Leaving Journalism for Marketing

I guess the look on my face in that avatar-style photo is one of ... uncertainty?

You wanna smile, but you're kind of hedging a bit, so you snarl? You're confident in your direction but still ... figuring things out?

Perhaps it represents how I feel right now ... after one of the biggest transitions of my life to this point.

I spent 15 years crafting virtually every aspect of my life towards my career in broadcast journalism. Even before spending 11 years as a television news reporter at KOSA-TV, WTIC-TV and WTAE-TV, I spent four years at Penn State at the student TV station where I was studying to become a news anchor/reporter.

So it was quite jarring when I decided to step away from the news industry for a while, halfway through 2019, while I was at my peak as a news reporter.

A new contract was on the table for me at the ABC affiliate in Pittsburgh, PA - my hometown - that would offer me a raise and give me the highest salary to that point in my life. But for a multitude of personal/family reasons I turned down the contract and walked away from the TV station.

Why would I do such a thing?

1. A far cry from when I began reporting professionally in 2008, seldom did the stories I was covering in 2019 excite me anymore. I had less control over what we covered and found it to be mostly dull and catering to the lowest common denominator.
2. My girlfriend was taking a one year post-doctoral fellowship overseas in the Middle East and I knew that if I stayed in TV for that year, I would have very limited time off and would barely see her. The chance to somehow live with her or at least to be able to visit at length, was too attractive to pass up.
3. I knew that after that year, we were moving to Central New York anyway, where my then-girlfriend (now wife) would be starting her new role as a University Professor. So it didn't make sense to sign a multi-year contract that would keep me in a city that I knew I would need to leave in 12 months.

Thankfully, I was able to immediately diversify my experience and C.V. by engaging in some new opportunities. I joined the Neshannock Township School District (about an hour from Pittsburgh) as the Director of Digital Media and worked there for the next year (2019-2020). I also became the content lead for a technology startup in Pittsburgh that leverages AI, machine learning, and augmented reality to create engaging learning products for children. In these roles I was able to grow my skills tremendously. I finally learned how to properly operate a DSLR video camera and create compelling video and finally put my media knowledge to work by drafting creative and crafty press releases that led to media coverage for both the startup and for the school district. Many other skills were also sharpened and strengthened over that year.

As we were moving to New York I began interacting with some of the administrators and professors at Cornell University. That's how I encountered the original founders of a nutrition company called Layer Origin Nutrition. The founders were looking for a new partner who could be the face of the company, who had media experience, could generate publicity, and who would leverage his or her writing and video skills to promote the brand. Fortunately, one thing led to another and I joined the company as a co-founder and the Director of Marketing.

This foray into full-time marketing has been quite the experience as I pause to look back on the last 10 months. Prior to joining Layer Origin Nutrition I never thought much about email list segmentation, didn't know what ROAS stood for, and had only scratched the surface of what you can accomplish in Canva. But since then, we've grown sales exponentially on our website, which is powered by Shopify. We've also increased our footprint on the web and have been covered three times in the local media, including two television reports, and one newspaper article. I'm proud of how far I've come thus far, but also can viscerally feel my limitations on a daily basis so I remain keenly aware of how far I still have to go.

I do enjoy knowing that we are supplying the world with nutrition products that can truly help people change their lives. Plus, the sound of a new order coming in, has been really gratifying for my competitive and entrepreneurial side. Another upside is that I still get to write almost every day in the form of blog posts and scripts for promotional videos. I even go on camera from time to time, like the old days!

That said, I miss journalism. I had really dedicated my life to the profession in so many ways. I missed umpteen holidays with family - times I will never get back - because I was stuck working down in Texas or couldn't leave the news in Connecticut. I had to wear certain clothes, cut my hair in a certain way, and even talk a certain way for over a decade to fit the mold of a local news anchor/reporter. But I made those sacrifices because I loved what I was doing and felt it was a noble cause.

Will I go back?

I'm not sure. I was offered an overnight anchoring job at a small station here in New York but turned it down because of how far away it was from my house and the hours. Some days I think I would love to get behind the anchor desk again or be out in the field reporting on a huge story, like the old days. Other times, I see some of my former colleagues and their struggles, and think to myself that I'm pretty content where I'm at. One thing I know now is that life is really hard to predict. It's nearly impossible to say where you'll be five years from now or what you'll be doing. The pandemic is a good example of how fast life can change.

So what can you learn from my experience?

If you love what you're doing, keep doing it.

But if you're having any doubts or you're forced to make a change for a while, don't be afraid of that. Embrace change. Take the opportunity to diversify your skills and background. In most cases, you can always go back to where you were, if need be (not literally the same TV station, but the same career).

I've already made some new friends and learned a host of new skills that I think will serve me quite well whether I stick to the world of e-commerce marketing, venture back to journalism, or if I end up pursuing something else altogether.

I think that news reporting provided more of an adrenaline rush for me than marketing. But by the end of my tenure as a reporter/anchor, I have to admit that it had become pretty routinized. Most days felt kind of stressful and boring at the same time. Now, every day is new and there's constantly an influx of things that I can be getting better at and learning.

But it's really tough to be the newbie among veterans who've been in marketing for say ... 15 years. I went from decorated veteran reporter who had won an Emmy and three Edward R. Murrow Awards, to a beginner in marketing. No awards. No laurels to even consider resting on. No fame. Barely any hard skills.

That said, I'm doing just fine, and thankfully many experienced marketers have welcomed me into their world and shared resources, skills, and provided advice.

The Beauty in the Struggle

I won't lie.

I'm still struggling every day - to at least some extent.

The answers are not always there or easily found. Sometimes I really don't know what to do next or even who to ask for help.

The feeling of "impostor syndrome" is REAL.

But as cliche as it may be, I think the real growth for me as a person and as a "career professional" comes out of that struggle.

If it were easy to drop everything and switch careers mid-profession, then every one of us would do it. But it's not. And most people don't for that very reason - how hard it is - both mentally and in practice. There's always that statistic you hear, about how on average, most people have seven different careers in their lifetime - or something to that effect.

Sure.

But there are also plenty of people who put their head down and just keep slogging through whatever it is they're currently doing because they are comfortable enough and don't want to rock their own boat. They may stay in the same job, at the same desk even, for decades.

Either way is fine. These are decisions we have to come to on our own.

But my story is still being written, so when the last words have been printed, I hope they show that I made the right choice.