News Veterans: Priceless
We think news veterans are priceless
and believe it’s become obvious how important their work is. In the 2017 political
landscape, especially, their worth is clearly noted daily. Who else holds accountable
those in power?
Most of those journalists are
experts who bring years of experience to the stories they cover. They have
nurtured valuable resources and have fine-tuned their sense of what is most
salient in any given issue.
In many, many cases they follow in
the footsteps of their predecessors at a time when newsroom budgets were more
generous and people were more willing to take time to read what was being
reported.
The climate today has changed. Most
readers want pithy soundbites and news stories are shrinking to become more
like news briefs than news stories.
For tomorrow’s journalist, the
landscape – which unfortunately includes a plethora of ‘fake news’ and
advertisement driven news sites - is rockier than ever before. These newcomers will
need to be show how to distinguish fact from fiction.
Enter in the veterans.
According to Judy Farah, a KFBK
Radio contributor and former Associated Press reporter, having an opportunity
to learn the ropes can make all the difference. She recalled being assigned
stories that challenged her in many ways. Unforgiving deadlines and extensive
research combined to push her hard and fast.
She wrote:
“Once upon a time, new reporters came into newsrooms and
were relegated to minor beats such as covering planning boards or zoning
commissions. They had to work for years to earn a shot at a coveted general
assignment reporter position. But during that time, they got to observe and
learn from the veterans who surrounded them. That doesn’t happen anymore.
Whether it’s in print or broadcast, young reporters are being hired and pushed
into reporting on air or in print with a minimum of training and experience.” She asks: “If all the
veterans leave, who will train the next generation of journalists?”
Farah herself now a veteran who has
trained more than 80 fellow journalists, including how to uncover strong news
angles and determine which questions to ask, notes that many bureau chiefs, news
and business editors, crime and sports reporters have gone by the wayside, due
to mergers and layoffs.
We agree with her call for today’s
remaining staff, most often dominated by younger, less experienced news people,
to reach out to the veterans on their staff “for guidance and wisdom. Before
they are all gone.”
Very wise words from a seasoned
journalist who’s been on both sides of this equation.
To read her complete Huffington Post
article, click here.
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