The Forum (Volume 25) (Paperback)

This historic book may have numerous typos and missing text. Purchasers can download a free scanned copy of the original book (without typos) from the publisher. Not indexed. Not illustrated. 1898. Excerpt: ... JOURNALISM AS A PROFESSION. Is journalism, i.e., the work of collecting news, writing editorials, and furnishing correspondence for daily newspapers, worthy the serious attention of educated young men seeking a permanent occupation that will yield an income sufficient for present needs and the necessary provision for old age? Men of long experience say authoritatively that it is not; and I am able to produce trustworthy data to support this assertion. Regarding the matter from a practical point of view, what is the financial prospect confronting a young man who has chosen newspaper writing for his occupation? What has he to sell, after having acquired the technical training in a newspaper office without which he cannot hope to reach any satisfactory standard of success? He has labor, experience, and ability. These are his stock in trade. What of the market in which to offer them? What is its size, and what are its circumstances and conditions? There are in the United States about 2,200 daily newspapers. Of this number some 2,000 are published in the smaller cities and in towns; and the writing for the great majority of them is done by their owners, sometimes aided by bright boys and young men who are paid a small weekly salary. These papers are the primary schools from which come many of the capable workers of the great dailies; but they are not consumers of the work of professional journalists, and, therefore, may be properly excluded from consideration here. In cities of less than 100,000 population the pay of reporters ranges from $5 to 820 a week, according to individual experience and ability. Editorial salaries rarely exceed $30 a week; and usually the editor has exacting managerial duties to perform in addition to his daily labor of reflecting the ...