You've been so helpful with past questions, and I truly appreciate that. I need your wisdom again.
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I'm working for a 20,000 daily in the northern Midwest, but my partner lives in Texas. I was there for three years before moving back to this state to take my present job. Now I may be offered a job at an LGBT (Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgendered) weekly newspaper where she is in Texas, and I don't know what to do.
There, I could do page layout, once again do my own photography and go back to covering real community issues. But it means leaving a job I love where I cover cops and courts. There is no way my partner will move here because of how the climate here affects her.
Will taking such a job damage my career?
Will I ever be able to get back to a daily newspaper after working for a gay weekly?
Thank you,
T.
You have identified a lot of the variables here, and I would consider all of them.
While a move to Texas would be good for the relationship, you are right to be concerned that a move from a daily to a weekly is a move in the wrong direction for your career. Moving away from general-interest newspapers will ultimately have to be explained if you try to come back.
But the chance to sharpen up in high-demand areas such as page design could make you more marketable. If you make the move, I would try to negotiate a job that lets you improve your skills in areas that are more important strategically. If this move can get you into more online journalism, so much the better.
Coming Monday: He'd like to teach part time in community colleges and wonders whether he should get a master's in journalism or education.
