In addition to swine flu, the United States is suffering from another strain: consumer-fueled journalism. Symptoms include an overwhelming desire to read celebrity gossip, a loss of appreciation for quality writing, and an unwillingness to buy newspapers/magazines.
Does an antidote exist? Some editors have been hiring celebrity “journalists” to ease the symptoms. In an ailing industry, glamour wins over guts.
Frankly, this supposed cure makes me nauseous. Yesterday, a “dating/sex columnist” and fame whore who no longer has a dating/sex column Tweeted about her impending deadline for two pieces she is writing for Newsweek. People who care about good writing were shocked and appalled. Can anyone write for Newsweek now?
Editors at consumer-driven magazines don’t really care about your ideas or talent. They want to know how many people who know, how many times you’re name has been mentioned, or how much money you have.
On a blog devoted to criticizing this “dating/sex columnist”, commenter pretty pink pony wrote, “We see this no-talent hack getting work from outlets that still have a shred of legitimacy attached to them — this despite her constant shilldebeasting (see “shill“), which used to be something of a no-no in journalistic circles…it would be hilarious if I didn’t know so many actually talented writers who would rather WORK and perfect their craft…”.
Should we just let the consumer-driven publications remain consumer-driven? Not when talented journalists are losing their jobs. All over the country, journalists who actually have a passion for writing have been forced to find new ways to practice it. Some have even launched their own online venues.
In June, The New York Times ran a story about 40 journalists from New Jersey’s The Star Ledger who started NewJerseyNewsroom, a local news site.
NY Times writer David Carr reports, “The site is incorporated, but the work is voluntary, with the founding members doing journalism for the sheer love of it, and if something of value is created, they will eventually receive a share of the company. (So far, the site hosts a modest number of ads.) They all have business cards that identify them as working journalists, but they paid for them themselves.”
While journalist wannabes are whining about their unearned deadlines, real journalists all over the country are writing without compensation or recognition. Americans may continue to value celebrity more than talent and depth, but good writing will prevail, thanks to talented people who care about it.
Some journalist-run websites:
Know More (southeastern Wisconsin)
The Arizona Guardian
Heat City (Arizona)
Livingstontalk.com (Michigan)
St. Louis Beacon
Please post your favorite journalist-run blog and/or website below.
Thanks for the links to quality journalism; I want to support those who are good at and actually care about their craft. The whole idea of consumer-fueled “journalism” makes me ill.