Diary of a Displaced Journalist - Rebecca Meiser

Compliments

In the past four months, I've been told that I am "a fine writer, ambitious, [and] no doubt headed for great things," that I "am incredibly talented and a joy to meet" and that my clips "show great depth and insight." All of these comments, by the way, were made by people who did not hire me. 

Who knew that the best way to raise one's self esteem was to collect rejection letters?

The word "over-qualified" is kind of hilarious, I think. Basically what an employer means when he says this is that:"We think you'd do even better than what our original job description entailed. You'd add passion, skills, education to the job. And for that reason, we're going to give the job--and all its myriad benefits-- to someone with no qualifications. But, just so you know, we totally loved you. Best of luck! Smiley face!" 

I really, really hate smiley faces.

The best thing I can do, everyone says, is to stay positive. To believe that everything will eventually sort itself out. To appreciate the time off, because when I eventually get a job, I will wish that I had enjoyed this time more. Some days it's harder to believe in this than others.

Happy Halloween!

 

Waiting

  When I went to j-school, my profs told us all about sources and reporting and fact-checking. But they neglected to tell us one of the biggest parts of the job: waiting.

On a normal day, I think I spend about, oh, two hours glaring at the phone and willing it to ring. (By the way, this tactic pretty much NEVER works, but it does make you go cross-eyed.) I One of the worst part of the job is the lack of control you have over your subjects. Unlike the legal profession, you can't force source to talk to you or issue a mandatory deadline for them to call you back. And a lot of times, you really, really need that person to talk in order to complete a story. Ironically, professional writers spend a majority of their time NOT writing.

Well, it turns out that there's something even more frustrating than waiting to hear from sources: Waiting to hear from potential employers. Yes, logically, I understand that job placement is not the first thing on most employers' mind. I know, too, that conducting interviews are a kind of a pain in the neck -especially when bosses have to do it on top of all their other work. And I get that it's in everyone's best interest that each candidate is properly vetted, so there's no complications later on.

Blah, blah, blah. None of this information has stopped me from shooting daggers at my phone all freaking day long.

 

The state of the industry

Growing up in New Jersey, my family's own paper of record was The Star-Ledger. Every morning, my parents would drink their coffee and fight over the sections. For my part, I mostly bypassed the "boring" national news, and read the features and health sections. In any event, it was a pleasant way to spend the mornings and it may or may not have contributed to my own desire to become a journalist.

Today comes word that The Star-Ledger is cutting their news room staff by 40%, the largest cut yet of any major newspaper. Talking about the reductions, the editor, Jim Wilse stated, "The task now, is to figure out a way to make a good newspaper with a 40% smaller staff."

Ooh,ooh, I have the answer! You can't.

Forty percent less reporters means forty percent less eyes, forty percent less sources, forty percent less opinions, and a 75% (estimated) less interesting newspaper.

But I guess the leftover staff should just be happy the paper still exists at all. Last month I interviewed for an editor position at a well-regarded magazine in Chicago. A few weeks ago, the editor-in-chief contacted me to see if I was still job hunting. When I replied "yes," he told me he'd "give me a call to let me know what he was thinking." He never followed up. I later found out why.

Apparently, the  publisher decided to suspend publication of the magazine completely. The editor-in-chief is now looking for work, too.

G-d help us all.

Political Science 216

Last month, Erick Trickey wrote a long story in Cleveland magazineabout the anonymous blogger behind the super-witty and insightful site, Political Science 216. It was a great article -- and  I'm not only saying that because the author spent 50 words describing my own brilliance (which was totally true, by the way)-- but because the political science prof has become quite a major player on the Cleveland scene. He's even the subject of a lawsuit now, filed by crazy Seven Hills mayor David Bentkowsi , who claims that the Political Science 216 blogger "defamed his character."

Anyway, I like the Political Science prof for much simpler reasons: He likes me. Check out his recent posting about my site here. He's making me consider a new career path ...

Talking with Melissa Etheridge

So, yesterday, I was super, super busy doing really important things -like picking out my Halloween costume- when my phone rang. It was my friend Meg. She told me Melissa Etheridge was coming to town for a Dennis Kucinich fundraiser. Only organizers hadn't sold many tickets. In order to not totally humiliate Kucinich, organizers were selling tickets for $10 instead of sixty. Did I want to go?

Um, yeah.

But, I'm a journalist. I believe if no one writes about an event, then there's no point for it even existing. It was my DUTY as a journalist, then, to cover the event.

Also I really, really wanted to meet a celebrity.

So I called the editors I know at Cleveland Magazine and got official Cleveland Magazine press credentials. Then I talked with Melissa's peeps,and all of a sudden, it was me and Melissa (and Dennis and his wife and various camera men) all alone in a room together. She totally loved me. I could tell.

Anyway, this is the link to the story that was published on the Cleveland Magazine blog today. Note the amazing photography. :)

Testing

An editor at a local paper called me last night to tell me she was sending me a personality test. Would I mind completing it at my earliest convenience?

Problem: I don't like tests. I never have. I get super-nervous and spend way too long contemplating all my answers. For instance, it once took me an hour and a half to fill out a simple online dating form. I kept going back and forth over my answers. The question that asked me to rate myself on a scale of 1-7, on my level of self-awareness took me literally ages to answer. I kept debating numbers, before deciding that if I had to think about this question for so long, then I probably wasn't very self-aware. Anyway, point is: I don't like tests. Especially timed ones.

This particular test took me 15 minutes to complete. The instructions said that there were no "wrong answers," but I didn't believe that for a second. If there were no wrong answers, and my opinions didn't matter, then I wouldn't have been given the test at all. Sighhh (I really like sighing. Especially in blog form).

The questions on the test were seemingly unconnected. They'd list two statements like: "I like to lead" and "I always get my work completed on time." Then they'd ask which sentence best described you. You were not allowed to answer "both." Super frustrating. So, of course, I agonized over every answer, thinking first that ,clearly, the paper would want someone on staff who was good at taking charge. Then immediately deciding that, no, what papers really need are people who complete their news stories on deadlines. I'm hoping I passed.

In summary, I don't see why personality tests are necessary. Personally, I think people should make all hiring decisions based solely on looks :)

Reunion Recap

Just got back from my five year college reunion. To my immense disappointment, however, everyone who came to the reunion actually looked much better than they did five years ago. I suppose the people who didn't decided to just stay home. How totally unfun!

Anyway, there were a few "highlights" from the weekend. One of was the speech from our j-school dean, John Lavine. Last year, Mr. Lavine was embroiled in a pretty embarrassing scandal, involving possibly made-up quotes. In a letter to Medill alumni, Lavine spoke praisingly of a new advertising class he'd started, then went on to cite anonymous students' quotes to back up his points. Well, apparently one student editor got suspicious -- these "quotes" sounded a lot like the, um, dean -- and he emailed everyone who had taken the class, asking them if they'd written the alleged quote. Everyone denied writing them and the dean couldn't produce evidence about where he'd gotten them. The story was picked up by various Chicago news outlets and was really quite awful for a school that prides ourselves on its hard-hitting, honest reporting skills.

Anyway, there was a big investigation into the matter, the dean was allowed to stay on, and in the end, no one was happy.

So, given this, what does Mr. Lavine choose to lecture the reunion class about?  Would you believe .. ethics?! I shit you not. He goes on, all authoritatively, about the lack of ethics in the current journalism arena, and how Medill is trying to correct this sort of soul-less reporting. Perhaps, Mr. Lavine should take some of those classes himself ...

Anyway, half the people in the room walked out while he was speaking. I did not. But that's only because there was free wine.

I really, really like free wine.

All weekend long, alumni kept looking at me like I was Amish or something when I informed them I was still writing. "I didn't realize anyone was still doing that," said my fellow Medildos turned lawyers/publicists/lawyers (there were A LOT of lawyers at the reunion).

In other news, my predictions were pretty much dead on. Before I left for Evanston, I guessed that there would be five people still in journalism. The final, actual count was 7; three of whom are unemployed.

But hey, at least, our football team won!

Background Research

For me, the word "head hunter" tends to conjure up images of knife-wielding, half-naked bronzed warriors with an affinity for human flesh. After meeting with a few, I realized my description wasn't that far off (minus the half-naked part). They are often brusque, brash people, not very interested in sob stories. But if they're on your side, watch out world.

In Cleveland, the best and most well-known headhunter in the PR world is Laurie Mitchell. She's a brassy, fast-talking executive with more connections and phone numbers than most political fundraisers. Mitchell is demanding and exacting, but also, infuriatingly right.

Recently, Mitchell arranged an interview with me in the corporate communications office of a big cabinet manufacturing firm in the area. Before the interview, she told me to bulk up on my background research. Since I knew, um, nothing about cabinets this was kind of a big task.

To prep, I called a friend of a friend who'd just had new cabinets installed and talked to her about her decision making process and the reasons she'd made different choices. Then I headed to Home Depot to talk with the cabinet people there. I had no real strategy about attaining information. When I headed back to the kitchen section, a smiling, friendly salesperson we'll call "Ted" asked me if I needed any help. Well that one was easy, at least. "Yes," I replied. Ted looked me up and down as if my entire personality and life profile could be summed up in my shoes and make-up. Then he made a guess: "Are you recently married?" he asked.

Well, this was interesting. Not only was I not married, I wasn't even dating. I was pretty much as as single as single could be.

So I replied, obviously :"Yes. How did you ever guess?" then pulled my sleeves over my ring-less fingers.

Ted nodded. "I figured." he said. "Where's your husband now?"

"Oh, um, he's working late," I improvised. "He always makes me do this stuff anyway." (This hypothetical husband of mine was turning out to be a huge jerk. Good thing he didn't actually exist or we might be headed straight for divorce).

Ted nodded again. My phone rang. "Is that him?" Ted asked.

"No, I talked to him beforehand," I explained.

Ted understood. Then for the next twenty minutes we talked cabinets. What I needed to look for when buying them, the differences in brands, colors, costs. It was really rather helpful. Afterwards, Ted and I shook hands. Ted said with a flirtatious sort of air that he couldn't wait for me to bring in my husband to the store. "Right," I said.

I ended up not getting the cabinet job. But the interviewer was super impressed with my extensive knowledge of cabinets.

My Home Away from Home

When I was a student I always had to leave my dorm room in order to study effectively. There were too many distractions -- the TV, the refrigerator, the carpet fiber. As a writer now, I have the same sort of temperament. You can tell by my weight exactly where I am in a writing cycle. The days before a story is due is when I'm typically at my heaviest. The closer I am to deadline the more my refrigerator appeals to me.

Knowing this, I try really hard to leave my apartment every day. In the process, I've acquired a few makeshift offices. My requirements for these new homesteads are pretty simple: They must have free internet, coffee, reading material -and if possible -- sunshine and meter-less parking. To mix things up, I shuffle between a few different east-side locations:

The Arabica on Case's campus
The pluses: Outside seating (with outdoor outlets!), free parking, interesting company
The minuses: The place doesn't accept credit cards, the coffee is only so-so, and there's no discounts on refills

Phoenix on Lee
The pluses:Outside seating, good coffee, comfy chairs, free magazines
The negatives: Metered lot that only accepts quarters, not enough outlets

Joseph Beth Booksellers
The pluses: good coffee --which comes with FREE REFILLS all day, comfy couches, tons of reading material, excellent food\, easy parking
The negatives: annoying CD sountrack that repeats itself endlessly, far away, closes early

If anyone has any other suggestions for makeshift offices, I'd love to hear them!

Reunions

 

My five year college reunion is coming up this weekend. This should be a super exciting experience. For one, our football team is actually winning games-- plural. This hasn't happened since graduation. For another, I haven't seen a lot of my friends since -again- graduation. 

But somehow the advent of Facebook is making this reunion thing less exciting. For one thing, that whole fun "surprise" element, in which you waste many hours predicting which former classmates got fat/ divorced/ balding -- is no longer relevant. All you need to do now is click on their page to see how they look/who they're dating/what they're up to.  That sort of information is the sole reason people used to attend reunions- and made up the jist of most reunion conversations. Knowing this stuff already kind of makes reunions seem obsolete.

For another, it's going to be depressing going to the Medill reception and finding out exactly how many people are still in journalism. Out of a class of 150, my best guess is five.

It's sort of a sign of the time, too, that a new activity has been added to this year's itinerary. For the first time, Northwestern's Career Center will be running sessions on "how to get and land a job" (remember everyone attending the event already graduted). And the worst part of the whole thing is that this is the only reunion activity that's FULL! sighhhhhhh.

In any event, Go U! NU!