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Journalism future is reaffirmed
(by Barbara Christian - May 25, 2011)
WINDOW ON MAIN STREET, BY BARBARA CHRISTIAN
Journalism future is reaffirmed
They arrive every spring. Fresh-faced college-bound high school seniors shadowing people in the careers they hope to pursue. This year, the Times had two such students, Mitchell Joseph from Orange High School and Marc Golsmith from Chagrin Falls High School.
Mitch will attend the University of Pennsylvania and isn't quite certain what kind of journalism or writing career he wants. He just knows it interests him right now and says college will help him figure it out.
Marc is more definite. He is off to Ohio University in the fall to study communications, and, when he graduates, his goal is to find a job in the field. It will subsidize his real dream of becoming a novelist.
These two young men have been following staff members and seeing how it is to work on a newspaper.
They say they understand that, while news gathering is still a vital part of a free society, this kind of journalism -- the kind printed on paper -- is devolving toward (dare we say it) extinction.
Marc and Mitch are not disturbed by this. At least they didn't seem to be when it was my turn to talk to them. And why should they be? Their entire lives are spread out like a smorgasbord. The future is theirs and the possibilities endless. That's the way it's supposed to be.
I was impressed with these to young men, their honest interest in the business of news and the questions they asked. I did not expect the enthusiasm they brought to our meeting.
Here's why. Some years ago, I found myself on the high school career-day circuit. I'd prepare my thoughts and words of encouragement, hoping to convince kids with a nose for news or that spark that makes a person want to find out and report what's going on to consider a career in journalism.
But mostly I would get that thousand-yard stare from kids I knew couldn't wait to ask what was really on their minds.
After awhile I knew -- no matter what I said to tout the news profession as a worthy, engaging and legitimate career option -- they would ask the same thing, and it was usually the first they wanted to know.
"How much money can I expect to make?" came the question from those who were on track to become members of the "me generation."
Well, it depends, was the stock answer. If you own the paper, then quite a lot. If you work for the paper, then not so much. I thought it was an accurate response, but for most it was incredibly depressing. At least for those who did not aspire to become owners of newspapers.
But Marc and Mitch didn't ask that question. Not of me anyway. They wanted to know things like how to tell when something is news? You'll know, I answered lamely. It will stick out like a sore thumb. News is like that.
They wanted to know about column writing and where column ideas come from. Many different places, I said. Reading, listening, observing. Best part of all is you get the chance to say what you want to say, within reason, on a subject that strikes a chord in you, brings a laugh, stirs your sense of irony or makes you angry.
I did not tell them this at the time, but it seems the right time to do so now. Sometimes column ideas come from something as simple as a youth-affirming conversation with fresh-faced college-bound high school students.
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