: journalism degrees (usually not top of class ;)) English, or what have you are welcome. Secretaries are often promoted to editor, with only on-the-job training and highschool education. Ex school teachers, technical writers, or most anyone else can qualify, depending on how desperate the company is. Payrolls are watched ve-rrry carefully, and the foremost qualification is a willingness to work cheap. Cynical, but true.

None of the jobs can be done properly in forty hours, yet some manage to get home early by depending on filler from AP and the like. The subscribers don't like this because they want local news, and resent items even from neighbor towns. Still, they buy the papers for the occasional nugget of controversy or scandal, and out of local spirit.

Ads are a problem, and a good salesman is greatly valued. These are paid on draw against commission, but none are getting rich. A form of corruption exists in that advertisers are treated with kid gloves, and aren't hesitant to pull their ads if insulted. New advertisers are automatically given a puff story, not that there's anything wrong with that. More and more big advertisers are going to inserts that are delivered with the papers; not much money for the paper in that. The court news is competed for with other chains, including the local daily, as it pays according to a generous state schedule. This counts as another small area of corruption.

These particular papers have their own printing plant, and proudly proclaim the use of re-cycled paper and environmentally-friendly ink, despite the higher costs.

Local government news is a staple but since much of it must be gathered at evening meetings, it is covered erratically by the lazier reporters. School news, especially sports, is highly appreciated, and much effort goes into stories and photos of Mrs Smith's special fourth-grade projects. Features and photo essays are common.

And if a major news story breaks… If a murder occurs, big-time embezzlement, terrorist found hiding out, large drug bust—the dailies swarm all over the place, nearly crowding out the locals, and beating them to the scoops. In short, it's pretty near a dog's life.

And then there is the local free paper or shopper. But enuf is enuf.

[Chumplet]

I work for a group of community newspapers near Toronto. Our regional division is run by one publisher, with seven newspapers under its belt. Two of the papers are weekly, two are twice a week, and three are three times per week. We have three offices with their own editorial and creative departments, and our Newmarket office houses the main Composing department and Classifieds, as well as the Editorial department. We have our own photographic staff and at least one printing press owned by our division. We use two other presses which are shared by the other community newspapers in the company.

The editorial department is unionized. They make a pretty decent wage. They seem to have their own duties -- some do community events, others handle politics, and others are on police reporting. Most of them seem to have a degree in journalism.

Back in the early 80's I applied for a photography position and they asked me to be the sports reporter. I did okay, but it was just temporary, they were independent at the time and things were much more informal.

If you want to see the different departments of a newspaper group with circulations of about 250,000, check out www.yorkregion.com and snoop around.

[Rob_In_MN]

Wow peeps, thanks so much! Not only have enough info to make it realistic seeming to the average person, I think I might even be able to have a real live newspaper person convinced, if they read between the lines, that I know what I'm talking about ;)

that, and I've gotten some interesting thoughts about both the editor type (who may or may not be the MC's ex-girlfriend from way back when, she works there, just not sure in what capacity yet), but also the MC himself.

happy day!

[deathwizard]

Listen only to my advice, and you'll be fine. (Ha!)