Ask the Recruiter

Q. I "sold out," and I never imagined it would hurt this badly, for so long.

I'd been a newspaper reporter and editor since the early 1990s. Since I was a teenager, I've breathed journalism. In college, I was one of the freaks in the campus newspaper office working unpaid, 80 hours a week, for the sheer love of it. I've worked at three papers and excelled, gaining thousands of clips and several journalism awards in the process.

ASK JOE A QUESTION

To get your question answered on this page, send it to Joe. Please include your full name in your message. If you prefer that your surname not be published, please indicate that. Sign up to receive Ask the Recruiter by e-mail. (Sent Monday-Friday at 8 a.m.)

Then -- bam -- my photo editor husband got laid off from the paper at which we'd both worked for nine years. Out of loyalty, and seeing the writing on the wall in terms of philosophical shifts at the paper, I put feelers out to the few media-related opportunities in our mid-size town. I ended up accepting a job editing two trade journals that consist largely of client-written advertorial. My bosses think I like it, but truly I feel like I'm wasting my talents, and I feel embarrassed when people who know me from my old job stop me on the street and ask what I'm doing now.

Believing our jobs to be secure, we had bought a house and a car and had a baby the year prior to the layoff. Two years later, we're in debt, and the housing market is such that we'd have to take a loss on our home if we were to sell it and move for other jobs. My husband took a position in retail for the health benefits and used his severance on a great camera on which he shoots freelance a couple of times a week for a paper in a neighboring town.

My husband literally cries (privately) because he misses photojournalism so much and because of how he was dismissed and negated (The publisher just decided it wasn't worth the money to have an on-staff photographer; supposedly in the digital era "anyone can take pictures"). I read the local papers and choke up because I miss my beats and have so many great story ideas. I've only recently been able to look at my clips or enjoy my longtime favorite columnists at Poynter.org -- but what's the point?

Everyone tells us to "get over it." I'm in my mid-30s, and I know I could have another career "in me," but I feel like my heart's still in journalism. Also, because I was so high-profile in my prior job it would be hard to transition to another field -- as well as make a salary jump -- without going back to school. I also feel like the future is bleak for print journalism, along with the wages. (I make $36,000 a year now, which is actually pretty good for this region and field.) My husband doesn't want to be a photographer; he wants to be a photojournalist and/or stay-at-home-dad.

Perhaps my questions may be better targeted to a therapist: How do I get over this breakup? Is there any hope of closure? Would real journalism ever "take me back" after what I've done, or should I resign myself to spending my days removing serial commas and extra spaces after the periods in advertiser-penned "articles"? Is it unrealistic to think I could find online freelancing gigs or work remotely for a news organization? There are no traditional reporting/editing opportunities for me locally.

I loved my old job; I hate my new one. I am about to do my taxes and I don't even know what to write in for my profession. I used to be a "journalist," but now I'm just a hack.

Thank you,

Rough Breakup

A. You feel trapped by your house and debt in a town where the only work you desire -- newspaper work -- is foreclosed.

Joe Grimm

I can't help with the debt, and I won't buy your house, but I think you can help yourself by broadening your journalistic options. Your husband lost his job, in part, because of digital photography. Try to use digital journalism to find your way out of this.

Keep the job and the benefits. Start growing some clients for your freelance journalism and editing. They can be anywhere. They need not be newspapers. But the more journalistic the opportunity, the happier you'll be.

Start with a couple of places that will pay for your writing or your husband's photojournalism. The very first one or two will help your sanity. Try to grow those few into several so that you can migrate from advertorial back to editorial.

Good luck to both of you.

---

Coming Tuesday: She wonders how a reporter babysits an article through the editing process and ensures a good outcome without becoming a nuisance.

---