Wistful (At Times) for the Newsroom

Again, I apologize for waiting more than a whole month between blog posts. Since November, I've been working on a temporary basis with a D.C.-area company that does social services consulting. Unbeknownst to me prior to my landing here, states outsource stuff like Medicaid enrollment, child support enforcement and workforce services to companies like this one.

Of course, in order to win these contracts, the company needs to submit formal written proposals. I was hired to support the proposal preparation process. It's been good thus far.

On another topic, I check out the world of journalism online through a number of sites. In addition, I was surprised when a former colleague of mine at Denver's Rocky Mountain News, Gary Massaro, emailed me a few days ago. He said he and another colleague Googled my name and found my photography website.

Which got me to thinking, it's been more than 14 years since I left the Rocky and 10 since I left daily journalism. The funny thing is that some days I miss the newsroom and other days I don't.

Among the reasons I miss the work are the comraderie of my colleagues, reporting and writing stories on deadline and seeing the result under one's byline in the next day's paper.

Other days, I don't miss it due to the layoffs and buyouts, the productivity edicts (being forced to churn out dozens of mediocre stories per month as opposed to a doing a couple of solid investigative pieces). I also sometimes wonder if my reasons for even getting into the field were pure. You know, journalists are supposed to "affict the comfortable and comfort the afflicted." But heck, I wanted to be comfortable, too. Did that mean I had to affict myself?

Speaking of the Rocky, it hurts to hear that the paper has had to cut its staff through buyouts and of rumors that the paper might even be shut down. While I by no means was the world's greatest hack, the Rocky afforded me the chance to do some decent work, including that transportation column I worked on between 1989 and 1992.

Also, I came across a blog by another former Rocky colleage, Jon Talton, who outlines his view of what ails newspapers.

Would I want to get back into newspapers? It depends on the job and, of course, the salary. The more relevant question, however, is will newspapers have me back? I doubt it, after being away for so long. They'd probably see me as too old and too expensive.

So for now, I'll continue to use my writing skills to win contracts in corporate America. After all those years in newsrooms, who'da thunk I would be toiling in a marketing subspecialty for a non-media company? I certainly did not. But at least the hourly rates are better.