Is it just me or are today's younger journalists lazy?

Great stuff, Frank.

 

Didn't read all of this, but ...

it's only going to get worst. If you look around, there are PLENTY of right out of college kids covering good beats at major papers. Why? Because they're cheap. Papers will offer to buy out the veterans and replace them with kids who have no clue they're working their ass off 6 or 7 days a week for peanuts.

Well what's going to happen in 5 years, when these kids feel as though they should be promoted? But there's nowhere to put them? And they're still making peanuts?

I don't have the answers. Just saying that this 'on the cheap' strategy is going to lead to some major problems sooner than later ...

 

Good points, A_F. This is something I personally have wrestled with - I think by taking decent raises at my current and former shop, I've almost priced myself out of some of the "prestige" gigs that would impress people at parties, but not pay the bills as well as the paths that have opened for me.

I don't know how many times I've heard, "So-and-so covers State U for the Daily Planet! And he's only 24!"

Well, good for So-and-so. My less impressive-sounding job pays $15K more. So it's hard to tell what's "making it" in the business - milking as high of a salary as you can, even if it means staying put, or jumping to a bigger paper/higher profile beat even if it means a paycut.

 

As one of those "fresh out of college kids" I call bullshit. We only wish we could get jobs covering major beats straight out of college. For the most part, we shuffle off to pay our dues at weeklies covering preps. But please, someone tell me what papers are doing this so I can start sending out my resume.

 

Plenty of them. Chris Snow covered hockey for the Minneapolis paper right out of college, didn't he? Kathleen O'Brien was hired at Fort Worth on preps and was on the Texas Rangers beat within a year, I think. That's off the top of my head. I know there are others, and there are also quite a few that didn't come straight from college but didn't take long to get there. I agree that hiring young (and, I presume, cheap) is a very clear trend in the industry.


And to clarify, Almost, most of the kids out of college are paying their dues covering preps at small papers, just like most writers in general are not at the major outlets. There are only so many big-time jobs out there to be filled.

 

There are many problems in the industry. One is that these so-called young studs really aren't studs. They can't communicate to each other to the subjects they cover. They don't ask the right questions. They are young. They are cheap and they are employed. That's what's going on.
Also, this entitlement thing is for the birds. Many of these young fuckers haven't paid their dues. That pisses me off because there are so many out there plowing along at small daily or weeklies. It's not fair but then again, no one said that life was fair. It is what it is.

 

Big papers are increasingly hiring young writers because:

-- they are cheap labor
-- they have few, if any, family obligations/distractions
-- they feel indebted for being hired by such a prestigious institution and are in no position to turn down assignments or ask for time off during busy times

Mostly, it's about the money. Why pay an experienced writer $85,000 when you can hire a promising recent grad $52,000?

 

IN OTHER WORDS THEY ARE suckers!

 

52K???

 

Not quite Lawrence of Alabia.... but damned good.

 

please tell me that's a rhetorical question.

 

I can earn 52k straight out of college in this business? Point me to that company's HR office please!