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

I don't think the sense of entitlement is all that new. There were arrogant little shits who should have been drowned like a sack of kittens when I was in my teens and 20s, too. What I think is new is this feeling that you can become a star overnight because of gimmicks or a quick brainflash instead of actually doing some hard work -- and in fact, you can, especially in visuals. [/dyepack] The current crop of young journalists did not create this environment; it was created by terrified old editors who believe these youngsters, like aliens from outer space, hold the recipe for some secret elixir that will save the planet and the American way (or at least newspapers) by helping us throw a toupe on the product with lots of youth-oriented shit, gossip and flash. Which hasn't worked. But you can't blame young journalists with quick minds for picking up on the fact that talking a good game is even better than having a good game. There was some of this when I was coming up, and I took advantage of it, too. But the flash over substance has gotten out of control. And the blame belongs not to the current crop of youngsters, but to people who have been around enough to know better.

 

Damn, Frank. That was awesome.

 

That was it. In a nutshell. Well put.

 

This is something I was going to pick up on with Alma's post on the first page.

Yes, there are plenty of "young" journalists who are lazy. And there are plenty of "young" journalists looking to bullshit their way to the top.

But what is also happening is that "young" journalists (and youngsters in other fields) are watching their more experienced colleagues getting fucked in the ass on the way out the door, and they're not real enthusiastic about waiting their turn in line for ... that.

Yes, this is a different debate than the "lazy" debate -- but it's a product of the same culture.

***

Speaking as a so-called youngster: If I'm going to "pay my dues" for a decade, then I damn well better see some kind of benefit after that. And more and more, I'm not seeing where loyalty and perseverance (to a certain company, or a certain field) is going to pay off for me down the road. Not in the current climate.

It's not just the layoffs. It's the attitude that management seems to take, with all workers, of all skill levels. It's the attitude that we see from CEOs -- from the Ken Lays and his ilk (and from certain cost-cutting CEOs in this business), who continually slash our resources and our manpower, while the profit margins continue to go up and up.

Frank is right: The blame doesn't lie with the youngsters on this front. It's the people who've been around enough to know better.

When my generation is in charge, you can blame us. Right now, we're just watching our elders. And hopefully learning from their mistakes ... because we see a lot of 'em ...

 

As usual, I agree with Frank and he's left me with nothing to say.
If this keeps up, I might wind up hating him.

 

Busuncle and anyone else: What is considered a comfortable middle-class level salary in this day and age? Obviously I know it depends on where you live, but let's exclude SoCal, Hawaii, NYC, etc. - what is a decent middle-class, journalist's living wage? $30K? $35K? $40K? At what salary will you be able to say, "All right, I can live with this."

 

I would say 50k. But I'm talking about the long-term salary for an experienced professional, not entry-level.

 

"You tried and failed. You've learned a valuable lesson: Never try."

 

Re: The sense of entitlement.

I'd be willing to bet a lot of it comes because of this message board.

Back in the day, there were plenty of young people with high profile beats. In fact, I bet there were even more than today.

But today, because of SportsJournalists.com, young people are constantly bombarded with the glorification of these so-called young studs.

And when the young people actually go and read some of these "young studs," they realize that these "young studs" aren't any better than themselves. Which tricks the ordinary young people into thinking that they "should" have a job on par with some of the young studs. And they get frustrated when they don't.

When, in reality, things are as they always were: though there are a few young writers out there whose talent truly sets them apart, opportunity and good fortune are often the name of the game.

 

But I will add this. . .

I can't say I blame some of the impatience of today's younger writers as the future of the industry becomes more tenuous by the day. What is the sense of paying your dues if, by the time you have paid them, the business as we know it no longer exists?

 

Daemon - A few years ago, I had a heart to heart with my editor. I was all of 24 or 25. It was about how stagnant my career had become.

"Fucking Sports Journalists.com," he grumbled to himself.

And as far as your second post goes - dead on. I don't think it's a sense of entitlement as it is everyone trying to see where this is going before they have to decide whether they need to bail or not. If I was 25 and pulling in $22K, I could probably handle it if I knew the future was promised if I kept improving. But when you read every day about young studs, layoffs, declining circulation and stock prices, etc., etc., you've got a decision to make. It's like a race against time.

 

I can't say this always was the case, but always since I've been around. We read lots of people, courtesy of newsstands selling out-of-town papers and our own papers subscribing to supplemental wire services, such as KRT, LAT-WP. We couldn't communicate with strangers online, but many of us had networks around the country. There was much buzz about Rick Reilly going from Boulder to Denver to LAT to SI all within maybe four or five years.