Summers during college I worked at my hometown newspaper, The Stark County News. I got to do a little bit of everything — layout, editing, shooting photos, and writing.
I’d have to say that one of the greatest things that job taught me was to be able to pick up the phone and dial a stranger. It may seem like a small thing, but to those of us on the mid to low end of the extroversion scale, such a task can easily be one of the things we put off until later and later, until it either falls off the list completely or can no longer be avoided. It just takes so much energy.
On top of that simple act, I was usually calling one of these strangers to ask them questions for the paper or even schedule an interview so I could meet them in person. At first (and sometimes still) I was super awkward on the phone, or when I met them later. Mostly now, I just get over my awkwardness. It’s there, no doubt. But I just ignore it.
Certainly, an ability to pick up the phone is not the only thing that journalism taught me.
It honed in me an ability to predict questions that would need to be answered before they could be asked. Likewise, it taught me to ask the right questions. And it burned in me the importance of clear and concise sentences.
I have saved two articles on my phone’s internet browser—tabs I won’t close until I write a few thoughts about them. Just checked the dates. I’ve carried these in my pocket or my purse for over a full year now. And I’m finally taking a moment to honor the fallen. (I’m publishing this post a full year after I did take the time to write out these thoughts. Oops!)
One of the articles is “‘It Was a Total Bloodbath:’ USAToday Journalists Recount Layoffs.” < > And the other is “Everyone their own editor.”
Not every industry dies slowly, having been kissed by a necromancer, with the flesh around the spot decaying, killing from the outside in.
And people slough it off so carelessly. “The written word is dying.” “Print is dead.” “Don’t go into journalism. It’s a dying industry.”
I’m not currently in a full-time “journalism” job. But I have absolutely used my journalism skills to communicate more clearly both in writing and in speaking at every single job and hobby I’ve ever had. I do currently write freelance articles and I help companies express their core values with words, succinct and true, and I help other writers clarify their lines of thought when I edit for them. My skills are not yet perfected, but they’ve certainly grown.
People often laugh about bachelor’s degrees. What you studied does.not.matter. You probably won’t use it. But guess what? I have actually used my degree. A lot. I have zero regrets about my choice of major. Even being ridiculously short on funds at different times, I wouldn’t trade in my life choices.
So I read these articles about huge layoffs and shifting the model so every writer is their own editor, and I mourn.
It’s not just a nostalgic love for my roots. I want to be able to be paid as a writer and as an editor because I am skilled at those roles. And I want other people to be paid to do those jobs, because I value carefully crafted words and accurate statements and good grammar.
I want to read good writing. And I want our society to show that it values articulate thought.
What I hope is that this shift in the journalism field is not necessarily a funeral song, but rather a trumpet declaring that times are a-changing. We live in a different world. We work differently. We consume information differently. Maybe, just maybe, we can do things even better than before. And then a shimmer of hopes settles into my belly.
There. I have cobbled together a eulogy of sorts for my old friend. I can close the tabs on my phone. But, journalism, I will remember you.
(written 9/2/15)