Q: I have been with a small daily for about a year now. It is my first full-time gig in a newsroom and it hasn't been everything I thought it would be. I came into the newsroom fairly inexperienced. I feel I have the talent and am a good writer, but need work. After my yearly review I felt like I had been thrown under a bus.
Not only did my editor find my writing lacking but I was said to lack initiative, and communication skills, and furthermore am a burden on my fellow reporters. I feel that I am viewed as completely useless. A lot of what I read was hard to swallow. What my editors didn't know was that some of the things they would have liked me to have done, I was doing. For example I was told to consult with a veteran reporter and have them go over my stories. The problem I found was that our beats were not compatible and this person did not have time to meet with me. So I took it upon myself to ask another reporter, whom I felt comfortable with, to mentor me. I met with this person on more than one occasion on my own time to chat and talk about strategies I could take to develop my sources.
I did not tell them I was meeting with this reporter because on several occasions I felt I got attitude from one of my editors if I didn't do things their way. I was afraid the editor would get upset with my choice, because it was not theirs.
While I am cordial and chat with that editor, and on the surface it looks like everything is fine, I still feel there is that barrier between us, and it is difficult to talk to her about work unless necessary.
I made an attempt several months ago to talk to my senior editor about how to work past the barrier I felt was between me and the other editor, but the other editor was called in on the meeting and I felt uncomfortable talking about my feelings and left that meeting frustrated.
According to my review, I have been a quota for stories I have to meet in the next two months. I have been assigned to write obituaries (this was assigned not to long after I arrived at the paper) on one of my work days. This leaves me with one less day to work on stories or having to work on them on my days off, which many times I do. I feel the editor has set unrealistic goals.
I was told writing obits was temporary, but I have not been given any indication that I won't have to do them much longer.
My schedule is Tuesday through Saturday and I have the education beat. I have asked repeatedly if a change in schedule would be considered since school is held Monday through Friday, and administrators, teachers, and any school staff would be difficult to get a hold of on weekends. I was told that a Tuesday through Saturday schedule would not be good for any of the other reporters and I would have to adjust. I even offered up the idea of a rotating schedule during the summer months, but there is no one else who can do obits, so I am stuck with my schedule.
What practical advice can you give me to meet the quota I was given, with the schedule I have?
While I would not have given myself a perfect or excellent review, I don't feel I received a fair review. I have brought up some of these issues to my senior editor and we will all meet by the time you get to read this e-mail. In hindsight, we should have all met before the review, but the damage is done. How do I recover? Can I recover? Is this the right profession for me?
When my career in journalism took-off so did I. I moved away from home and to one other state before landing were I am. I am a family person and have a close-knit family. This past year has been grueling and all I can think about is going back home. I have some job opportunities extended to me, but I like the current company I work for. Right now there are no opportunities within the company that would bring me closer to home. I don't know what to do? It seems pretty obvious I should move on, but a part of me feels like I'd be running away from a problem rather than addressing it and working past it.
Oh, if life were simpler.
Slammed
A: This is a mess.
Let's organize it a little. You're dealing with three big issues: an editor/eval issue, the quota/schedule, you're far from home.
Today's issue is the eval; the intermediate and chronic issue is the quota/schedule; the long-range issue is getting home.
It sounds as though the die has been cast with this eval and it will not get changed. Try not to spend the whole conversation defending yourself -- although you have a reason to feel defensive. Try to secure a plan that will help you improve in the eyes of these editors. Work with them to set measurable and achievable goals. Set dates.
In that conversation, deal with the quota and schedule. In this economy -- few openings, slow turnover -- it is not unusual for someone to find that they stay at the bottom of the seniority list longer than expected. That may be why this interim job of obituaries has stuck with you. Have them recalibrate your quota, counting obits into the quota. I don't think you're going to get much of a pass for working Saturdays -- even if it is a general assignment shift where there is little guaranteed work. Go into the Saturdays with some education stories in your back pocket. If there is news on that Saturday, you'll get stories. If it is slow, work on your mid-range education stories. If your quota is higher than everyone else's, you'll have to ask them to adjust it. You'll also have to adjust the way you work.
The relationship with that editor is troubled, but it sounds as though you can talk to the senior editor. Don't circumvent the immediate editor, but keep the senior editor looped in to how you're doing with those little extras you've been doing like seeking a mentor. Make sure the three of you talk about your progress on your objectives in 30 days. Don't let it wait a year.
As for going home, it sounds like you can do that now. But it also sounds like you'd rather move home as a reporter than to one of these immediate openings. Ultimately, I'm afraid you'll go from feeling lousy about these immediate circumstances to feeling terrible about your long-term prospects of working at a newspaper again. If you still like what you're doing, let's hang in there and try to have it all.
Whatever you do, don't bail until you've had a chance to turn this situation around.
