In their dying industry, how long can journalists stay?

Even if this piece is written almost two months ago, I still find it refreshing and inspiring. Addressing the 2009 UC Berkeley Graduate School of Journalism class last May, San Francisco Chronicle's Barbara Ehrenreich argues why journalists are here to stay. At a time when media and press communities all over the world grapple for survival and relevance, it's an insightful reading for journalists and citizens alike.

Welcome to a dying industry, journalism grads

Barbara Ehrenreich
Sunday, May 31, 2009

The dean gave me some very strict instructions about what to say today. No whining and no crying at the podium. No wringing of hands or gnashing of teeth. Be upbeat, be optimistic, he said - adding that it wouldn't hurt to throw in a few tips about how to apply for food stamps.

So let's get the worst out of the way right up front: You are going to be trying to carve out a career in the worst economic downturn since the Great Depression. You are furthermore going to be trying to do so within what appears to be a dying industry. You have abundant skills and talents - it's just not clear that anyone wants to pay you for them.

Read more here. Hat tip to colleague Alwyn Alburo for this link.

Lest people think otherwise, media's economic woes did not start with the current financial and economic slump. Even before the global economic downturn started last year, the Philippine press has been in dire straits for a long time. A very hot issue in the local community has been the low pay and poor working conditions of journalists.

For the May-June 2008 issue of PJR Reports, we discussed how Filipino journalists continue to suffer from poor wages and benefits, "despite years of campaigning for an improvement of working conditions." With revenues of news organizations continue to decrease not only in the Philippines but elsewhere, the poor situation of Filipino journalists seems to be a problem that will not go away immediately. But if that is the case, how long can journalists stay in the profession?


PJR Reports May-June 2008: "So You Want to Work in The Media"


Click here to download the whole May-June 2008 issue of the PJR Reports.

Wowie Lomibao, a former journalist who currently teaches at St. Scholastica's College, posted the PJR Reports story on her blog and asked her students to comment. See the interesting comments here.