A brush with journalism

Last week, I interviewed for a staff writer position at the Greenville (Ohio) Daily Advocate, a small community paper located in west-central Ohio. Unfortunately, I did not get the job because my availability did not match what they needed right now, but the whole experience has me thinking about journalism.

After interviewing for the position, I had the opportunity to do some thinking about the kind of journalist I could envision myself being, and one of the conclusions that I reached was that the only kind of journalism I could do as a career is that of an independent journalist. In fact, I came to realize that independence is, perhaps, the defining trait for what I consider to be great journalism, and it is a clear lack of independence on the part of most journalists that makes me so down on the journalistic profession.

This idea of independence is something to ponder. I wonder what modern journalism would look like if there was more of it.