Most grueling job in media?
That's the question posed at Media Bistro.
Let's take nominations for the longest hours and most grueling job you've held in journalism or publishing. I bet there are some real horror stories out there. Was it worth it? Was there anything you learned from it, some way you benefited by eating and sleeping your job? How did you handle the work?
Share -- it might make someone else feel better ...
Have at it.
Comments (6)
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Anywhere cold, where you couldn't wash, and people were trying to kill you - for a story editors in London really weren't that bothered about.
Posted on February 10, 2007 3:04 PM
A friend of mine is a former French Foreign Legion soldier. He tells me this story of being in some sandy place being interviewed by a 60 Minutes reporter.
"The reporter BTW, who was a tofu slurping, granola munching, tree-hugging, birkenstock wearing, friend of all things warm and furry, told me that en route to doing the Legion story they'd been in Asia doing a story on the Khmer Rouge and her, and her crew, had all narrowly missed being hit by stray rounds. Later on, during the interview, she tried to belittle me on camera by asking "but are you really prepared to die for France?" I shot back "And this question is coming from a woman who very nearly died for a TV station??"
Yep, you guessed right, that particular gem ended up on the cutting room floor."
Posted on February 10, 2007 5:36 PM
My first internship was at a place where I once produced 32 pages (including 4 front pages) in the space of 10 hours. That's not just design -- that's pulling photos and stories, writing headlines, editing and trimming stories, along with design. And that 3-month internship is the first time I had ever worked on a copy desk. Needless to say, my perspective on what's possible on any given night is skewed a bit.
Posted on February 10, 2007 10:18 PM
I'm just glad no one has mentioned a job at the News & Record.
Posted on February 11, 2007 9:16 AM
Any of a hundred or so assignements involving North Carolina's unbearable heat, angry inner-city residents and a 25 pound TV camera on your shoulder. But enough about me, let's get back to those tales of woe involving paper cuts and writer's block...
Posted on February 11, 2007 5:29 PM
A lot of people would have trouble believing someone would die for France, jaycee. Now Italy, on the other hand .... ;-)
Posted on February 12, 2007 12:24 PM