The Writing Life

I first came across this on a blog about the newspaper industry I somewhat follow. The discussion is about an article that contends that journalists are overpaid.

Everywhere, journalists are struggling to keep up with workloads while also trying to provide excellent reporting. Why?

Because the larger newspaper companies, in debt up to their eyeballs, have absolutely gutted their newsrooms of reporters...and then like idiots, sit around wondering where the readers went.

Despite this, anyone who woul dconted that journalists are overpaid is doing several things wrong:

• I would doubt they've recently spent time in a small to mid-sized newsroom.
• I would doubt that they've stopped to consider the thousands upon thousands of small papers - weeklies and small dailies.
• And I think there are some who would like to see papers fail in preference for bloggers who may "cover" something without training, without a real understanding of the beat they are covering, and with pre-conceived prejudices and notions.

But the larger problem is this. Those covering the newspaper industry have completely forgotten that there are thousands upon thousands of small town newspapers - daily and weekly - that are working hard, serving readers and advertisers, and frankly, being quite successful.

Posted by ecmorgan at 07:43 PM | Permalink | Comments (13) | TrackBacks (0)

Posted by ecmorgan at 08:52 PM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

A heated discussion took place recently on another site I belong to, one dedicated to crime and mystery fiction writing.

The original post was a review of CJ Box's BLUE HEAVEN which won the coveted Edgar award. I've not read the novel yet, but I've purchased it and will likely start on it this weekend.

What was interesting to me was not the discussion of the novel, but how the discussion of a novel turned into a discussion of police brutality and abuse, and whether or not, generally speaking, cops are "good" people.

Opinions on the subject aside, I think it is interesting the views of people and I wonder what influence repeated stories have on people's perceptions of law enforcement and other professions. Admittedly, some departments seem particularly prone to appearing on national television beating the hell out of someone. But equally so, we don't see them doing the day in and day out job professionally and well.

So, I wonder. Does a novel/move like LA Confidential, or BLUE HEAVEN or the variety of other shows that have had corrupt law enforcement officials, really impact the public's perception of that profession? Is the same true of politicians, priests, teachers and other professions that have certainly had their challenges?

Is the public gullible enough to believe fiction? Does fiction reflect what's really going on in society?

Just some things to ponder.

Posted by ecmorgan at 05:24 PM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

Been a while since I blogged.

Some folks may remember my old writing blog from blogger, and this will continue that trend. I hope you enjoy, and I hope you comment.

Posted by ecmorgan at 08:09 PM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)