The Newsroom: Public v. Private View

A life in newspapers is not for the faint of heart; aside from stressful deadlines, offices are often filled with unhappy colleagues, constant complaints from readers and negative bosses who rarely offer positive feedback. Still, journalists are sucked in—and often find it difficult to pull themselves away, even when the going gets tough. Not because they can’t, but simply because they love the business and the drama that goes along with it.

But often, the deadlines and breaking news the public is aware of are nothing compared to what goes on behind the scenes. From screaming matches to brief and torrid affairs between coworkers, the newsroom is a theater full of spectacle, both comedy and tragedy.

My life in newspapers began in 1996, when I was a journalism student at Cal Poly, San Luis Obispo, and began writing for the student-run Mustang Daily. At the time it was the only completely student-run and campus-published newspaper in the state. My career continued along through a variety of news outlets until 2015, when I finally realized that I had no more left to give to the industry.

It had completely bled me dry.

It wasn’t necessarily the stresses of the job, but something else that killed my career. It’s something the public is typically unaware of when they’re reading their daily newspaper or scanning news online: the newsroom drama.

The following stories will offer a glimpse at what goes on behind-the-scenes at your daily, weekly or other print media newsrooms. This is my experience—and my experience alone—during my newspaper career, which spanned nearly 20 years.

Little did I know when I graduated from Cal Poly with a bachelor’s degree in journalism and an English minor, what would be in store for me and how so much of it would be off the record—until now.