Jack Schafer quotes journalist Mark Sullivan's memoirs Education of an American (on Slate here) to point out that journalism has always been in a state of decline. In 1938 the veteran newsman Sullivan laments the passing of the American newspaper as ad dollars flowed from print to radio.
I felt as if I were like one of those old monks, the scriveners, who continued to copy by hand long after printing had been invented. To young writers looking forward the lesson is as plain, and even more important, than to old writers looking backward. Learn the art of writing, of course, but learn also the art of the motion picture, and of the radio.
Sound familiar? Good advice for today's journalists.
If newspapers, magazines, and broadcasters don't produce spectacular news coverage no blogger can match, they have no right to survive.
This is something I feared and this entry is especially depressing to me, a young photojournalist about to move out and into the workforce. I hope I can make a living or, if not, at least make some kind of impact with my work.
Posted by: Kyle Scharf | July 01, 2009 at 06:48 AM