Is it just me or are today's younger journalists lazy?

I'm thinking that's high, too, for a fresh from college hire. At a large paper I worked at not long ago, we had a major sport beat writer (who got the beat with little experience) making about $40,000.

 

my point was, game 7, i'm not handing the ball over to ricardo romero.

newspapers should want to win game 7s, which is why you pay an experienced writer $85,000 rather than hire a promising recent grad for $52,000.

 

Ugly:

It's not "the next generation" that is the problem.

I'm over 50 and I know with my kids, what they think is working hard and what I think is working hard are two different things. It's a question of experience. I tell my daughters not to try to fool me, because they aren't going to pull anything that I haven't already seen - or done - when it comes to taking short cuts.

They think they have worked two hours on their homework, but if you take out snack breaks, a phone call, listening to music, watching something on TV, they are lucky if they have done one hour of homework.

It's a question of being responsible, and a supervisor is responsible so they aren't in a position to slack off. If a supervisor is lazy, everybody in the group will see that. If you are a regular person, you probably can fool some people.

 

That's the MINIMUM at some major papers

 

If by "some" you mean "less than 20 nationally," then yeah, I agree.

 

I don't know about you guys, but I'm seeing a lot more trust-fund types getting into the business these days. They see it as a kind of public service, like joining the Peace Corps. They know it doesn't pay well, and they don't care, because they come from wealthy families. They're getting great beats straight out of college -- big papers like cheap labor -- and just biding their time until law school. Some of these kids are kick-ass great. Many of them are absolute trash, with zero interpersonal skills.

 

That is not new. I saw that 20 or 25 years ago.

 

I know young journalists out there who are willing to put the time and effort into doing jobs right.

Nuked Huska immediately comes to mind. That kid is ambitious and soaks information like a sponge. I remember the first time I talked to him, he wanted to know all that he could about the business. All smart questions, too. He was a high school junior then and he continues to bust his ass now at Mizzou, hoping to be a great one. Heck, he nuked his account here to make sure he put all his energy into the right things (his education) once he stepped on campus. He's that dedicated to his craft.

All the while, Huska remains as modest as they come. The kid doesn't have a shred of ego. Great family, salt of the earth. Wherever he goes the moment he graduates from that hell-hole (had to get one sucker-punch in there), he's going to have a better job than I ever will.

And he will have earned it.

 

Yeah, but what about the rest of us who put a lot of effort into our work but just don't have the talent or connections? Is there a point to staying in the business?

At 25, with nearly three years at the same shop, I took a look at myself and my job, but nothing is really clear.

I work harder and smarter than my editor, but I'm in the middle of nowhere with no connections and I apparently don't have the talent to break out. I've had eight interviews this year, and I'm still here.

I don't think I'm lazy, but I'm wondering if it's time to just find another life.

 

or maybe you're just a piss poor interview.

 

Well, since I only had two in-person interviews out of five phone interviews and three ignores, I haven't made a complete ruling on that one yet. Thanks for caring.

 

If anything, I feel more bitter and discouraged, but still hungry. I haven't had a true shot yet, had one interview, been doing some temp jobs on the side to get by and pay the bills. I want to write or broadcast for these guys, but higher-ups think otherwise. I don't get too many replies back from media outlets period. They probably are just deleting my stuff when it gets there.

So, I'm just going to keep doing the freelancing for my blog, and just keep plugging.

Sorry, but I guess I have a lot of bent-up frustration right now. I don't like being called lazy.