First of all, thanks to everyone who has written, called and reacted positively on social media about my return to the Daily Reporter. Your messages mean a lot to me, and I’m looking forward to crossing paths with you again.
Two weeks ago, I attended a going-away party for yet another former colleague who is leaving the newspaper business for a job that weighs less on the psyche than working in a newsroom. This phenomenon is not new: I long ago crossed a threshold where more people I have known in journalism work outside a newsroom than still toil within one.
But my friend Maureen Gilmer’s departure from The Indianapolis Star struck a louder chord with me than usual. Part of it was the timing of my own impending return to the Daily Reporter and the ironic intersection of our career paths. But more than anything, Maureen’s move to a writing position with Indiana University Health made me think about the tremendous loss of experience and the brain drain that is gripping newsrooms everywhere. Just this year, two of my closest friends in this business — one of whom spent 29 years at the same newspaper — have departed for communications jobs. One is now thriving at a nonprofit. The other, Noelle Russell, who was editor of the Daily Reporter from 2015 until last spring, has an important job at the Indiana Department of Child Services. The talented editor I replaced, Katie Duffey, who had been at the Daily Reporter only since May, also left, for a communications position at Indiana University Medical School.
All four of these excellent journalists — all departing within six months of each other — left the business on their own terms. They decided in varying degrees that it was time to try something different. I suspect that all of them also grew weary of the doomsday prophesies of our business and the 24/7 attacks on the integrity of news-gathering.
All of this is to say nothing of the loss of thousands of journalism jobs over the past several years due to market forces. A report this summer by the Pew Research Center, analyzing data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics, found that the number of newspaper jobs in the country has dropped by almost half over the past 10 years.
Many of those whose jobs have been eliminated are veteran reporters and editors, experts on the topics they wrote about. With their departures, how are these areas being covered? Many are not being covered as well, if at all. There are fewer full-time reporters, for example, covering the Indiana Statehouse. And although reporters have flocked to Washington, D.C., to cover Donald Trump, the actual number of press credentials issued at the Capitol has dropped 12 percent since 2013-14, according to The Hill.
I don’t point all this out to suggest that the decline of newsroom employment is more serious than, say, the shortage of nurses and teachers. But if there are fewer people acting as watchdogs, it’s harder to hold to account the people who are responsible for addressing the shortage of nurses and teachers.
So, what does this all mean here at home?
As you might guess, I’m rather bullish. The Daily Reporter, which has been buffeted by the same forces as everyone else, is still pointing forward. One reason I wanted to come back is I want the newspaper to be a catalyst for community conversations. We want you to join us as we explore the issues that shape our communities.
We also want you to help us tell your stories. If you’ve been with us the past couple of weeks, you might have read Evan Myers’ story about a Greenfield-Central High School graduate who is doing a stint as a crew member on the USS Constitution. Or you might have read Anne Smith’s story about the closing of a longtime church. Or you might have seen sports editor Brian Heinemann’s excellent profile of the New Palestine High School football team’s offensive line.
Interesting stories. Produced in a newsroom by people who care as much about the community as anyone you’ll meet. They are hard-working people who toil nights and weekends and whose common trait is a sense of curiosity and a desire to lift people up by telling their stories.
So, brain drain aside, talented people are still helping cover these important stories. I take heart in that. I’m excited to be back in my hometown newsroom, where I previously worked 12 years. A lot has changed in our business since I left at the end of 2014, but one thing has not: the dedication of hard-working newsmen and newswomen who, above all, strive to get it right. I’m looking forward to being a part of that again.
Thanks for reading us.
David Hill would like to hear from you about this or any other article in the Daily Reporter. You can write to him at [email protected].
