Janet's Call to (written) Action

“Newspapers’ Worsening Woes.” “Twelve Major Media Brands Likely to Close in 2009.” Recent headlines make it clear that newspapers have gone by the wayside, leaving towns and cities across the country without. No more than five years ago, my college professors protested and agonized that “One Paper Towns” were on the rise. Now, mid-size cities such as Seattle and Tucson don’t even have a daily paper.

Perhaps more worrisome to me are headlines such as “Many would Shrug if Local Paper Closed.” Do people just not care about the news any more? Are they just too lazy to read their news?

Occasionally I wonder if my journalism degree is obsolete. I specialized in News Writing and Editing (i.e. newspaper writing) and earned my degree just over three years ago. Granted, the news media has changed dramatically since 2006, and my professors did put forth due effort to make sure we were trained and prepared for today’s media world. But I feel unprepared, in many ways, to take the dive into the new media world.

While the skills I learned in journalism school might need some updating, the passion I felt while earning that degree (and still feel) keeps me believing in the importance of news. Even though its outlets have changed in many ways that many of us never would have imagined, it is still an essential piece of democracy. Without the news, the way our country works would be very different.

One of the most inspiring quotes I choose to live by is one by Thomas Jefferson: “Were it left to me to decide whether we should have a government without newspapers, or newspapers without a government, I should not hesitate a moment to prefer the latter.” This quote drives me in my daily work and life. This may seem ironic given my current work circumstances. I detoured from the assumed path of one with a journalism degree, and I now work as a teacher in Glendale, Arizona. I am one of the several thousand Teach For America alumni still working in the classroom. While I love my job, but I still feel a constant itch, so to speak, to write. I want to help others get the unbiased information they need to function as knowledgeable citizens. I’m hoping that this blog helps to serve that purpose (albeit, in a very small way).

I don’t expect anything grandiose from this blog. This is rather a personal endeavor that I think will give me a chance to write about topics I deem important and moving. Some may find the topics equally meaningful and thought provoking, maybe even enough so that they take action.

Starting this blog is exciting to me; however, I approach it with caution. Writing anything, especially something like this, is a drawn out process that I take very seriously. When artists of any sort create something, they are putting themselves out to all of the critics of the world. I feel the same way when I write. However, no matter how intimidating it can be to put your work up for others to criticize, it is an essential process. My fear in this is that I don’t have an editor. I am the only one responsible for these words, whereas in the past, I published after several people surveyed, opined over, and edited my work. With this, I will just have to let go and hope for the best.