I stumbled across this website: http://www.stuffjournalistslike.com.

I experienced a lot of “That’s so true!” moments. It may be something every one has already read, but sometimes I’m just the last to know about trivial things.

This one was one of my favorites:

http://www.stuffjournalistslike.com/2010/03/giant-novelty-checks-and-scissors.html

What are some of the stories or events you’ve had to cover where you might have completely rethought your career path? What about those that reminded you of why you went into journalism in the first place?

Lane Wallace offers up a fresh take on biased journalism in The Bias of Veteran Journalists on the Atlantic. Not conventional bias, but a new strain that plagues veteran journalists everywhere. Wallace points out that most veteran reporters are experts of their beats and have mastered their subjects. Unfortunately, this means they often form angles before collecting the facts. Interviews only fill data gaps. Fundamental questions are overlooked.

That’s where we come in. Young journalists like us aren’t experts. Not yet, at least. Wallace writes:

A friend of mine who’s an editor at the New York Times said those results don’t surprise him at all. “If you watch a White House press conference,” he said, “you can tell who the new reporters are. They’re often the ones who ask the best questions.” I must have looked a little surprised. “Seriously,” he said. “I actually think we should rotate reporters’ beats every two years, so nobody ever thinks they’re too much of an expert at anything.”

Our minds may be young, but they are curious. In this competitive market, we strive to be thorough and precise, just like j-school taught us to be. Even experts need to ask the obvious questions, which often address the subtleties. Basic, yet essential, details. We ask all the questions, because we aren’t experts. And, this time, that’s to our advantage.

What do you think, Gen Jers? Can the veterans learn something from our hard work? Do we bring a fresh perspective?

From Poynter Institute’s “Ask the Recruiter”:

Q. I have been at this small newspaper for about five months now. It’s about four hours away from anyone I know on the basic level, and 10 from my closest college friends. My family is 18 hours away (by car).

Knowing that we would probably have to take five furloughs per quarter, our editor requested we select all 20 furlough days and vacation days by the first of this year. I did. And I planned a nine-day trip to see my college buddies graduate in D.C. and to be around some people who I can be myself around. I’ve been planning everything around this trip. The time has been in since January. I’ve talked about the trip to my editor.

Just recently, we’re all told that no one can take off May 4 (which falls in that week vacation) because it’s primary election day. The young, eager reporter in me says to just let the vacation go and be available to my publication. The young, lonely person in me says to take this up with our top editor (as my editor has suggested) and push for my vacation. What should I do? Wouldn’t it be a bad move as a cub reporter to gripe about not being able to take off when I want? But, what about the numerous sacrifices I’ve already made in the name of journalism? (I’m still eating those Ramen noodles I told you about my freshman year.)

Lonely Cub

We here at Generation J think Joe’s answer was dead on. What advice would you give this young reporter? Do you think this happened to him/her and not some older staff member because of his/her age?