The End…of an Erica?
Sarah Burris, a very active youth blogger based in Kansas, took my post ‘The Truth, I Need It,” to a new level last night. I received a Tweet that read, “Sarah Burris has responded to your post with…“The End of an Erica.” At first, my stomach dropped. The title seemed dire. Then, upon reading it, I realized this. I, we, are not alone.
And with that, the support for “The Truth” started to pour in. From @EvanSummers, a young political activist wrote: “That seriously is one of the most direct and scathing insight on the state of the industry that I’ve read in a long time. Well done.”
From a web producer and social media guru working inside mainstream media, I got a simple, “F*ck Yeah.”
From a DePaul University (and a Suma Cum Laude in the Journalism school), Molly Horan, I saw that she linked to me and urged her Facebook followers: “YOU NEED TO READ IT.”
But perhaps the best conversation came late last night, from a talented freelancer in Washington, who G chatted me to say she valued the piece. We agreed the conversation was one we “need to have” but that, with the recent loss of Walter Cronkite, we are both reminded that for them, there was at least a path. For us, we are searching for a way forward without much support from those before us.
It reminded me of this. Something Helen told me right before I went to the RNC last August. “This is the most difficult time I have ever seen for a young person to enter the business.”
All I could do was let silence fill the room, and then I asked, “How can that be? Even compared to what you went through?”
“Yes. Even more.”
It is true. We have our challenges ahead of us, but as I told my friend over G Chat, the greater the challenge, the greater the opportunity and reward. So let’s do this and fix this problem together.
While I have had to defend myself on NOT being a journalist (I am a political activist and a civil servant, I am trained to avoid journalist) I do feel the need to ensure your success.
Do I look to you for updates on the current murder rate of Chicago? No.
Do I look to you for insight on the numerical state of the economy? No.
Do I look to you for direct insight on poll numbers? No.
What people like me look for in journalist like you is the straight shooting. I feel you are a liberal but you call out liberal failures quicker than you do the conservative view point. You aren’t a biased pundit, you just have a liberal background.
At this point you are probably upset I grouped you into one of three categories (liberal, conservative, simply crazy) journalist but I feel the need to remind you that liberals are inherently critical of the establishment (for reference, see Jon Stewart as of late). I rely on bloggers like you to “call a spade a spade.” To put it simply, I rely on you to tell me how it is. You don’t have a Rupert Murdoch breathing down your neck (although I’m sure you wish he was writing your check). You are free of the special interest and the lobbyist (of which I am one on the local level).
Beyond my unscrupulous use of parentheses (to simply hide my true beliefs), I/America needs people like you to be the voice of reason.
If you ever, and I mean ever, try to back out of your journalism then you can expect a personal visit from me to have the proverbial “come to Jesus” moment. I cannot imagine my political activism without your political commentary.
Don’t get jaded by the nay-sayers. I trust your reports more than FNC, CNN and MSNBC combined.
eks