As I’ve gotten older, one of my great joys as a journalist has been to watch the kids come through the newsroom, young journalists starting their careers with fire in their bellies and a naive but sincere passion for using journalism to help change the world. Which is why this was so sad to read:
I did everything I could to gain experience, learn new skills and become a concerned, involved and accurate journalist and citizen. I went from general newspaper reporting to web editing to radio reporting looking for a way to become a part of the media. And once I got my job as a web producer I felt like it all paid off.
As someone who started their career behind an IBM Selectric, I think it is sad, but it is also uplifting. I wasted a lot of my youth scratching, groveling and begging for anyone to publish my writing…anywhere, anyway, for any price, just as long as I could get a copy for the portfolio.
Today, would-be writers don’t need anyone’s blessing or permission to get their work out there–just the will to do it. Everytime I think about that, it just amazes me!