Journos as Ski Patrol
Journalism is like skiing in the 50s or 60s. Previously it had been a sport that very few people enjoyed, and they were all very good. But now the doors are opening to amateurs.
The pros have to share the slopes with people who don't take the sport as seriously as they do.
They're still going to be able to ski, but the rest of us are not just going to admire them for how skilled they are, we're going to do it too.
They can earn a living as ski patrol and ski instructors. Or lift operators or more mundane jobs like people who work in hotels and drive the shuttle bus.
There are still jobs in skiing after the arrival of the amateurs. But the exclusivity is gone.
1 comment
I see their contribution as something positive, not a spoiler. I don't think professional journalists need to feel threatened by their arrival. Their club may not be as exclusive as it once and old-schoolers will find it uncomfortable having to share the ski slopes with the "amateurs" but the good pros will still be admired as exactly that, while the not-so-good pros will have to watch their performance as amateurs will get better and better as time goes by. Is that a bad thing? Not if the overall quality of journalism goes up. It may not operate on the same model as before, but who said change is bad? Journalism is fast changing; if journalists can't or won't change with the times, it may well die.
For me the question is: which is more important – saving traditional skiers by keeping the "amaeturs" out, or saving skiing as a sport by embracing the positive aspects "amateurs" can bring into it?
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