tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4506796942090699323.post4636887190014463000..comments2023-08-03T05:39:32.659-07:00Comments on Continuing Education: Real journalism costs money.Linda Perlsteinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12168087111621977024noreply@blogger.comBlogger4125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4506796942090699323.post-10400204336184264762010-01-09T12:36:23.295-08:002010-01-09T12:36:23.295-08:00I don't often say this about anying, but this ...I don't often say this about anying, but this is an IMPORTANT post.ceolafnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4506796942090699323.post-82570051622665170262010-01-10T14:46:47.968-08:002010-01-10T14:46:47.968-08:00I fervently agree that this is an important post. ...I fervently agree that this is an important post. As I've posted here, my husband is a 33-year San Francisco Chronicle reporter displaced last March by the collapse of the newspaper industry. (He took a voluntary buyout that we couldn't afford to refuse, just after bargaining unit members voted to eliminate their own seniority rights, at a dismal union meeting with many members weeping as they voted.)<br><br>It's startling to me how many intelligent newspaper readers don't grasp what has been happening. I routinely hear "...if the Chronicle weren't so conservative..." and, from my few conservative associates here in liberal San Francisco, "...if the Chronicle weren't so liberal..." A friend just said to me that if the Chronicle would cover more local issues such as school news, she believed it would get many new subscribers. <br><br>No, the underlying reason is that industry leadership decided it was fine to give away the news for free. <br><br>On the topic of education, I do have contacts in college journalism departments -- students and teachers. Astoundingly, this is just not discussed much there. It seems to me that Journalism 101 today should consist of a class studying the current crisis and brainstorming for a way to save our nation's free press.<br><br>My own son is a college freshman (at Oberlin Conservatory) majoring in jazz trumpet. It is an unstoppable passion, but I appreciate that some more hardheaded parents would have said: "Absolutely not; you must major in something that will earn you a living." Yet there are hordes of bright-eyed college students in J-classes who appear oblivious to the fact that there will be no paid jobs for them. <br><br>What this crisis means for democracy, though, far outweighs what it means to deluded students who think they might pursue journalism careers. <br><br>Meanwhile, I would like to remind those of my and my husband's former colleagues who are still working journalists that you still have your professional standards, your credibility and your ethics. Please value and protect them rather than sacrificing them to the "education reform" PR machinery.carolinenoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4506796942090699323.post-57314062495150474382010-01-10T16:01:18.547-08:002010-01-10T16:01:18.547-08:00This is a serious problem that we all should be co...This is a serious problem that we all should be concerned about. I've become more and more cynical about the possibility of the problem resolving itself through new technologies/funding schemes that might allow real journalism to make the money it deserves in a well-oiled democracy. Nothing aside from education is more fundamental to the maintenance of our society.The Reflective Educatorhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09625944306253098621noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4506796942090699323.post-27258453837555330772010-01-19T03:49:58.829-08:002010-01-19T03:49:58.829-08:00I agree that this is an important post, but also t...I agree that this is an important post, but also think it can be very difficult, if you're trying to get exposure/experience, not to write for free. This isn't only true when you're starting out either. If you want to make a name for yourself, you have to get "out there" and sometimes that means penning something for no financial gain.<br>It is really hard though. I get paid less for freelance pieces now than I used to and am very negative when I meet students who say they want to become journalists. It's all changed since I started and sounds as if the UK is similar to the US in this.Sarah Ebnerhttp://www.timesonline.co.uk/schoolgatenoreply@blogger.com