WIld and Crazy
I signed up to blog the Politics in Cyberspace conference out of a sense of obligation. To my future. I am not the most technologically literate person, yet I acknowledge that if I want a job in the journalism industry, I need to make friends - best friends - with the Internet.
Tonight’s talk by Politico.com editor Bill Nichols made me rethink my attitude. He said that the benefit of blogs is that the writers don’t report on stories they feel “obligated” to do. They don’t feel a need to record all the important events of the day. But rather, he said, “We feel a great freedom to pick the most interesting and provocative stories.”
I like interesting. I like provocative. Keep talking, Bill…
He spoke of the optimism and sense of adventure surrounding online media. He said Politico.com was “built on the mantra of embracing the future.”
As a journalism student, I constantly hear professors talk about the layoffs and cutbacks at newspapers. My fellow classmates and I joke about how we came to USC Annenberg with high expectations and dreams of the kind of job we wanted when we graduated. And now, we have come to terms with the fact that ANY job offer in journalism would be a blessing.
Listening to online gurus like Nichols, who see the Internet as an exciting escapade and not a last resort, is indeed uplifting. But despite the wild and crazy adventure that is the Internet, there is nothing like seeing your byline in print. Maybe I’ll start printing these postings and leave them outside my door in the morning.
