These are some big issues to wrestle with, but when it comes to getting through the workday, it's all about the food, because you just can't do good journalism on an empty stomach.
You can't come up with a proper intro or audio cut when you're stomach is grumbling away, and any kind of dedicated writing and editing requires some serious brain power, and all that mental processing needs fuel to keep you going, or you'll just crash, and get nothing done. If you're out in the field, you might spend hours sitting in a hot car waiting for somebody to show up, and any food is welcome on the stake-out.
And yet, journos have the worst eating habits, and can often blame the job for their nutritional deficiencies. Shift work has a lot to answer for - workers on the late shift might only be getting dinner-level hungry late in the day, and the options become terribly limited, and those who are forced to take lunch breaks in the late afternoon might have to chance the dodgy sushi in that shop across the road, or some other shitty fast food, because there ain't many other options.
Journos who are out the road might go most of a day without ever finding the time to cram something into their gob to keep them going, or could be way out in the middle of nowhere, far from civilization, with nothing but a half a pack of breath mints to keep them going. The killer adrenaline rush of chasing down a big news story will carry you a long, long way, but it can't do it forever.
Meanwhile, subs and online editors might find themselves chained to their desk for a full eight hours straight, barely able to pop out for a slimy dairy pie and a packet of Doritos. When you're working in the news business, anything could happen at any moment, and that's part of the appeal. But it also means a major international incident could break out while you're in the bathroom.
Plans for a decent lunch break can be totally wiped out when breaking news suddenly hits, right before you step away for a minute, and it can be a long time before you get the chance to sort something out again - breaking news is notoriously inconvenient like that
In the Ocean's 11 movies, there is a recurring joke where Brad Pitt's character is always eating weird snacks all through the films, whenever you see him. The actor's reasoning for this was his character was someone who was always wheeling and dealing, and never sat down for a proper meal, so just had to snack his way through the day to keep his energy levels up.
Working in a modern newsroom feels like that sometimes, even if only a select few of us are as pretty as Brad Pitt. We'll gorge on foods that are full of saturated fats and sugar, because we've got too much work to do.
It gets good when it's election night or some other big event - those who have to work on Christmas Day (which, in newspapers, is always busier than Christmas eve, because you're always working one day ahead), usually get a decent spread to help alleviate the fact you can't spend it with your loved ones. At the very least, the poor souls working while everyone else is at the barbecue usually bring some kind of tasty treat into the office.
Because, make no mistake, even the most seasoned and jaded journos will seize upon any free food sent to the office, they will descend on it like fucking seagulls. It doesn't matter if a lot of the food that shows up comes from PR companies, most journos will just take the food and ignore the message.
You can't actually buy a journalist with a doughnut, but they might still love you for it, for as long as the taste lingers.
Look, the news media isn't the only industry where workers can be struggling to keep their energy levels up as they work long hours. It's part of modern life. It's just that journalism is a business where you will crucified for missing out on some big breaking news, just because you needed to duck out and get a fuckin' burger, and you were stuck on a shift with no back-up.
No wonder so many reporters and editors and producers eat at their desk, it's the only way to keep going as the news piles up.
- Ron Troupe
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