I'm a local newspaper journalist - AMA

[FairfaxAikman]

I work on a reasonably-sized publication. Ask away.

Do you enjoy your job? What are the upsides and what are the downsides? How did you get into it?

I do love my job - no two days are the same.

I get some perks like getting to go to press days for various events.
Downside is the perception of journalists really colours how people perceive you and you can get some verbal abuse - you have to have skin like a rhinoceros!

I have a degree in journalism - however that's never any guarantee of news gathering or writing ability and very few of my classmates went into journalism as a profession.
In my first job I was actually recommended for it - I'd been interviewed by another editor in the same newspaper group.
After that I worked for an agency, where the same story is sent out to multiple papers, which pay for however much they use.

I got my current job after submitting CV to the news editor after I got wind that my predecessor was leaving.