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For Journalists, Some Tough Love

Ruben Navarrett Jr. on

Here comes the love. There is no point in feeling sorry for yourself, or playing the victim, or launching a public relations campaign to get your job back. Get over it. And get on with life.

Take it from me. I don't work at a daily newspaper anymore, but I still write for newspapers -- through this column. I also write for magazines and websites.

When my position on an editorial board was eliminated and I was let go in 2010, I was tempted to toy with the same emotions that many of my colleagues did: anger, frustration, resentment, worry. But I didn't have time. I was juggling a handful of other jobs, and I had deadlines to meet.

Nearly two years later, I've never been busier, happier or more productive. Time that I used to spend on meetings and office politics I now dedicate to more writing. I've learned to be more creative and entrepreneurial in shaping and marketing my brand, and I'm doing more work on radio and television. I haven't reinvented myself, but I have redefined my opportunities. Along the way, I've learned the great truth that anyone who is laid off -- whether it's in journalism, or any other field -- should find comforting: Just because one employer doesn't want you does not mean another isn't ready to snap you up.

It's one of the things I've always liked about my generation of X'ers. We always knew we weren't going to live the professional lives that our grandfathers did, working 40 years for the same company in exchange for a gold watch. But nor are we like our dads, many of whom felt personally wounded when they were downsized in the economic downturn of the 1990s because they had been loyal to the company and naively expected the same in return. For X'ers, who grew up self-sufficient, life is about rolling with the punches and telling employers: "You want this? Fine. If not, move along and give someone else a chance."

 

Now get back to work. There are still stories to tell.

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Ruben Navarrette's e-mail address is ruben(at symbol)rubennavarrette.com


Copyright 2012 Washington Post Writers Group

 

 

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