Behind the News, The Unemployed Life

Fear and loathing in the newsroom: How one editor copes

Great column from Tom Huang over at Poynter Online. Huang is an editor for the Dallas Morning News, and recently had to deal with layoffs at his newspaper.

A snippet:

A few days after the layoffs in Dallas, I talked with Jill Geisler, who runs Poynter’s leadership program.
We agreed that it’s hard to be a newsroom leader in these times. Not that we deserve much sympathy, or expect to get it. Reserve that sympathy for those who are forced out of jobs they love, as well as for those who remain and feel trapped.

What I told Jill is this: Every time I mask my anger and sadness with feigned calm and confidence, I lose a bit of my integrity. Every time I feel numb, I lose a bit of what makes me human. Every time I say goodbye to a friend, I lose a piece of my heart.

It’s our human side that makes us good journalists, isn’t it?

And so, it seems to me, our greatest challenge is that we stay human, as flawed as we may be, even as we walk toward our uncertain future.

The Unemployed Life

South Florida journalists band together to help fellow laid-off reporters

Reporters don’t curry much favor with the public. So it’s no surprise that, during this economic downturn, laid-off journalists don’t get the same sympathy as, say, unemployed police officers or veterans. As newspapers across the country downsize, or outright cease to exist, who will help the unemployed journalists? Other journalists, of course!

Enter Stacy Singer. After watching friend after friend get the ax, the Palm Beach Post reporter decided to create a nonprofit that would provide short-term aid to laid-off reporters. She’s calling it “After the Jump.” Singer has already put the word out to several news organizations and has the support of the South Florida chapter of the Society of Professional Journalists.

Broward New Times reporter Bob Norman has the full text of Singer’s call to action on his blog, The Daily Pulp.

A worthy effort. If only we had a Stacy Singer here in Tampa Bay . . .