By Maleesa Johnson
News Editor
Picture this: it’s 10:30 p.m. and you are stuck behind a desk stressing over deadline and the loads of homework you have to conquer after you get off work. Now imagine hearing laughter, nerf guns and general sighs of relief from other section editors who have already finished their page. Guess who isn’t laughing – the news editor.
Now we move on to the next scenario. It’s game day at McLane Stadium. Everyone is excited. Suddenly your friend points to the multitude of photographers and broadcast people on the sidelines and says, “Hey you work for the Lariat, why aren’t you on the sidelines?” I can answer that. My job position has no perks.
For some reason, I love my job. Designing the front and jump page is like putting together a super obnoxious puzzle every night and racing the clock to get it finished. I love it. Why you ask? Probably because, like everyone else in the newsroom, I’m a little crazy.
Each job position has its ups and downs and every staffer deals with different challenges each day. So without further ado, here are what I view as some of the best and worst positions at the Lariat.
A&E editor: This section editor has it made. Between fun pinbusters and the freedom to use awesome fonts almost every day, this is a fun job. Some Art and Entertainment editors go to shows and concerts for free and write reviews on their awesome experiences. However, there is a downside. If you are like me, a pinbuster would be a fail every time. This job is not for the squares of the world and caters more to the artsy-types.
Sports editor: Two words: press box. This guy gets to sit in an air conditioned press box in McLane Stadium each game. In addition, he gets to talk to coaches and players you only hope to pat on the back when rushing the field. However, there is a downside to this position as well. Given that many sports events run late, the sports editor will often not receive an article about the game from his or her sports writers until last minute.
Photographers/Broadcast: These people seem to always be doing awesome things. Rappelling off McLane Stadium, sidelines at games and the Heart of Texas Fair sound like fun, but I wouldn’t know. The downside: lots of sweat.
There are many more fun and exciting positions at the Lariat, but we all know you are here to read about the worst. That’s why people read the news, right?
City Editor: I have never been, nor would I ever want to be city editor. This position takes the responsibility, patience and organization skills of someone far better than I will probably ever be. I would list not working at night as a perk, but this hasn’t been the case lately. I have the highest respect for city editors, but I never envy them.
Staff Writers: These people are certifiably insane. The workload is enormous and the stress of waiting for a source to call back never goes away. I lasted a semester as a staff writer. I loved it because I was actually out of the newsroom talking to people. I actually have a hard time calling this position one of the worst, because it is awesome. Let’s just go with calling it one of the most challenging.
Editor-in-chief: You cannot go up from here. However, being at the top of the student newspaper food chain means taking all of the flack and making the tough calls. If you like hateful emails and lots of stress, this job is for you.
In my time at the Lariat, I have worked as staff writer, copy editor and news editor. It has surmounted to a lot of stress, caffeine and momentary insanity, but I would not trade this experience for anything. We all have our work cut out for us each day, and we all strive to do our best. There are more positions than the ones above and this statement applies to all of them. We work hard, we do our best and we put our names on a paper each day to get praised, ripped apart or ignored. Every position deserve a round of applause, even if I don’t get to rappel off a stadium.
