Joys and sorrows of journalism

During his brief stay in Uruguay for a convention last year, JB said a fellow participant described NGO workers as overworked, underpaid, and always in a hurry. The guy might as well have been describing journalists.

And as if those aren't enough to make journalists switch professions, there are other disincentives. In places classified by CPJ and RSF as red zones, journalists also have to contend with people who either want to kill them or throw them in jail. Numerous journalists put up with such conditions but they still receive a lot of flak for how they do their job (some of them deserve it though). To say that journalism is a thankless job is an understatement.

My boss, Bryant, found a site addressing this very sentiment among journalists. Knowing just how stressful journalism can be, a site, Angryjournalist.com, has been put up where practitioners can anonymously vent their frustrations on things as common as having to deal with a sloppy editor to more serious matters as reporters losing jobs because of their paper's inability to keep up with competitors from the Internet.

The people who vented there know doing so won't improve their situation one bit but they probably thought it was a good exercise if only for catharsis's sake. It's a group therapy of sorts; a place where journalists can commiserate with colleagues and play a game of reverse one-upmanship. Reading through some of the articles, the prevailing theme seems to be: " You think you're in a bad situation? Well how about this (enter problem here)? Now top that!" Some confessions are good for a few laughs while others are genuinely heartbreaking.

Journalism however is not all gloom and doom. Another site was put, Happyjournalist.com, where practitioners can share things that makes them feel good about their work. Unlike in the other site, some of the contributors here identify themselves. The articles are not as plentiful as the entries in other site though: 1664 to be 51 as of today to be exact. Not very encouraging but at least there still some who find something worthwhile in their job to keep them going.

Like the other site, the source of joy range from simple to profound. Most are happy just to be appreciated for their work. In a profession that regularly deals with big things, its the occasional small compliments, cheers, and thank yous, that may be the most fulfilling.