The U-Wire Top 100 Young Journalists

Quite possibly the stupidest list ever assembled.

 

Guess who got left off the list ...

 

Geez. Why?

Again, what's wrong with honoring people coming up in this business, a business that NEEDS new faces like this coming along and not being scared off by the way things are right now.

 

Whomever edited this shouldn't be on the UWIRE top 100 editors ... there are two Ryan Furlongs (one should be Ryan Knutson).

Nice resume addition for all those youngsters.

 

You might see this as a useful hiring tool, and that's fine. But take the perspective of someone younger, and someone who has experienced some of the praise first hand: It creates far too much navel gazing and backslapping among younger journalists. A lot of people, I will sadly include myself in this group, end up writing stories for one another instead of for readers. They obsess about that next job, about getting praise from their peers, about getting starfucked on SportsJournalists.com, instead of learning how to write and getting better by understanding and growing from criticism. It's the same reason that making a list of the best 5th graders on the AAU circut is a foolish idea. I know far too many young journalists who are obsessed with one another, and these lists, and threads about who is a young effing stud, are the reason they receive more praise, and more criticism, than I think is healthy. I know talented writers who think they're a failure because no one in the industry sings their praises on SJ, and I know talented writers who think the opposite because they are showered with love. A young and crazy talented friend of mine told me recently, "If it were up to me, my name would never come up on SJ again." It's a distraction to doing good journalism. And as much as I wish I was not, I've been infected with that disease too.

 

Well, as they often say at this point, I guess we'll have to agree to disagree. I understand the pitfalls you're describing, but I don't think that's a good reason to just stop recognizing people. For all the negatives, there's also encouragement, both of this batch and those coming behind them, in the recognition.

 

No one asked you anything ever, so whomever's name is Lantaur, why don't you take a letter opener and stick it into your skull.

 

Boy, that escalated quickly

 

Um ... I'm pretty sure he is.

 

No one HAS to ask for an opinion on a message board. Unless you're sending a PM to someone, you invite comment from the rest of SportsJournalists.com by posting a thread.

So, in other words, Moddy indirectly asked lantaur's opinion by posting this thread.