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Judging from the response on Twitter and media blogs, journalists are wearing a recent CareerCast survey that ranked newspaper reporter as the fifth-worst job in America like a badge of honor.
Having spent a decade in newsrooms, that doesn’t surprise me. Journalists are a different breed who consider the long hours, stressful deadlines and angry readers part of the price they pay for the sake of the cause. It’s a martyrdom mentality that finds its reward in serving the public interest.
Many journalists feigned insult and gave us lots of reasons – many of them legitimate – why being a reporter is actually the best job ever. Of course, they also quickly pointed out that there are much, much worse jobs out there, including “anything in public relations.” Despite their industry turmoil and uncertain future, reporters always find comfort in the fact that they’re not doing PR. (Public relations executive was ranked No. 70 on the list of the 200 best and worst jobs of 2012, compared to No. 196 for newspaper reporter.)
Well, as someone who came over to the dark side, I’d like to give my noble-minded friends eight reasons why they should consider selling out.
There are certainly things I miss about being a newspaper reporter, such as election night and the thrill of chasing breaking news. And I certainly wouldn’t rank it alongside oil rig worker as among the worst gigs out there. But I do have to say that it is nice to move up the list.
Dave Parro is the Director of Communications at Aurora University, where he oversees public relations and editorial strategy. A former reporter and editor with Sun-Times Media, he holds a bachelor's degree in journalism from the University of Illinois and an MBA from Aurora University. You may follow Dave on Twitter @daveparro.