I hope people noticed the attention that a Gen-J program is getting in Minneapolis.
The headline:

Wanna get lucky? Minnesota group arranges ‘speed dating’ for freelancers, editors

But I suspect that one of the jokes in the piece (“Will you still call me after the bluelines?”) falls flat for many. Journalists 35 and under: Did you get the joke? Do you know what bluelines refers to? Put your guesses in the comments. After a few, the veterans can give the correct answer.

The prize? Bragging rights.

As many of you are aware, the 2010 Vancouver Winter Olympics, which will air until Feb. 28 on NBC, debuted Feb. 12 with the opening ceremonies. Earlier that day, luger Nodar Kumaritashvili from the country of Georgia died in a luger crash during a practice run. Somewhere between his death and the opening ceremonies, a video of his death was shown. Specifically, the video was shown on major TV networks, including NBC.

According to an Associated Press article, viewers were outraged by the footage shown just moments before the opening ceremonies.

I cannot tell a lie. Even though I’m a journalist and fully support that whole “freedom of the press” thing, watching that video was quite disturbing, even though it only lasted a good five seconds. And if you could have seen my facial expression when I saw the footage…Sigh.

As a newcomer to journalism, you’re going to be faced with these “Is it right for my newsroom/newspaper/TV station to published this content” issues and other ethical concerns (like, for the love of God, this one) all the time, if you haven’t already.

So I ask for your opinions, journalism Gen-Jers: Was it ethical for NBC and other TV networks to broadcast Kumaritashvili’s death? Was it insensitive, or was it journalism’s doing its job, which is to inform the public?

A few days ago, I resigned from a nonprofit job unrelated to journalism. Admittedly, I lasted a whopping two weeks.

Desperate and poor, I accepted the offer for employment, thinking I’d have enough time on the side to devote to writing. And my bright-eyed 22-year-old self couldn’t have been more wrong. So there I was, doing work that many people consider important, and doing it well. But by the second week, there was this incessant tug. And every attempt to ignore it only intensified it.  I had to address it, despite the consequences.

And that’s just what I did. In the end, I decided if I was going to feel overworked and exhausted, it was going to be in the name of my craft. I knew I would return home to frustration, to judgment, to more penny pinching. But do I regret it? Not one bit. I took a chance and devoted myself to a cause. My experience made me a better person and a better writer. Next time someone questions my decision to pursue journalism, with its uncertain future in the current economic landscape and all, I have a response I can feel good about. Why, they ask? Because I wholeheartedly tried something else, and it left me unfulfilled. Because for me, it’s not about money, it’s about purpose. And, well, this is mine. It was foolish to think I could do anything else. Lesson learned.

So, fellow Gen Jers, what do you think? We are a young and vibrant bunch, real go-getters. But is passion (and hard work, of course) enough to tackle this industry? Would you rather follow your heart and be broke? Or, in these times, work a job that satisfies your bank account, even if it leaves you feeling dull? Have you, like me, learned the hard way?

Back when I was a wee lass, fresh out of college and working my first newspaper job, I almost dated a co-worker. We went out a few times under the guise of friendship (a movie here, a dinner there) and we had a connection that could’ve been something more…had I let it. Unlike the fine bloggers over at Stuff Journalists Like, I wasn’t looking at the potential benefits of the situation (“Journalists like dating each other because only fellow journalists understand the phrase: “Not tonight dear, I’m on deadline”). I was wise enough to know that if we pursued a relationship and it went south, it could’ve been detrimental to my fledgling career. But that was 10 years ago. Have times changed? Do younger journalists feel differently nowadays? Or will dating a colleague always be a fundamental no-no?

(Cross posted at the International Journalism blog)

Brett Junvik is only 26, but he’s already traveled around the world telling stories of impoverished people and the international aid groups that assist them. To accompany his piece in the January/February issue of Quill, the young filmmaker made this video short to share his experience with others looking to do the same.

“Let us become a community of journalists that build relationships and bridge cultures,” says Junvik in the video, “storytellers that are truly for the people.”

Over at the freelance blog, there’s some discussion of a backlash against news outlets that want journalists to, essentially, work for free.

We’ve all been part of it. You fudge the timecard because you had to stay late to finish a story, even though technically overtime has to be approved in advance.

We do it for the love of the readers, the viewers, the listeners. We do it because for many of us, our name is on our work, and quality work takes time.

Younger journalists, especially as they take unpaid postgraduate internships or clamber desperately up the ladder as layoffs loom, are quite susceptible to being abused.

Do you regularly work for more hours than you are paid? Do you think it’s a necessity for Gen J, or should we likewise rise up?

Edit: Just got a link to fellow ex-IndyStarer Christopher Lloyd, who argues in favor of free journalistic labor — even beyond the first few years of experience.