Charles Arthur is the Guardian's Technology Editor.
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| Charles Arthur, the Guardian's Technology Editor |
My journey into the media began when Dunlop had a competition where you could win a week in New York watching the US Open tennis. I entered it and won. I offered to write an article for a tennis magazine that was then going, they accepted it and said "if you'd like to do more..." So I got to go to the professional tennis events all over the UK.
I did that while having a job in the civil service - the amount I got paid by the magazine wouldn't have covered a good meal.
After two years I realised I definitely didn't want to be in the civil service, and definitely did want to be in journalism, but there wasn't any chance of getting a job in tennis journalism - the national papers were all sewn up, and the magazines were tiny with no budget and barely any staff. I noticed that it was actually me who was asking the questions that got the best answers in the press conferences. My degree is in electronic engineering - and so I expanded that.
I looked for jobs in the computing trade press. I got offered two in one week - but the one that I really wanted I was offered on the spot, in the interview room, by David Craver who subsequently set up ZDNet in the UK. David was a great man - I don't say that only because he hired me - who died a year ago.
After five years at Computer Weekly, I became news editor, which meant trying to herd all the cats in the newsroom. It was fun, but I wasn't great at it, because I wasn't good enough at the personal side. Too young, perhaps.
I went from Computer Weekly to Business magazine, that went bust so I freelanced for a year and then joined New Scientist. Then one day the cartoonist came in and said "so I suppose you're going to apply for that job on the Independent?" I knew the person who was leaving it, had a chat with them for some useful interview info and got the job - which was mostly reporting. Though at the end of my time at The Independent I was editing its technology pages, on pretty much zero budget.
We had a third child coming and freelancing seemed like a better way to balance family time. So I spent a year freelancing. Then the Technology editor job came up at the Guardian, which I regard as the pinnacle of technology journalism in Fleet Street, and which only comes up about once a generation. So I went for it..
I've liked all my editors which tends to help. If you're not enjoying your job, you're either in the wrong trade (I think of journalism as a trade, not a profession) or the wrong place. If you're in the wrong place, find somewhere else, or make it. I've never done a job I actively hated. Life's too short.
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