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About Me

"PREPARE yourself for long and anti-social working hours, setbacks and redundancies," our lecturer warned our class on our last day at college in 1995. "The (print) industry is a tough one but - if you're going to truly succeed as journalists - you must show resolve and commitment to your chosen profession. I hope none of you give up on it."

At the time, it was sound advice. Newspapers and magazines had fallen victim to a combination of a price war and high newsprint costs and journalists across Britain were losing their jobs. As rookie news hounds, we knew we had an uphill battle ahead of us but each one of us was up for the challenge and we couldn't wait to get out into the big, wide world to prove ourselves. Now, 15 years on in this social media-savvy world, I must confess to almost losing my resolve.

My career path mirrored that of many sub-editors who found their way on to national newspapers in the UK. Initially, I spent a couple of years pounding "my patch" as an over-zealous regional reporter, honing my news and feature writing skills, before becoming a copy and layout sub-editor. Once in "Fleet Street" two years later, I worked online and then as a print sub-editor. Overworked and disillusioned, my life changed two years ago when I took voluntary redundancy to work freelance for a while before moving out of journalism altogether to work for a local charity.

On leaving college, I'd convinced myself that journalism wasn't simply a career, it was a vocation. Now, ten months out of the profession, I believe that's true as I'm returning to the fray as a freelance journalist. The challenges ahead may be tough in this ever-changing world of publishing but - if I ever do meet my old lecturer again - I know I can put my hand on my heart and say: "I've not given up."