We Want Media

In a recent letter to Romenesko, Philadelphia News reporter David Sullivan refuted a claim made by Miami Herald editor Tom Fielder stating that people work in the journalism environment because they love presenting the news. Mr. Sullivan said he and many others went into the journalism business more for the “romance” of the newspaper’s format and the glamour of being part of that romance. In my opinion Sullivan not only works for the wrong reasons, he is part of a dying breed in journalism.

Journalism is an art, and thus it must serve the people first and foremost. When the artist puts himself above his idea, everybody loses. Don’t worry, because thanks to digital journalism, this mentality is not as prevalent as before, because digital journalism proves that people don’t want news with flavor, they just want the news.

Thanks to the internet, there are thousands of publications to read, and so writers must work extra hard to get noticed. Sure, there are some wacky sites out there. But people are most drawn to sites like Gawker and The Smoking Gun which, according to our guest speakers Jessica Cohen and Bill Bastone, work long and hard to give the people information and news that they want to know about.

Don’t get me wrong, I too think it’s cool when my name appears in a byline. I still smile when I google my name and see that I’m first, and does give me a bit of excitement when I write. However, when that pride overtakes a journalist’s duty to the public, then there’s a big problem.