So we've all given in. What other choice did we have? If you don't have viewers or readers, you don't have a job. But this surrender to all news all the time doesn't come without consequences. Of course there's the constant fight to be first without regard to being right (just look at the recent Newtown, CT, tragedy), but I'm talking more about the affects on journalists.
Sometimes the pressures of this business are intense. We're expected to be on our game 24 hours a day, seven days a week. We're not supposed to take vacations or ever turn off our phones. And for the most part, we're never thanked for our dedication. Not that we really expect it. For most of us, it's not about the fame or fortune - it's about the news and getting it out there and maybe making a difference in the process.
But sometimes the pursuit of journalism ends in a burn out.
This week a coworker shared an article with me called Why I Left News. The title is pretty straight-forward: a former print reporter explains why she got out of the business. It basically boils down to being over-worked, underpaid and under-appreciated. And while the article is primarily about print, the issues the author discusses can also be felt in broadcast.
We get tired, but we don't stop. We literally work ourselves sick sometimes.
Not all of us give into the overwhelming nature of the beast and leave the business, but I feel like I speak for most of us when I say we wish we could hide sometimes.
For me, it's from my phone. I never turn it off. I can't unless I'm on vacation. Everyone at the station has access to me all the time. I can't tell you how many times I've gotten work-related phone calls during dinner or while on a date.
This job can take over your entire world if you let it. But you don't have to let news consume you. Sure, I find myself updating stories or monitoring our social media sites from home occasionally, but I'm not constantly plugged into my station. In fact, I don't watch the news at all when I'm off.
I think some of the most successful and happiest journalists I know are not tied to their desks/cameras. They're not running to their stations every time some piece of breaking news happens. They're out there living their lives and leaving the news at the station.
I think that's the key to being happy in this business -- not giving your entire life to it. You can't let news define who you are as a person. You need to have connections outside of your station. You should have times when your thoughts are nowhere near work.
But if you are serious about making this your career, you've got to understand its needs. There will be times when you lose your weekend; your work days will almost never fall between 9:00 a.m. and 5:00 p.m.; and you'll be expected to do more than college prepared you for. But as long as when you go home you're at home both in body and in mind, you should be fine.
Too much of anything can be a bad thing, even love for your career.
