By Mike Corsini
An often-cited backbone of America’s intellectual liberties is its flourishing and varied media. But what happens when the individuals who create that media grow weary of the job or find themselves unappreciated? Corsini investigates recent and disturbing trends in the world of journalism.
The practice of journalism inevitably entails compromise. An ambiguous code of ethics and the need to bolster sinking profits can produce a newsroom environment that is relentless in its creation of news pitches but limited in their execution. Yet still, workers are drawn to the profession for the opportunities it provides for spontaneity, continual education and social justice. The newsroom environment can be a trap for those who toil long hours crafting that hallowed ‘first draft of history.’ A sense of social purpose and responsibility can often prove ruinous to the idealistic types attracted to journalism.
As today’s young writers graduate with journalism degrees, they may find that corporate homogenization and the resulting newsroom downsizing will not only restrict their ability to advance their careers, but also to carry out their jobs in the manner of which they once dreamed. According to the Media Reform Information Center, the majority of U.S. media – including books, radio, movies, videos, wire services and, of course, periodicals and television stations – are now owned by just five corporations. With corporate takeover has also come an increased emphasis on the bottom line; the quality of news is at times threatened by a lack of staffing, causing many reporters to carry widespread or multiple beats. Often the youthful journalist is forced to come to grips with the harsh reality that his or her vision of social responsibility is incompatible with the economic side of journalism. Because of these circumstances, the desire for public service at the forefront of the minds of many journalists can seem like a mere pipe dream, one which eventually leads to a frustrating realization of one’s own powerlessness. Often, journalists’ concerns are related to the disappointment that their low-paying jobs do not entail the ethical honor that at first enamored them with the trade and made them willing to sacrifice greater financial success. Almost 60 percent of journalists aged 20 to 34 polled by Poynter Online have given thought to bolting the field, and a 1993 study conducted by Otterbein College professor Betsy Cook concludes that the newsroom is often problematic for a younger person. “It’s the younger employee who tends to be more burned out, sooner, in his or her career,” Cook writes. “Younger people simply are more demanding of how they’re treated.” Often the opportunity to work in the news industry is one that can be swiftly snatched away from a writer. More than two-thirds (67.2 percent) of sampled news organizations have cut staff in the past two years, according to the Poynter survey conducted by Jill Geisler. Further disconcerting young journalists is the reality that many newsrooms are static in their stratification. Newspaper writers are an aging breed, as American Society of Newspaper Editors figures from 1998 show. That year, 44 percent of newspaper journalists were over 40 years old. In 1990, just 26 percent of newspaper journalists had reached 40.
