On Sunday afternoon inside the press box at the Legg Mason Tennis Classic, I had the distinct pleasure of getting a chance to talk to a young woman who will probably enjoy a bright future in sports writing.
I'm talking about an intern at the Washington Post, and after speaking with her for a few minutes, it was hard not to come away impressed. She clearly was on the ball, especially after spending most of the week out at the tournament.
In a way, meeting her was a lot like meeting John Isner. After talking with her for a little while it was hard not to root for her.
Then again, as she said her goodbyes and headed out after the Final, I had to wonder: Just what sort of future is there in the world for a full-time newspaper reporter?
I don't think it's an idle question. The newspaper business, though it is trying gamely to adjust to the new realities of online distribution, is still clearly struggling. But while adjusting to a tectonic shift in information technology is one thing, dealing with tens of thousands of new competitors that have collectively blown a hole in your business model is quite another.
Our local newspaper, the Washington Post, is an object lesson in just how difficult things are these days, and look to be for the forseeable future.
A couple of weeks ago in Anaheim, I gave a presentation on the rise of blogging for an audience of nuclear energy industry professionals. And the one quote I used to demonstrate what's going on in the newspaper business was one from Donald Graham, the Post's CEO:
If a shareholder in this company should want to know what our newspaper and Web site will be earning 5 or 10 years from now, I simply have no way to tell you.
Now, I completely understand that the only thing that's certain in life is uncertainty, but if that's the situation at the Washington Post what must business be like at some of the smaller newspapers around North America?
As we can all easily surmise, shrinking revenues -- and the most recent reports from the Post indicate that shrinking is continuing apace -- create downward pressure on salaries for reporters. It also means that if you do manage to get a job, you'll be asked to do far more than your counterparts in the past.
Just check out what the full-time folks at the Post do now. They report. Many of them blog, or at least have to participate regularly in online chats. Then there's appearances on Washington Post Radio, and don't forget Washington Post Live on Comcast Sports Net.
Life isn't terribly different for other media either. My old podcasting partner, Joe Tasca, has told me that life in radio isn't much better, with experienced hands being replaced by part-time help straight out of college -- part-time help that doesn't qualify for regular benefits like a health/dental plan or a 401k.
So as much as I might enjoy where all this has taken me, don't think for a second that I'm not grateful for having less skin in the game than folks who have dedicated their lives to the newspaper business.
For them, I just don't know where all of this will lead. Then again, neither does Donald Graham.
