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Is there an afterlife after leaving the news biz?
Here's a handy resource guide, from those who have survived and succeeded.
Moving Copy
(From newsroom to new room)
Erika Rosenberg: "Not every journalist was right for this kind of work."
Erika Rosenberg fell in love with journalism like so many others – as a student at the University of Illinois, where she worked at the school paper, the Daily Illini.
For more than a decade she worked as a reporter, moving around to move up and finally found herself in Gannett’s Albany bureau. It was a good job, a challenging job. But in 2005, she found herself wanting to move again – this time not for a reporting job, but for her husband, who lived in Rochester.
Now Rosenberg works as a senior research associate for the Center for Governmental Research, a non-profit based in Rochester, NY.
Q: What were you looking for when you moved back to Rochester?
Erika: I had already worked at the Rochester paper and I didn’t want to go back; I had already been there – it didn’t feel like it would be a move up.
Q: How did you hear about this job?
Erika: I had known about the Center from when I worked in Rochester before. It was really a wild shot in the dark – I called up one of the people I knew and said “I don’t know how this might work for you….”
Q: Were they specifically looking for journalists?
Erika: Well, what they figured out was that not every journalist was right for this kind of work. We do a lot of data analysis and in-depth studies, and that’s not for everyone. And it’s a different atmosphere, it’s very quiet. I spend a lot of time in my office.
Q: What do you do, exactly?
Erika: We work mostly on a contract basis, doing analysis of different programs, like if the government or a non-profit group wants a report, an evaluation of how something is working. We cover a wide range of areas, from education to the economy to tax policy.
Q: What do you like?
Erika: I like being able to still work on public policy issues. I like being able to get to the bottom of things, like I did when I was a reporter. But what I didn’t have as a reporter was a chance to go behind the scenes. There’s a whole other view behind the curtain.
Q: What skills did you learn as a reporter that have been most useful to you as an analyst?
Erika: There were certain skills that were helpful – interviewing, and doing an analysis. Having a broad background in different issues is critical. Just being able to write is really valuable – I see a lot of people who have trouble writing.
Q: What has been challenging?Erika: Well, there’s the thing of working with clients, which is different. I’m supposed to be way more deferential to leaders than I had to be as a reporter, and it’s not my nature to suck up. But you learn how to work with people. We tell them bad news if we find it, we don’t skew things or bury findings. But it’s a negotiation process.
Q: What do you miss about the newsroom?
Erika: So much, there’s a lot I miss. I miss being in the newsroom, it’s fun and stimulating. There’s that sense of camaraderie and teamwork and the rush of meeting deadlines. There’s a team atmosphere here too, but it’s more business-y.
Q: What don’t you miss?
Erika: There’s a lot I don’t miss too. I don’t miss working in an industry that feels like it's dying and attempting to cling to life. The hours are more regular, although I never had a night cops job. I still have to work really long hours.
Q: Any advice you might have for others about life outside the newsroom?
Erika: There’s definitely a need for analysis and good writing. You need to think about the environment you want to be in; where you want to spend eight hours of your day.
Erika Rosenberg, 37, is a Senior Research Associate for the Center
for Governmental Research, a non-profit based in Rochester, New York.
Business Moves (Advertising/Publishing)
From Ads to Academia: Former Publisher finds a home
Where did everyone go?
Here are some ideas of what people did, and what they're doing now..
Was: Managing Editor of major daily.
Now:Acquisitions specialist for private equity and investment firm.
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Was: Health reporter
Now: Schools consultant on dietary issues
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Was: General assignment reporter
Now: Grant writer
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Was: Graphic artist for daily newspaper
Now: Law student
Joseph Natoli: "Academic and newsrooms aren't that different."
Joe Natoli wasn't looking to escape from his job as the publisher of The Philadelphia Inquirer and the Daily News. But to outsiders, the timing was right to dangle a lure.
After decades of Knight-Ridder ownership, multiple buy-outs and continuing cuts, the paper had just been bought by local investor and public relations master Brian Tierney. Although Tierney promised good times lay ahead, so did union contact negotiations.
Natoli was used to seeing his name on a newspaper masthead; before The Inquirer, he had been publisher of the San Jose Mercury News and president of The Miami Herald.
But when the University of Miami called unexpectedly --- to see if he'd be interested in taking on the chief financial officer position at the school --- it all clicked. The timing was good, he'd lived in Miami for 25 years and the opening was intriguing.
"There are many similarities between academia and newspapers," said Natoli. "Just like in a newsroom, the faculty are very smart and could do many other things, but they chose a career in something they're passionate about.
"And, like a newsroom, they're very independent and need to be treated little differently."
Now he heads a 1.5 billion business, more than three times the size of The Inquirer. A business that includes athletics and hospitals and bond issues (he calls his son, a banker, for help with that last one.)
Nine months into the job, Natoli said he's just starting to feel like his feet are on solid ground. But the basic skills he learned during his decades in the newspaper industry remain integral, even in a completely different job.
"I didn't know very much about health care or the inner workings of a university, but I did know about business, about motivating employees and working to increase revenues while controlling costs," Natoli said.
The difference is in the details, he said.
In newspapers, for example, home builders, real estate agents and apartment managers all had different advertising needs, even though they were in the same category.
The university has a different set of customers - students, patients, donors, sports fans - each with their own unique needs.
But the end goal is the same: Both the university and the newspaper need to figure out what the customer wants, whether it's an urgent-care clinic or a new sports section.
The challenge for those applying for jobs outside of the news business, no matter whether from the newsroom or the boardroom, is to do the homework and find out as much about the new job as possible.
"Let's say you're coming out of a newsroom and (you're) applying for a job here in hospital PR," Natoli said. "You probably know people at other hospitals in that position; ask them what they do, and how you can transfer your skills to that new role. The person who is interviewing you may not intuitively know that."
Natoli's days now are filled with evaluating the possible purchase of a major South Florida hospital, determining where the Hurricanes should play their football games and learning about bank bonds.
But he still checks Romenesko everyday. Some habits are hard to break.
"I miss parts of being a newspaper publisher very badly," he said. "Especially working with the people at the papers and in the community.
"But I don't miss the financial pressures," he said. "I'm working just as hard, or harder, but I don't feel as beaten down at the end of the day."
- Joseph Natoli is senior vice president of business and finance and Chief Financial Officer for the University of Miami.
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Links:
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Telling Tales:
We're looking for people who found new careers outside of the news industry.
How did you find your job? What do you like about it? What skills are most valued? What mistakes did you make?
Employees across the board are welcome, from IT folks to graphic artists, from magazine sales reps to night cop reporters.
Please share your advice. Email dfallik@gmail.com
-30- started out of desperation. When medical reporter Dawn Fallik was laid off by The Philadelphia Inquirer in January 2007, she knew other people had left the newsroom, but had no idea where they went. What jobs did they take? What skills were most useful? What mistakes were made? Here are the fruits of her laid-off labor.