This from a roundtable discussion between David Carr and Andrew Lack, moderated by the dean of Boston University’s College of Communications. Carr said:
The dirty secret: journalism has always been horrible to get in; you always have to eat so much crap to find a place to stand. I waited tables for seven years, did writing on the side. If you’re gonna get a job that’s a little bit of a caper, that isn’t really a job, that under ideal circumstances you get to at least leave the building, find people more interesting than you, learn about something, come back and tell other people about it—that should be hard to get into. No wonder everybody’s lined up, trying to get into it. It beats working.
via Journalism Is Still Serious, Just Different | Bostonia | Boston University.
It’s one of innumerable bits of wit and wisdom from Carr that are now being tweeted and facebooked as our industry mourns. It’s the one that resonates most strongly for me, so I’m posting it here as a personal reminder:
This is not supposed to be an easy place to stand.
Rest In Peace, man.
