the state of journalism today

a couple years back, i flew out to syracuse for final round interviews of the newhouse fellowship. all six finalists received full rides to the j-school, but the two fellowship winners would also get their choice of which newhouse paper to be staffed at post-graduation.

the interview ran the weekend. and after the three days, it became starkly clear i was the second best candidate. hemmy, a korean girl from nyc via houston, was the best. funny thing, neither of us was chosen.

not that it mattered to her, since she landed a spot in la times METPRO program -- a year interning as a general assignment reporter at the times followed by a year on staff of another tribune newspaper (the south florida sun-sentinel in her case).

sometime between her time in la and fort lauderdale we drifted apart. the one time we did speak to her during the florida exile, she told me that she hated it there, at least partly because she was doing the long-distance thing with someone back in la. as soon as she finished her second year, she wanted to return to california.

now she's back. only not as a journalist, but as a lawyer at a boutique law firm.

i don't have her cv handy, but here are some of her highlights. undergrad at rice. nyu law school. couple years at a fancy nyc firm. a year at the poughkeepsie journal. a year at the la times. a year at the sun-sentinel. just published an essay in a book of blind-date horror stories. terrific storyteller. conversant in korean.

i often say journalism sucks. i say this because the only jobs within reach for me require a move to some piece of shit, redneck town in the midwest for 18k a year. i'd love work as a full-time journalist. but the love isn't strong enough to make that sacrifice. not when i can do interesting things in sf for a lot more money.

but if she can't get a job back in la, then journalism doesn't just suck -- it's fucked. this is a girl who had the wherewithal to leave a lucrative gig in nyc to move to poughkeepsie so she could make 10% as much and write. and now with three years as a full-time reporter, she can't find a single reporting job in la. as a korean, no less, in a town with a whole bunch of koreans. for any number of publications that are starving for diversity. yes, i know the state of the industry. but driving young talent away certainly won't turn the balance sheets upside-down.

i'm happy she's back in la. it gives me someone to go see a show in la with when i'm down there. and she's got a great job paying good money.

but i'm sad she's not back as a writer.