About a year ago, I spent about an hour trying to convince a former college newspaper friend that he should learn to podcast and blog. He brushed it off. And why not.
In the traditional newspaper world (which I was shooting to join about three years ago), college graduates look to intern a few places, ink a couple of provocative A1 clips and hopefully squirm into an entry-level reporter job at a big daily.
Seems like a lot of work, grinding and late nights for a byline. Or at least, that’s what some young journalists are thinking now.
Former Chicago newspaper editor Alan D. Mutter, now a Silicon Valley CEO, reports a growing discontent among talented gumshoe newspaper people – many of them biding their time until they can leave mass media.
And worse, these new and voiceless employees are the ones who could possibly steer flailing organizations in the right direction, Mutter says.
…young net natives, for the most part, rank too low in the organizations that employ them to be invited to the pivotal discussions determining the stratgeic initiatives that could help their employers sustain their franchises.
But are new hires being seen as the saviors they could be? In the online circle, I can attest that youthful and innovative thinking is celebrated. At the same time, it can be troubling. Hiring someone new and not giving them the room to grow and offer insight will help push them out the door as fast as they were hired.
Peter Brantley, Executive Director for the Digital Library Federation, says this is the same story of generational struggle, but he seconds Mutter’s point.
…unless they are lucky enough to be seen as vectors of change, they are likely to be more frustratingly trapped by ageism than the young can ever yet imagine.
Mutter made a good point that many young journalists are also those that grew up with keyboards and iPods. They’re the ones that enjoy user-generated content more than traditional newspaper/newscast storytelling. So why aren’t they involved in more discussion? Why aren’t they leading budget meetings?
Are they?
It makes me think, if young people aren’t being included in making decisions that could lead to sharing stories on Facebook, creating videos and sharing them on YouTube or recognizing a story with viral potential and Digging it, who and what are current business practices saving?
Can old and young news hats coexist before innovative thinkers leave the industry?
{ 2 comments… read them below or add one }
Hey Shawn-
Ironically here at MySanAntonio.com we’ve found that at our newspaper partner it’s the older members of the staff that have really embraced the web.
I get the feeling that many younger people might be like your friend …
You could be right. I’ve been noticing more and more older people getting into blogging and podcasting. But in discussions with some young reporters, I get the feeling they aren’t overly encouraged to try new things.