Sex and the City or Getting Screwed?

I can't help but wonder why every semester journalism classes seem to fill quickly.

Simultaneously, it seems newspapers are shedding writers and shuttering doors right and left. If there is such dismal outlook for work post-graduation, why are so many young people forging ahead into journalism careers?

Are we reaching for the stars or are we just dreaming?

I think it is commonly understood that there is no glory in being a writer for a newspaper. Even if the paper is a huge, national paper and the writer is prominent, chances are good no one will remember the name on the by line. Writing is long hours of stress, too much coffee and microwaved entrees. It's frantic phone calls to 20 people to get a nine word quote. And it's swallowing ones pride when those nine words are left on the cutting room table by an editor who is more interested in making advertising space.

The exception might be the newspaper columnist. And maybe this career is the driving force behind so many journalism students flooding the educational scene.

If television is taken seriously, and we all know it is, being a newspaper columnist is one of the most glorious jobs around. Take “Sex and the City” as an example. Fame and fortune, posh parties, free stuff, respect. That's what we are shown, what we have been told is the life of the newspaper columnist.

We have been told that a successful columnist gets fast-tracked into A-List parties and swanky restaurant openings. We are convinced that columnists work a few hours a week and party the rest of the time. The phenomenal pay is enough to squander on weekly Manolo Blahniks. Rent? No problem. There will be plenty of money left over for the flat in Manhattan.

It seems the biggest challenge presented to a columnist is who to date this week.

Since being a columnist is being a celebrity, dating is no problem. Perfectly eligible partners come out of the wood works for the chance to entangle with a newspaper columnist. Artists, politicians, investment banker millionaires, they line up for the chance to be with a columnist.

"Sex and the City" may be just a TV show in it's most recognizable format, but it was also a real newspaper column once. The show is based, somewhat loosely, on Candace Bushnell's column, and the movies, are based on the show. The column itself was published by the New York Observer, an odd-ball paper in it's own right. The salmon-colored tabloid is published every Wednesday in New York.

Tabloid columnists have a great job. It is a job where a person is encouraged to have opinions. There is little oversight and often, columnists escape the hell of the modern cubicle-office labyrinth to work at home. I think HBO has hoodwinked us into believing the glory of column writing by ignoring the reality.

According to schoolsintheusa.com, median income for a columnist in the US is around $30,000 annually. The highest paid columnists are often advice columnists who typically have a Ph.D. or Masters degree in psychology.

Consider also the competition. There are an estimated 20,000 newspaper columnists in the US today, writing for about 1,400 papers, fewer than existed in 1960.

No one has any illusions about rent in Manhattan. A person is going to have to fork over between $3,000 and $4,000 monthly for a one bedroom apartment. This seasons Minolo Blahniks? Try $645. That's for one pair. I don't know what designer clothing costs, but I can imagine it falls in line with the price of those shoes. And a taxi from TriBeCa to the Upper East Side? Ouch.

Maybe being a newspaper columnist isn't the HBO portrayal, but rather something real and gritty. Maybe it is actually the dream of reaching for the stars that draws people to writing instead of the dream of being a star.