Let’s take a look at a new report from the Media Management Center at Northwestern. It looked at journalists from 79 print newsrooms to see if they were looking beyond the oft-maligned dead-tree edition. Check this out:

Digitals, about 12 percent of the workforce, spend most of their time working online. They’re the youngest group, with an average age of 38, and 56% believe the digital transformation is taking too long in their newsroom.

The report says that digitals, which pretty much describes many Gen Jers, want more support from their managers for online initiatives. But it also says that the desire to move more resources into Web journalism isn’t limited to the younger set. In fact, the research found no significant link between age and a journalist’s feeling about the digital world. This indicates an opportunity for Generation J to partner with other newsroom staffers in pushing for more (and better)  online coverage.

*Another cool recommendation from the study: Let workers play around on Facebook, Twitter, etc., during downtime. The concept is that famliarity with such sites will better prepare journalists to use them effectively at work.

Layoffs and other cuts have caused most of us to do less with more. For me that’s meant picking up about three, sometimes more, beats in addition to my primary military beat. We’re all overloaded at the office and I told my boss during my last review that I felt like I was completely unorganized and my work load was out of control. For a little while, the chaos was certainly owning me.

But this past week was Veterans Day. And being a military reporter, it’s my Christmas. I focused almost entirely on the veterans and other military stories throughout the week and while I still covered my other beats too, the focus on the military brought me back to life it felt like. I’d been hating my job and hating this town and was just miserable and agitated for about a month. It was bad. Then I interviewed guys from World War II, Korea, Vietnam vets and people serving today. And then I remembered why I do this. I love these people and I love their stories and they’re stories that deserve to be told.

This last week I wrote all my stories with heart and I once again connected with my subjects and it showed. I was happier, sleeping better, working more efficiently and people noticed.

For Gen J’ers, it’s scary to think of leaving a current job in the given economic climate, but it’s also tough to sit still when we know we could move on and move up. But there is a great amount of learning and growing to be done by sitting still and soaking up everything where you are. Burnout is easy to run into, I’m pretty sure I came dangerously close these last few months. But thankfully, these veterans who had served in combat or in peace time, who had faced far greater adversity than a lousy boss or a supposedly declining industry, took the time to talk to me and tell their stories that they thanked me for the opportunity to share those stories.

Sure, more layoffs, furloughs, pay cuts and other tough times are probably coming, but remembering that heart and those people whose stories we need to tell makes it worth the pressure and aggravation of a stressed out newsroom.

I have been asked several times why I chose journalism as a career. Each time I go into the full spill of my love for writing, sharing information with people who might not be able to otherwise obtain it, etc., etc. Each time I get the same response, but how much do you get paid?

Yes, Suzie the nurse makes more than me. Joe the accountant? Yeah, him too. And I’m sure there are plenty of people out there who didn’t rack up lots of student loan debt. But to that I say, so what? If Suzie likes her job as a nurse, let Suzie make her salary. If Joe likes numbers, don’t ask him about grammar. And if the debt-free 9-to-5ers think I’m nuts for getting a degree to get paid to do what I do, so be it.

Yes, times may get tough and the words written in a recent Editor & Publisher letter to the editor may ring true. Mary Hausch, an assistant professor of journalism at the University of Nevada Las Vegas, wrote:

“There will continue to be a brain-drain of the best and the brightest from newspaper jobs until owners decide to pay a livable wage to young journalists. My best graduate last year took a job at a small Gannett paper. She loved being a reporter and was told by her editor that she had a great future with Gannett, but even in a small town she could barely make it on her meager salary. So she took a $6,000 raise to become a teacher.

There’s a common complaint from young journalists that they see no future in a profession where they are making about $25,000 with a promise of only a minimal increase after a year.

I challenge millionaire owners or corporate execs to consider how they could survive on what they are paying their journalists. Unless starting wages are significantly increased fewer promising people will join the profession and those who do will not stay.”

No, my job isn’t easy. Some say only fellow journalists and select few outside of the field can truly understand that. The hours are long and I’ve been told more than once I should kiss my social life goodbye. (I’m holding on to it for dear life, thank you very much!) And the pay? Well, the pay probably isn’t what every other person in my graduating class is making at their first job, but at least I have a job.

At the end of the day, my job is by far the coolest of all my non-journalism friends. I get to shoot guns with the local police department, fly in airplanes taking aerial photographs, and cover concerts from behind the scenes. What did you do at work today?

Hey Gen Jers,

Our committee is meeting to discuss possible programming ideas for next year’s convention. Would do you think we should submit? If you’ve attended a convention in recent years, what did you feel was missing for the post-collegiate, pre-veteran set? Any ideas would be greatly appreciated!

Aiesha

Aiesha Little
2009-2010 Chair
SPJ’s Generation J Committee

With all of the negativity about the journalism industry (layoffs, credibility, the unhealthy obsession with Jon and Kate Gosselin), many young people wanting to get in the field feel dubious. And that’s expected, seeing as how journalism is not as glamorous as it once was.

So why should young people care about journalism or even opt for it as a career?

Believe it or not, there are good reasons why those in their 20s and early 30s should choose a career in journalism. Seriously. Here are four reasons why I’m holding on to this industry:

The perks. Everyone that’s anybody knows that “awesome” is not a word one uses to describe the salary for people in journalism. According to salary.com, the average salary for an entry-level reporter in a mid-sized city in the Mid-west, as in Cincinnati, is between $20,000 and $25,000. Sigh. But the free perks that come with the position sometimes help compensate for lack of monetary compensation. Free concert tickets, free admission to events, occasional free meals, free previews of art exhibits that have yet to open to the public. You know, the good stuff. And don’t forget press passes. While everyone else gnaws and chews their way to get front seats at a free lecture given by a local celebrity, you flash your “I’m with the press” badge and, voila, you’re at the front of the pack. Sweet. (NOTE: If perks are the main or only reason you want to get or stay in journalism, then you’re in the wrong industry. But they are nice, nonetheless.)

The knowledge. If you’re an inquisitive person, like myself, then there’s no greater feeling than knowing something that possibly the general public doesn’t know yet. Enough said. Plus, it feels like you’re getting paid to learn, even if the pay is lower than what you want or expected.

The bylines. Sure. You chose journalism as a way to connect with people through news and media, to get to the bottom of an issue, to find the truth. But let’s be honest. A part of you chose journalism because you’re a narcissist and you like seeing your byline of a newspaper or magazine article, even if nobody else notices (because nine times out of 10, they don’t). Isn’t that reason enough to stay? I keed, I keed.

The love of informing. Everyone has a story to tell, and you like telling that story to everyone else through news. Yes, journalism has gotten a bad reputation over the last decade or so for shady ethics and shadier reporting. But a few bad stories do not equate to the plethora of inspiring stories that make being a reporter worthwhile.

What are some other reasons to stay or get into journalism?