Week 1 – Kevin Gaboury

Test, test … is this thing on?

Howdy, my name is Kevin, and I guess I’m here because I was ready for a change. I graduated from the U of O SOJC in 2007 bright-eyed and ready to make my mark on the journalism world. After a two-year stint on twice-a-week newspaper in Prineville, Ore.,  and my most recent gig on a daily in Lewiston, Idaho, my eyes began to glaze over. It wasn’t something that happened overnight, mind you. You can only love a career so much before the serious lack of pay, stress and brutal hours start to do you in. Don’t get me wrong, I think my years in journalism were, for the most part, enjoyable and definitely reinforced my passion for writing and research. I hope I was able to write something at some point that affected someone in some way.
But at this point in my life (I’m 30), I think a master’s degree will open many doors that had previously been closed. I have a vague sketch of what I’d like to do, something involving nonprofits, but mostly, I’m just ready to learn and am extremely excited to embark on this journey with all of you.

 

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9 comments to Week 1 – Kevin Gaboury

  • jschaub@uoregon.edu

    Hi Kevin,
    I think it’s great that after college you were able to work in your field of study. I know that when I graduated way back in 1997 with my Poli Sci degree, I had no idea what I wanted to do. I also think it takes a lot of courage to admit burn out and recognize it’s time for a change. I have stayed at jobs (not careers, but jobs) far too long because I felt that I was too young and inexperienced to know what I wanted to do. Good for you!

    Question: If you could go back and talk to yourself when you were a freshman at U of O, would you encourage or discourage your choice for major?

  • Grace

    Hi Kevin — I sort of took the opposite route to where you are headed, having started out in PR/corporate communications then trying out journalism, specifically medical journalism. I write magazine feature stories mostly so the grind wasn’t nearly as bad as working in a daily.

    I might end up being in PR again, also with non-profits in mind. I have this observation that many people who started out in the “noble profession” of journalism or has had the chance to work as one sometime in their career usually bring their idealistic streak with them when they change careers and tend to still seek out work in the non-profit sector.

  • lpaters5@uoregon.edu

    Hey Kevin,

    Did you work for the Lewiston Tribune? I am from right up the grade, (Moscow, Idaho) and did some freelance work for the Moscow-Pullman Daily News. I know from first hand experience how little the media outlets in that area pay, so I know what you mean concerning brutal hours and stress. Hopefully this program will open many doors for all of us!

  • kgaboury@uoregon.edu

    Hey everyone, thanks for the comments. To answer Jschaub’s question (didn’t catch your first name), I’ve thought about that a lot, and no, I don’t think I would tell my younger self to stay away. I think my journalism career was, if anything, a catalyst that really got me thinking about what I want and don’t want in a career, if that makes sense. If I had taken another route, I’d probably be in sales or something (barf). To Grace, I totally agree, I think most journalists start their careers wanting to change the world. The unfortunate reality is that most probably won’t, but the idealism is still there. Lauren, I did work at the Trib for 3 1/2 years. It was a great place to work and I miss my coworkers, but it’s tough to live on $25k a year.

  • delyser@uoregon.edu

    While the pay and the hours were a scandal, I too loved my days as a print journalist. Even though the industry is changing, I think writing for a small newspaper – where you cover every “beat,” copy edit and do what used to be called “paste up” – is a phenomenal experience. It teaches deadline writing, style, voice and provides you with the opportunity to meet and learn from all sorts of interesting people.

    As news blogs and social media continue to encroach on the traditional print journalism world, the most obvious change is that newspapers are likely to be used to wrap fish and/or line bird cages. (It’s hard to do that with a computer screen and/or mobile device). But something else, I fear, is also being lost: the sense of collaboration and community that reporters share when bouncing story ideas, ledes, etc. off one another in a news room. While you can argue that this type of discussion can exist through online discussion, Skye; I still wax nostalgic for the days of arguing about whether “skin cancer” is a compound adjective modifying the word “screening” and should therefore be hyphenate. Thoughts?

  • natalieb@uoregon.edu

    Melissa, there was an OPB Thinking Out Loud live episode from Medford today, a forum sort of thing about the current forms of journalism, where people get their news, etc, and one caller actually said at least half the reason he still gets the paper is to line his bird cage.

  • mplett@uoregon.edu

    Hi Kevin,

    I can certainly relate to your story, having worked endless hours at small-town newspapers. I, too, hope that a master’s degree will open the door to new opportunities.

  • kch@uoregon.edu

    Hey my Kevin from another mother! Okay that doesn’t rhyme but hello nonetheless.

    Most of my questions have already been asked/answered but I am curious if you still write? What do you do to itch that creative bug?

  • kgaboury@uoregon.edu

    Kevin from another mother, I like it. I don’t do too much creative writing these days, other than blogging for this class, which I guess is creative, in a way. My other creative outlet is making music and attempting to write song lyrics (no, you can’t find my album on iTunes).

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