Spears keeps it real

by Anna Kim

Marc J. Spears, the NBA writer for the Boston Globe, spoke to us about a reporting job he once took for $19,000. “I was driving by a Burger King and I was like, ‘I wonder if I can work there part time,’” he said.

The SJI interns have no doubt heard Mr. Carter has joke about feeding us only bread and water. But kidding aside, for all the journalists, adversity is a reality.

Every speaker has encouraged us to diversify our skills to make ourselves more valuable assets in today’s struggling industry. In addition, Spears emphasized that it is even more important in this age to exhibit tireless work ethic and passion.

He echoed a statement emphasized by Mr. Carter: There is no room for mediocre journalists today.

If bread and water is what it takes to make it, none of the our speakers seemed discouraged—even if it meant considering a part time position at a fast food restaurant along the way.

At the end of the day you have to have perspective, Gary Estwick said. We are being paid to write—something most of us want to do anyhow.

“Never lose your passion for writing,” Tony Silvia, director at USF’s St. Petersburg's Department of Journalism and Media Studies, wrote in an email to me. “Storytelling is a gift and a privilege.”