maybe I’ll like it…can’t be worse than the current one anyway.

Why do you hate your job?

Study English at University, then a Masters degree and then a slave job at a newspapers

that how someone i know got into it

hmmm…currently the issue is that I don’t have anything in common with my colleagues so it’s very lonely/boring. They’re all nice people but I don’t chat to them much (a slight language barrier doesn’t help). As a result I don’t really get involved in the work that deeply. But even when I do get involved in it I think “hmmm, I couldn’t actually care less about whether I book a page in Vogue or Marie Claire – it is of absolutely no consequence to my life”

So one of these issues is do to with the job itself and one is just the current situation.

thanks darrell. I have to admit the career path I had in mind was more like “write a couple of articles…bag a position as senior reporter on a national broadsheet” 🙂

perhaps a little unreasonable…

Sounds familiar eckinspain!

You probably need to find someone of about your age, works nearby and is up for a drink (sans motorbike) sometime…

Specialist journalism easier than general.

Right now? Start a blog. Get on Twitter. Write lots.

You probably need to find someone of about your age, works nearby and is up for a drink (sans motorbike) sometime…

If I ever find some spare time I’ll take you up on that!

i did a degree after years of plugging away at local rags. I suspect you don’t really want to do it though

😉

Right now? Start a blog. Get on Twitter. Write lots.

I was thinking that was probably a good start. Even if no-one reads the blog it´s a body of material over a period of time to show prospective employers)

Specialist journalism easier than general.
Right now? Start a blog. Get on Twitter. Write lots.

Short, but to the point, might not be good for those paid by the word though.

I want to be a postman, it’s got to be better than this. no stress start early, finish early and be out in the sunshine.

might not be good for those paid by the word though.

wtf? he’s trying to get in. Once you’re in you get word rate (best I ever had was £2 a word, lovely, ah!)

ok – so if you’re serious….

Get on to your local paper. Start doing all those boring things that are in papers, but people never read ie: raffles, car boot sales, WI meetings, etc etc, send your copy in and get a name for being reliable and actually doing work. Your local “patch”, that is, what is outside your front door, will be a treasure trove of news that you don’t deem newsworthy. Go talk to the butcher, the baker, people in the local shops and ask what issues locally concern them. You’ll begin to get a few leads to go on. Write it up and send it in. It’ll be butchered by subs but at least something will happen with it.
Perhaps the best piece of advice is for you to build a strong collection of contacts. You can only do that by getting out there and doing the work, but it will come in time.
It’s not easy, and it’s a slow process, but if you can spot a good story, or write something in a compelling way you’ll be making your way up the ladder in no time. Shorthand is always a very good skill to have as well. Remember – a reporter with a tape recorded is useless at covering a court case, and as much local rag copy is sourced from court (where there’s always something happening), you’ll want to be the person who can get the info down.

Good luck with it.

What about inMadrid and The Broadsheet?

Brant: I can understand the blog bit, but would twitter really be of any use?

Don’t go to uni, get a lowly job at some local paper. Maybe take a couple of part time or home study courses on broardcasting/web design and ethics. You’ll want to start a blog or create some sort of online content, especially as paper journalism is a dying trade now. Most papers are either laying off staff or closing completely due to the collapse in ad revenue in recent months.

With the rise in blogs etc, it looks like we are returning to the kind of partisan journalism that created most of the modern newspapers titles over a century ago.

You’ll need a woodcutting set, too, for that authentic feel for your blog:

🙂

Edit: The author!!! Can it really be the world famous TandemJeremy?