Thoughts From the Cradle: Journalism Won’t Survive if We Fight Each Other
by: Victoria Reitano
I have three years of experience in the professional world of reporting, but really, I’ve been telling stories for the past 20 years.
However, I understand that I am still young and have tons to learn, but I think there are some things that should be said about the most recent media news rocking the hyperlocal boat.
For a while, when I first started my post-graduate career as a Local Editor for Patch.com, I called myself a “baby reporter,” and then I realized that I’d never get any respect that way so I started doing what I do best — asking questions, getting answers and giving my paraphrased interpretation of the “way Journalism worked.”
I value Romenesko. I value Poynter. I value the SPJ and the RTDNA and all the other journalism organizations — and media reporters — out there doing their thing.
What I don’t value (and what I don’t think helps any reporters, young or old) is the petty arguments, catty Facebook posts and name calling that’s been going on on the past few Romenesko posts.
We all believe in “hyperlocal” journalism — if we didn’t, none of us would do what we do. We’d all stop tweeting photos of the things we see, stop sharing our favorite restaurants via Foursquare and stop offering thoughts on “what’s the news” to friends and family. Even if your beat is covering the global economy for The New York Times, you believe (and participate) in hyperlocal journalism.
As an LE for Patch, I can tell you things were not always ideal. It’s a start-up company and having worked with a technology trade magazine covering start-up companies for the past year, I realize that every start-up has growing pains; if it didn’t, it wouldn’t be a start up.
I worked for Patch on Long Island for 7 months. I met amazing people — in the community and in the company. I met reporters with less social media experience, reporters with more; reporters with experience I couldn’t even begin to comprehend. Reporters who had seen their name on actual print pages, something I hadn’t seen since my high school days. I disagreed — and still disagree — with a lot, but I also believed — and still do — in a lot of what they stand for.
I spent the last year afraid to comment on the many stories I read about my former employer; about my first love affair with journalism. And then I read Romenesko’s last two pieces (2/8 and 2/8) and realized that I did have to say something.
As watchdogs we give those afraid to speak a voice — what kind of a reporter would I be if I failed to speak out on the future of my own profession for fear of retribution?
Patch can call reporters within the company who speak out “bad teammates, bad employees, dishonest people,” and claim that they “should be ashamed of themselves,” but I agree with Romenesko — “I think the source is merely a concerned employee.”
So here’s some advice, from the cradle — Stop hiding the problems of journalism under the covers, stop fighting with one another over who has the better method, stop letting corporate BS get in the way of working towards the greater good, of finding a way to continue to “spread the news.”
Now, of course, most of that will never happen — Journalism is a business, I am not naive, I understand that we’re all in this to make money (I have bills just like the rest of you), but perhaps a little less in fighting would make outsiders trust us — as individuals, as organizations — a bit more.
And wouldn’t that be good for all of us?
P.S. I once was quite Patch-y, so everything I’m saying is because I truly believe in the concept and want it to succeed — consider this some tough love; it’s as hard to give it as I’m sure Patch will find it hard to read.
Victoria Reitano is the Assistant Editor at SDTimes, an enterprise technology trade magazine for enterprise developers and their managers. She is also the publisher of The Giornalista Files, her personal blog and portfolio site where she shares her ideas about being an early career lady journo with anyone who will listen. Reitano feels Bikram Yoga is the perfect compliment to her obsessive need to consume information on a constant basis. Connect with her on Twitter @giornalista515.
Tags: advice, broadcast news, career, Careers, Gen J, Gen Jers, generation j, hyperlocal, journalism, journalism ethics, journalist, journalists, media, new media, news, newsrooms, patch, Society of Professional Journalists, spj, twitter, young journalists, young reporters