When I was asked to give a keynote talk to more than 100 high schoolers attending a recent journalism summer camp, the director requested that I avoid dwelling on the gloom and doom in the industry.
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Past speakers had mentioned “no money” and called journalism a “sad industry” in their remarks, which isn’t the message the Media Now camp at Drake University tries to give aspiring young journalists.
Most working journalists are painfully aware of the lack of money and stability in our profession. There’s also the ongoing proliferation of misinformation and deliberate disinformation -- along with the looming threat of AI stealing our work. Most people like to stay in their information bubbles, which confirm what they already believe.
Plus, everyone hates “the media.”
I’m a part of “the media,” and I often rail against the problems I see in news coverage. But I also know how most good-faith journalists operate: They seek out compelling information, do their best to verify it and share it with others.
I’ve talked to colleagues who will privately admit that they find it difficult to rally young people to jump aboard an industry fighting for its life. But even though I recognize the news media’s significant challenges and failures, I love helping people work on their writing. Any career path -- from scientist to entrepreneur -- benefits from good writing skills. I told the campers about my unexpected path to the newsroom and encouraged them to be open to adventure and taking some risks.
Looking back, I wish I had shared a more important message. Even for the students who may never step foot in a newsroom or publish a single story, learning how the work happens -- fact-finding, researching, interviewing, verifying and writing -- is more vital than ever in this media landscape.
Many adults cannot distinguish between real and fake information online. The altered images, conspiracies and alternative facts have gotten much harder to spot.
When my small group of students was working on a design for our class flag, I shared a favorite quote that's often attributed to Nathaniel Hawthorne: "Easy reading is damned hard writing." It was painted on a pillar I sat near in the old Post-Dispatch’s fifth floor. When I would get stuck while writing, I would look up at it. It felt like Hawthorne was speaking directly to me.
One of the students asked if we could put the quote on our flag, but I was worried that the camp directors might frown upon us flying a flag with a curse word painted on it.
The students ended up painting a quill instead. Interesting that they chose a writing relic from the past.
During the four-day camp, the students in our writing class worked on two stories. From interviewing to workshopping their first drafts to polishing their revisions, I saw their work improve.
It’s been a while since I spent so much time in the company of so many high schoolers. It has a way of making you feel young and old at the same time. I overheard a colleague make a reference to Lassie; none of the students had any idea who or what a "Lassie" was.
My colleague described it as a helpful dog on TV.
The student said, “Like 'Blue's Clues'?”
Obviously, different generations have different cultural markers. I didn’t realize ours had faded so far into oblivion.
During one class, I mentioned that newspaper journalists think about the length of their stories in inches rather than word count. A student asked why. "How many of you have ever seen an actual printed newspaper?" I asked. Every student raised their hand, which was more than I expected. I told them about column inches.
That may be as relevant to their future careers as a quill.
The tools may change, but the quest for truth and good storytelling lives on. I'm glad that there are young people still willing to join it.