Is it Worth it?
Your sister’s getting married! It’s a very surreal moment for you because you’ve been thick-as-thieves since childhood. Where you went, she went. Obviously, you absolutely hated having this yucky girl infiltrate the boy business you and your friends had to attend to. But before you knew it, she became your right hand and you, her protector. The lines between your friends and her friends somehow blurred along the way and groups of friends become family. A bond was formed, and secrets kept will be held for a lifetime.
Your emotions on her big day are oddly fatherly, passing her to another protector. Stories of this special day are sure to become mainstays at family gatherings in the same manner as the infamous childhood fables. And that’s exactly how you’ll live your sister's wedding — through stories and pictures. Unfortunately, you couldn’t take your place as a groomsman because the night before the nuptials, Hurricane Katrina made landfall and you had to board a plane missing your sister’s wedding. Yes, this actually happened in real life.
Making it to network news is the goal of many but often the demands are a trade-off. This is true on the local news level as well. As you know there’s a newscast on Christmas and Christmas Eve and Thanksgiving and Memorial Day and the 4th of July and New Year’s Eve and New Years Day and Valentine’s Day and your wedding anniversary and your child’s graduation and when your friends and family come into town. Shall I continue?
Just request the day off someone is saying to themselves right now. I can almost hear the collective laugh from veteran journalists. Have you ever heard of a saying that starts “If it only were that easy…” you know the rest. And just wait until Sweeps. Those are blackout days for a lot of newsrooms meaning no one can take the day off. No one. Under any circumstances.
When my husband and I were dating, the going joke among his friends was that I didn’t really exist because I could never attend any events. If by chance I did make it, I had to leave early to get enough sleep for my workday. I typically worked an overnight or early morning schedule. There’s a lot of industry marriages because of this. Not only due to scheduling but a lot of times only other journalists understand and are willing to deal with the schedules and demands of the job. A lot of people only make week-to-week plans because they have no idea what their hours will be. And even when plans are set, breaking news can happen, and all bets are off.
The truth of the matter is, we all know that we’ll be working holidays. That’s no surprise. It’s part of the business. It’s what we signed up for. Especially if you’re the new kid on the block. That’s not going to change. But I want you to take a moment and really understand what that entails.
Really think about the structure of your life and if starting work at 3 in the morning or 11 at night is practical. Finding a work/life balance will be crucial to your mental and physical health and can affect how well you perform your job. Simply working around it is one thing but accepting it as a reality and incorporating it into part of your life is another thing all together.
I’m not talking about one holiday. It will be most holidays most of the time. Your family will either have holiday dinner early, late, or on an alternate day depending on your schedule — if your family is supportive. The point is sacrifices are made that don’t just affect you. While you and your family are making these sacrifices you owe it to yourself, your family, and the viewers to show up and put your best foot forward. Do your best work even on holidays that are typically slow news days.
Tell the best stories that affect the most people and inspire others to act. If not, what are the sacrifices really for? Yes, on Christmas you have the yearly Salvation Army bell ringer story, the shopping stories, and holiday travel. If you’re at work simply because you’re scheduled to be there then yes, that is the story for you. But if you're truly making the sacrifice for the bigger purpose then you will find the story with real meaning. You will find that family whose story will reflect the season. Whichever season that might be.
