Greetings to all you journalists and wannabe journalists. And hi to the rest of you who couldn't care less about the profession of journalism. You're all welcome here to discuss the inner workings of journalism - and whatever else takes my interest! (Hint: This implies there will be no mention of sports or religion.)
My first musing for this blog is how crazy journos are to work for free. The way I see it, by working for free to build up your portfolio, you're really degrading the value of all journalists. If lots of people will write for free, it makes it near impossible to make a living. I can understand the newbie's viewpoint that to break into the industry it is a necessary evil (and I have done 'internship' work myself). But when you become a bit more experienced you realise the implications. If we, as an industry, begin to value the work we do, only then will others respect the profession.
Would a graduate accountant/economist/scientist work for free? I doubt it.
So what do you think?
