I spent a good while talking with a former "reliable source" back from the college newspaper days a few nights ago, traversing some of the highs and lows of the ever changing political climate. Most of the more impassioned battles of that particular time seem almost trivial now, even though it would be a stretch to convince any of us otherwise. Earlier that weekend, Samantha and I met up with another former staffer to catch up on the news and rumors circling around the college town of 10,000 or so.
The industry (as if I am one to really speak with much authority) tends to drive away those with the ethical conscience it takes to pursue the truth amidst the confusion. Instead, we are left with the byline chasers and editors and station managers that live for the shock factor of the story of the latest hollywood scandal. Indeed, the press release re-writers (or copy and paste hacks) have the longest tenure in the newsroom. The endless pursuit of "maximize stakeholder' wealth" creates unreasonable demands with less than substantial pay. If you are unable to make a name for yourself or refuse to toe the "do nothing that causes lost subscribers or advertisers" line, the perennial downsizing chart filed away under a stack of papers in the publisher or station owner's desk will be most unkind.
We care more about how long some bimbo did or did not spend in jail than when a White House chief of staff is sentenced to federal prison. The latest cancer breakthrough will be pushed to Page D4 if some kook comes up with a "beer and lightly glazed doughnut" diet. The Watergate saga of the 1970's would have never even shown up as a blip on the public's radar, and the Woodward/Bernstein duo would have likely been canned at the request of some Republican donor who held a minority stake in the Washington Post before any of stories ever made Page 1. If you never feed the watchdog, it dies.
Citizen blogs are the supposed new media, but both marketing strategists and political operatives have already demonstrated that the democratic ideals of the net are easily trampled. Finding credibility with the public at large is an exercise in futility.
Even during my extended time with the newspaper, it felt more like some sort of altruistic mob than a newspaper. Being in the big chair was about as worrisome. The time and effort put into turning out a weekly edition was measured by some semblance of journalistic standards. Even so, we operated within a fairly sound financial bubble (other than trying to average advertising sales somewhere north of the cost of printing). You gain a bit of latitude in your work when your boss is ultimately yourself, regardless of the title appended in the masthead.
A reporter has sources, reliable folks they go to for information about the next thing coming down the pipe or advice on how to get to the information they are hunting. I have not quite located a similar concept in my current line of work. Instead, I end up making it up as I go along, or stumbling forward. I am told this is much better than standing still.