So I'm reading a story in our paper the other day about student athletes. University of Washington linebacker Scott White says he wants to be a sports journalist.
I and everyone else on the desk cringe and crack jokes.
"Another talking head on ESPN?" ... "Didn't the reporter talk him out of it?"
This is not an easy business.
I sat on an Associated Press Sports Editors panel a few years back. Three of us told the assembled editors what desk folks want, what makes us tick.
We'd just followed a panel discussion with local major league baseball writers. A guy I look up to on that crew told the crowd he remembered sitting in the stands as a kid and dreaming of being in the press box.
I had to quip when my turn came: "I never sat around dreaming of working the desk."
And that's the honest truth for my generation. Most of us fell into the design desk. We never intended to end up there. Heck, newspaper design was hardly a real job until the early 1990s.
Students these days have a clearer path, if that's what you want (more on that later).
You can intern and study design. You can learn software. You can go on the internet and chat with established journalists.
Should you?
Reality is this: the newspaper business is evolving rapidly. It is shrinking. It is not getting financially better for all but the brightest and most marketable talents.
I hear from columnists ocassionally who whine about bloggers. They believe this new medium kills them. Maybe it does. I doubt it.
Columnists are brand names. They have value because of who they are, because of their voice.
And the best designers - heck, the best journalists in general - are becoming brand names, too. You have value because of your unique voice, in a design sense.
That value can transcend the print world. If you have a passion for news design, don't stop exploring how to express yourself.
OK, the simple stuff. You see design as a career. Fantastic.
•Learn the software. Quark, InDesign, Illustrator, Photoshop.
•Learn more. I'd suggest tackling Lightwave or a 3D program.
•Be an artist AND an editor. That's the most valuable skill for the long term.
•Accept that it takes time - first-hand experience - to get good.
•Write. Report. Take photos.
•Be ETHICAL. There is no mercy for cheating these days. You will lose.
•Enjoy your work. Be proud of it. Then throw it in the recycling bin.
There are plenty of jobs for newspaper designers. That's the good news.
You can move up the career ladder much quicker as a designer than as a reporter or photographer. That's more good news.
And you can have a hand in every element of the section you design. Control freaks - this is your gig.
But accept that life may take you down a career road you don't see today.
Try to see one step ahead.
