I had the privilege Tuesday afternoon to be the keynote speaker at the Minnesota High School Press Assocation convention, which included about 500 students, many of whom are considering a career in journalism. I thought I’d share with you the transcript from my speech:
Show of hands. How many of you are here today because you’re considering a career in journalism? How many of you are here just so you could skip a day of school? I see a lot of teachers raised their hands.
I want to start off by telling you a heartwarming story about how I almost gave my father a heart attack.
I was a senior in high school when I sat my parents down and told them that I wanted to be a journalist. I was grounded for five months. Seriously, my parents have been very supportive over the years, but at the time, I could appreciate their nervousness.
My father was an immigrant from India who came to this country so his children could strike it rich. Working at a newspaper did not seem to be the most efficient way to get that done. I’m sure the old man was worried that I’d be living in his basement for the next 30 years.
If my parents were worried, I’m sure yours are petrified. You’ve all heard the predictions: The nightly news on TV will be replaced by reruns of “According to Jim.” Magazines will only be dedicated to the trials and tribulations of Lindsay Lohan. Newspapers will go the way of the Tyronasaurus Rex. Noone on Earth will ever, ever read again.
Well, I’ve got a message for your parents: Relax. You’re going to be OK. More people are reading and watching news than ever before. The problem - and it’s a short-term one - is that everyone is getting it for free. The CBS Evening News is struggling in the ratings even though Katie Couric’s interviews with Sarah Palin are You Tube blockbusters. Yes, circulation at the Star Tribune is down, but only in newspaper form. Over on the internet, we’re hotter that funnyordie.com. We just have to figure out an economic model that assures that consumers get all the news they want and that, at the same time, guys like me don’t starve.
That’ll happen. What startles me is that a lot of professors, economic experts and professional journalists don’t seem to agree. They continue to tell you to embark on safer careers like accounting or lion taming. Well I have a message for them too, and it’s a little bit blunter than the one to your parents: Shut the hell up.
Discouraging the next generation from following their dreams, their desire, their passion,s should be as sinful as plagarism. It’s like telling you not to get on the coolest roller coaster at Disneyworld because there’s a chance you might fall out of the car on the third loop or saying you can’t have chocolate cake for dessert because you’ll automatically end up looking like Peter Griffin. (Family Guy reference) If journalism thrills you, I beg of you. Don’t listen to cynics.
If you do, you’ll end up missing the ride of your life.
I’m not saying you won’t have some tough times. A couple of years ago, I took some high school students to visit Brian WIlliams at his news studio in New York and he told them about his rough patches, that included sleeping in his car. When I was in college, I spent a summer clerking at the Chicago Tribune. This was before e-mails - the Prehistoric era - and much of my time was spent opening mail for editors and delivering something called faxes, which you may have read about in history books. It was pretty basic stuff, but I was thrilled. I was also close to broke. I had just enough money for my greatest necessity: beer. I would figure out which downtown bars were serving what food during happy hour every day of the week, like, say Taco Night at Mother’s, and I would nurse the cheapest bottle they had, and gorge on the free grub. That was dinner for three months. When I took my real professional job in Rockford, Ill. as a regional reporter, I was making $24,000, which was pretty good back in 1991. The people starting off in TV in Rockford weren’t as lucky. A lot of them made under $20,000 a year and had to buy there own on-air wardrobes. You know what? We survived - and we still had enough cash for beer.
Any career worth having will present obstacles - but I wouldn’t trade those experiences for the world.
I’ve gotten to a place now where I get to dig into juicy stories and meet some fascinating people. I’ve hung out backstage with Bruce Springsteen, gotten a tour of Hannah Montana’s dressing room from the teen queen herself, interviewed Jimmy Kimmel on the floor of his office, visited Sharon Stone in her house, danced alongside MC Hammer while Vanilla Ice performed a karoake version of “Ice, Ice Baby.”
But it’s those early stories, those early experiences that shaped me and, believe it or not, they were just as exciting as any of my more star-studded assignments.
It started in high school. I was blessed to have an outstanding adviser at Mason City High School in Iowa by the name of Paul Peterson. He now teaches at the North Iowa Area Community College and has inspired more than a few young people to follow their journalism dreams. He stood by us when we wrote critical stories about administrators and dared to take on provacative issues. I know not all schools are lucky enough to have that kind of leadership and that kind of freedom. I understand that. But I also understand how important all you teachers out there can be. I’m well aware that you have one of the toughest, most frustrating, most underappreciated jobs out there. This may be small consolation, but if it means anything, I wouldn’t be here today without the teachers of Mason City High School, especially Paul Peterson. I hope that means something to all of you and I hope it means something to your students too, if not today, then down the line. You can and do make a difference.
It’s one of the reasons I co-founded J Camp and I want to tell you a little about the program before we dive into Q&A. I’ve left quite a bit of time, because I think, for young journalists, there’s nothing more valuable than asking questions, so I hope there will be lot of hands up. But first, J Camp.
We scour the country every year to find the 42 most outstanding teenagers in the country who have a high interest in journalism. We don’t take current seniors, because we want our graduates to be able to come back to their schools and spread the lessons they’ve learned to their classmates and teachers. It’s an aggressive application process, but if you’re selected, you’ll travel to one of the country’s greatest cities. In 2009, we’ll be in Boston and Los Angeles the year after that. If you’re selected, you’ll go through four full days of intense, eye-opening experiences designed to not only improve your journalism skills, but your networking skills as well. Our volunteer staff are all professional journalists from such esteemed companies as the Washington Post, CNN and, yes, The Star Tribune. You meet some of the industry’s most impressive leaders like New York Times publisher Arthur Sulzberger Jr., CNN’s Soledad O’Brien, “All the President’s Men” co-author Carl Bernstein, The Today show’s Hoda Kotb, Rolling Stone’s Toure and the late, great Ed Bradley. And here’s the best part: Everyone attends absolutely free. We cover room, board, travel expenses, everything. It’s our way of giving back and prepping the next generation. That’s my contribution. Yours is to apply and to spread the word. Applications for next summer will be available starting in early January. You can download them and read more about the program at aaja.org. I look forward to being wowed by your applications just as I look forward to your questions right now.
njustin@startribune.com • 612-673-7431
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