We Must Do Better By Our Journalists
Originally published September 30, 2021
I stared at the webpage trimmed in purple for the graduate program at the Arthur L. Carter Journalism Institute at New York University. As I scrolled down, words teeming with encouragement appeared on the page: “. . . responsive to the industry demand for journalists,” “94% of the Class of 2019 landed jobs, paid fellowships, internships, or freelance work after graduation.” I think about my parents who, when they immigrated here from revolution-torn countries, fought through sleepless nights and second and third jobs to rise the ranks of modest industries so they could help my brothers and I go to college and do the same. I think about a report published this month in The Wall Street Journal that exposed how “Journalism schools leave graduates with hefty student loans. . . even as opportunities diminish.” I think about how CareerCast’s 2019 Jobs Rated Report, with supplemental data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics, ranked “Newspaper reporter” as the third worst job in America, only surpassed by “Logging worker” and “Taxi driver.” I click out of the window.
My father, who raised me to watch the nightly news with him during dinner instead of cartoons, always thought I should become a journalist. After a few half-hearted and rebellious attempts at various other jobs, I decided to finally admit that he was right. Graduate school seemed the best avenue to pivot into this new field. But as I started to research and explore prospective career outcomes, I came to the stark realization that anyone who dared to enter the field of journalism would do so underfunded, unappreciated, and unsupported. Yet journalists — specifically, honest investigative and news journalists in the local and national arena — serve a valuable role in upholding freedom and democracy. The act of censoring mass-media has become a telltale sign of rising fascist regimes. When I look at China and Iran, the two countries my parents fled from, there are undeniable parallels between the suppression of their free press and the destruction of their democracies. If we want to protect the democratic institutions of our country that are currently being challenged, then our view of journalism must change.
According to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, news analysts, reporters, and journalists made an average yearly salary of $49,300, with a projected 6% growth from 2020–2030 compared to 8% for all occupations. What’s even more bleak is the loss of jobs. Forbes investigated that in 2020 there were 30,820 employees in the newspaper industry, less than half of the 74,410 in 2006. Pew announced in their annual State of the News Media report that in 2020, 33% of all newspapers laid off employees. And, as the final nail in the gatekeeping coffin, the journalism and wider media industry is notorious for offering unpaid internships and enabling nepotism. This underpayment and loss of opportunity is even more demoralizing given the struggles journalists face in their field. They are constantly put in harm’s way by their investigations of wars such as in Afghanistan and Syria, authoritarian regimes such as China and Russia, and powerful industry figures such as Harvey Weinstein and Andrew Cuomo. Not the least harmful is the constant harassment they face from average citizens with opposing views, which is usually aimed at female journalists.
Yet all of these outcomes are merely incidental to the wider view of journalists and journalism in our society. It’s always hard to demand action from everyday people when systemic change is also obviously needed, but the prior would not necessarily be a worthless cause. Like how the societal push for healthier foods led to the expansion of organic locally grown sections in almost every supermarket, the power of the average consumer is more powerful than many realize. For change to occur in the journalism industry, a shift in the mindset and consumption around print and digital newspaper subscriptions needs to occur at both the local and national level. We need to view our newspaper subscriptions as essential to our wellbeing as our Netflix and daily coffee, and our understanding of the news as sought after as that of T.V. show plots and Tik Tok trends. We need to make it paramount to our livelihoods to support hard-working and good-willed journalists, and to not tolerate those who wish to do them harm. This goes beyond just reporting a Twitter troll or not voting for a “fake news” touting candidate; we need to demand paid internships and more local papers that will increase opportunities and diversify the field. We need to celebrate when journalists expose corruption and deceit — beyond the exclusivity of a Pulitzer.
My perspective goes beyond the personal — I not only wish for change to justify entering the field myself, but because I believe it to be essential to stave off corruption, instability, and tyranny from engulfing the society in which we all live. As the amount of journalists and reputable news outlets decline, a power vacuum will form of which an untrusted entity will inevitably fill. We already see this happening with the increase of people turning to social media giants such as Facebook and Twitter to get their news. I don’t have to explain how harmful this has already been. I’m not willing to sit back and watch it get worse.
We simply must do better by our journalists. We need to raise them up, celebrate their victories, and support them as they navigate the vulnerabilities of the field. If not for my own selfish desires, then for the sake of our society as we know it.
