Every day is different for Gene Garaygordobil, an assistant city editor for The Bakersfield Californian, and that is the key factor to his love of journalism.
“Every day is a different day. If I was a reporter again, then I would do it every day,” he said. “You can generally come in and set your own schedule … well, at least I can.”
Even though being a journalist brings diversity, it also yields a form of isolation.
One would think that covering the news would bring a person closer to the community, but journalists have to be objective about what they cover, he said.
“Journalists actually want to stay out of the community they cover.”
Lows of the job included missing family holidays and gatherings, long hours, little appreciation and working weekends.
The highs of the job did not outnumber the lows, but according to Garaygordobil it is all worth it.
“You get to meet different people from different socioeconomic backgrounds and races,” he said.
He made his comments during a presentation to the students in the Multicultural Summer Journalism Workshop.
He discussed landing a job in journalism and what to expect. One fact he mentioned to the students was not to expect a high salary while working as a journalist.
Starting weekly salaries for beginning journalists at some of the major newspapers were $1,384 for The New York Times, $1,136 for The Chicago Sun-Times and $983 for The San Jose Mercury News.
He told the students to get an early start in their careers as journalists.
“It’s never too early to get a start in journalism,” he said. “Journalism is more than just a job, it is really a way of life.”
When asked by one of the students what one of his most interesting stories was, he mentioned that it was covering a funeral.
“I covered the funeral of a homicide victim. It seemed so routine for the people that did it. There were no flowers, no mourners, no nothing,” Garaygordobil said.
Deaths and “fatal crashes” are things a reporter has to cover only if they have the “stomach for it” or if that’s something that he or she really wants to do, he noted.
“If you don’t think a position is right for you, don’t do it,” he said. “There’s a lot of choices you can make.”
But through it all, he does the job because he enjoys working with people and making a difference.
“I enjoy working with young reporters and I hope to make a difference in the community,” he said.