There's the Door...

That reads like horseshit. The door shouldn't be opened because things are so bad that it makes people want to quit.

 

It think the main source of disillusionment in the industry is due to executives pulling the same kind of crap that reporters write about when they go on in other industries. The problem isn't people not caring, not being willing to suck it up. We've seen newspapers willing to bring in scab workers, bust unions and exhibit other behavior that newspapers have rallied against for years. Excuse the huddled masses if they are a bit confused. Being "good soldiers" is what has helped the mucky-mucks drive newspapers into a steep decline.

 

I'm glad you have no problem with continuing to put out an inferior product. I left the biz not because of the pay, and I would've put up with the crappy hours if I felt like I was still put in situations where I would be able to at least have a chance of putting out something that meets my standards. Whereas it used to be that I worked OT (sometimes unpaid) to put out a product that I was proud of, I felt like I was increasingly having to work OT (always unpaid) just to put out a product that I won't be embarrassed by. I still was passionate about doing good journalism, but I could see that management wasn't. If I thought that would change, I won't have left. And looking back, I have absolutely no regret about leaving when I did. I miss what I got into the business to do, but I don't miss what I was doing by the end of my time in the biz. What I did at work was no longer what I got into this business to do: good journalism. It was just churning out content to fill the daily paper. That was good enough for management, but it wasn't good enough for me. What I did was no longer my passion, it was just another job. And if newspapers become just another job, then there are plenty of other jobs that are much better. If you're in a situation where this is not the case, then good for you, and consider yourself lucky. But also understand that such situations are rapidly declining, and show a little better etiquette than coming on here with an asinine rant.

You're right that there are plenty of J-school kids waiting to take a job. But just wait a few years, and how many of them will have become disillusioned by the way the industry treats its employees and its product? No problem, you say. There will be plenty more kids to take their jobs. Keep it up, and you'll wind up with an industry that's more newbies than veterans. What you lose in experience cannot be made up for by pure talent. How's that good for journalism? But then again, perhaps journalism is evolving into an industry where product quality doesn't matter as much as squeezing a few pennies out of

 

So ... complaining about compaints about the industry. I'm going to lie down now.

 

Get off the cross, Einstein. I could tell you stories that would have you sucking your thumb in five minutes.

 

I agree with most of what you say. If you say that you had to "work OT (always unpaid) just to put out a product that I won't be embarrassed by," then why not change your product? If you were an editor, were you pigeon-holed into scrapping your front page by management right before it went to print? If you were a writer, did management dictate what you wrote and how you wrote it? If those answers are "no," then maybe you need to think about why you were embarrassed by what you were putting out. More often than not, it's on you to write the stories and design the pages.

 

Sometimes, those of us getting out of the business are smart enough to know when to get out before we're told to leave. And that's not to say we're bad journalists. Good journalists have good instincts and they question things that aren't right.

 

If those people are so intent on complaining about the industry and they want to quit, what is keeping them from becoming part of the solution and creating new outlets or presenting new ideas to the powers that be?

 

No bonuses. Minimal annual raises. Extra hours but no paid overtime.
OK genius. You tell me how to fix those three problems.
None of us are in it for the money. At least I hope not. But not gettin treated like shit for our efforts would be nice.

 

Yeah, well, here's what I say:

How old are you, Fuh Real, and what can you really bring to the table?

Where have you worked, and what have you done that can establish yourself as some kind of spokesman for What's Right and Good in Newspapers Right Now?

You can't speak for me, or anyone in a good crowd of hard-working journalists. Seems like you're pretty young and haven't been around long enough to know what it's like to take a dagger in the back from the boss who demands your loyalty to your job and his agenda every day.

And if you're blathering about "you people" and "those people," then fuck your condescending tone of voice. I'm guessing you're about 25, maybe 27, and you don't know shit yet.

 

That reads like a contradiction to me. You complain about the amount of money you get with bonuses, raises, and no paid overtime, yet you say you are not in it for the money? I understand your point about being treated like trash, but explain the first bit.

 

Jeez, can you not read and then comprehend? Why don't you attempt to comprehend that again, Einstein.