J-jobs

I WROTE A BLOG yesterday saying that you could get journalism jobs without having a J-school degree, and it's true. But it's not easy.

Newspapers are shedding jobs and employees like mad. The local paper here has dropped about half of its newsroom, plus a portion of other departments. The parent company, Media General, plans to combine the copy desks of the three big newspapers (Tampa, Richmond and Winston-Salem), but I suspect half of the copy editors will be let go. Sadly, my wife is a copy editor at W-S, so we'll see.

If I'd known years ago what I know today, I'd have gone into another line of work. I'd still write and edit on a freelance basis; I'd just work elsewhere. Computers?

I FOUND THIS non-sentence online. Morgantown, West Virginia, home of the University of West Virginia Mountaineers.

This isn't a typo, just a mistake; it's West Virginia University. Head east, and you'll find the University of Virginia Cavaliers.

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EMAIL: tgilli52@gmail.com  BLUESKY: PROFILE

MORE EDITOR@WORK BLOG ENTRIES

• You really DO need an editor

• Reminders for would-be novelists

• What I do when I'm editing

• What I charge (it's a deal) and what I edit

• Slogging through the Internet

• J-school: More eyes on your stories

• J-school: Go out and learn

• Rookie mistakes for magazine writers

BLOG ENTRIES BY TOM GILLISPIE

• Resume for a writer and editor

• An editor's views on powerful writing

• Advice for be and would-be novelists

• Links to TG's stories online

• Favorite quotes

• What I do when I'm editing

ANECDOTES BY TOM GILLISPIE

• Wipeout at Death Valley

• Days with rainbows

• A desperate writer working in the dark

• Yer OUTTA there!

ENTRIES FROM THE DOG BLOG

• Katie cried

• Growl and pull

• 13-plus years with my dog Lady

• ... said the spider to ...

• The Dog Diary (2014)

• YIP! YIP! The stereo-sound huskies

• What Lady and Michael Jackson had in common

BLOG ENTRIES FROM THE AUTO RACING JOURNAL

• Angel in Black: Remembering Dale Earnhardt Sr.

(a book of great stories about the Intimidator)

• Then Junior Said to Jeff...

(the book of great NASCAR stories)

• My best day as a sports writer

• Jeff Gordon's milk toast to Dale Earnhardt

• Wayne Auton: A life in racing