I see on angryjournalist.com an intriguing invitation from University of Kansas assistant professor Scott Reinardy to us journalists who have lost our jobs.
"We want to know how you have adapted in your personal and professional life since leaving he newspaper," Reinardy, a former journalist, says, offering to e-mail a survey he says will take 10 to 15 minutes to complete. It's part of a 5-year study that will follow participants' transitioning into new life.
Reinardy told The Pitch blogger Peter Rugg: "It's what I'm calling the lost generation of journalists," Reinardy said. "With the transition happening in newsrooms, we're going to have a different product on the other end. When you change the dynamics of the newsroom and lose people with vast institutional experience, you change the coverage and the dimension of quality."
Amen. Layoffs have cost U.S. newspapers an incredible amount of institutional knowledge as thousands of mid- to late-career journalists have been jettisoned. These are journalists who have lived through and learned about many years of developments on local, state, national and international levels. They have immediate connection with context that was used in many ways, from planning stories and investigations to strengthening the editing process and knowing simple trivia that, if published incorrectly, makes a paper look stupid as hell and blows a hole in credibility.
I've encountered and heard about the consequences of lack of institutional knowledge, e.g., WBAP referred to as a "Dallas TV station" and far more serious instances so bizarre I can't recall them, try as I may -- stuff like who's dead, who isn't, why/where/when things happened, etc. I just remember shaking my head. If you've run across examples, let me know.
Loss of institutional knowledge is a tragedy for readers -- especially in local coverage -- who stand to get thinner context and shallower coverage, and it's a loss of armor in journalism's credibility.
I may take Reinardy's invitation. He's a fine journalist in his own right, and he's part of KU's outstanding j-school. That adds up to a pile of credibility. If you're interested in responding to Reinardy, you can e-mail him.
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