Lately I've become a big fan of a journalist who works on Daily Kos called "Rbguy." He writes a diary tracking what Congress is doing on the Middle East.
Rbguy interests me because when I'm at dinner parties with other print journalists of yesteryear I hear a constant lament about the decline of the great newspapers, the bulwark of our democracy. One article of faith among my friends is that newspapers covered the inner workings of government with perspicuity and breadth. We're losing that.
Well maybe we're not losing that, I say: Rbguy is doing some of that work.
I got curious about the conditions of Rbguy's employment. So I wrote him to ask whether he thinks the internet is destroying the bulwark of democracy. "And how do you support yourself, if you don't mind my asking?"
Rbguy's real name is Rob Browne. He is 41 and lives on Long Island. He wrote back:
It's an interesting question you pose. I sort of feel as baffled as Danny Aiello's character in Moonstruck when Olympia Dukakis asks him why do men cheat on their wives. I have a feeling my answer will be as cloudy as his.
With respect to the NY Times, I believe that they, like many
institutions, established a reputation and coasted on that for many
years. The events of the last eight years revealed that many of these
institutions, like the NY Times, were not as noble and accomplished, as
they were thought to have been. That is not to say that there are not
good writers or good stories found there. It's just not a guarantee
that every writer and every article is at the highest level.
I feel that the Internet is not destroying the great newspapers.
In my opinion, they are a great complement. For example, a person like
you reads, or is referred, an interesting article and you then
review, (possibly) research, summarize, make commentary from, and
provide a link to it. Conversely, a writer from a traditional
newspaper can get great leads and information from people writing on
the internet.
If people and corporations would learn to put aside their egos,
and adapt to new styles instead of trying to force people and things
into their traditional roles, maybe things would be different for the
traditional newspaper.
How do I support
myself? I am a dentist by trade. I tried the traditional private
practice route, but that did not work out for me. Business is not my
strong suit. I have taught at several dental schools, and worked in
public health centers. For the last several years, I have done
geriatric dentistry at a non-profit institution. So, you can filter my
answer above through the lens of a true lay-person.
I wrote back to Browne: Here's my take on what you're saying. My interpretation purely. There were 2 large inefficiencies in newspaper reporting in the last 8 years, especially if you're focused on Mid East. 1, they gave us the Iraq war thru false information, because they were establishment organs that lacked distance from stupid/manipulative policymakers. The internet wouldn't have been as easily contaminated by that bad info. It would have been sorted out. The MSM reflected the establishment fawningly.
2, The internet has shown that the tools of being a journalist are actually widely shared. That is to say, I used to make a lot of money in good measure because I met a lot of other elite journalists at Harvard and we helped each other into a guild in NY. That model is over. Now: if you're intelligent, you can be a journalist.
And thanks to the internet, the modern printing press, it turns out that Lots of people can write and observe. Many learned to write by doing emails. Many of these new journalists are just as smart and even more steeped in their material than the last model.
Both 1 and 2 add up to: Information is just too important to be commercialized.
So:
Who will pay for this new journalism?
Well: one way it will be paid for is on a voluntary basis. Journalism is too important to be trusted to suckup establishment types and corporate hacks. You subsidize your journalism by working as a dentist. You love doing journalism. You don't expect to get the $20,000 a piece I used to get thanks to corporate advertising. You'll do it for the importance of citizenship, participation, leftwing movement, changing ME policy, etc. You would have kept us out of Iraq, and done it for free! Though I hope you're getting some payment for your diaries…
Bottom line:
The internet may be monetized. And gosh I hope it is. So I can finally get paid. But maybe journalists will have to support their free expression by doing skilled work of another sort on the side. Go to dental school, and grow up with the country…
Browne wrote back to say that he basically agreed with me (surprise) but was flattered to be called a journalist. He told me that he had lately gone to a conference of Jews for Racial & Economic Justice (JFREJ) and they had described his work as community organizing. He chose to see his work as a mix of journalism and community organizing.
Then he offered the following information about his methods:
I have not attended any of the hearings.
I have received the information by viewing the House and Senate
websites, as well as getting information by being on e-mail lists of
individual Congressional members.
I said, Browne, you've always been politically active, right? And he wrote:
I became politically active after I went off to college (Univer.
Of Pennsylvania), in the mid-80's. It started with South African
Apartheid and the Reagan involvement in Central America. I did,
however, stay clear of the I/P issues during the first Intifada.
I got more involved during the lead-up to the first Gulf War.
Then, I kind of laid low during the Clinton years. I guess I made many
assumptions about our policies and thought things, domestically and
internationally, were moving in a positive directions.
The start of the second Intifada reawakened my activism. Although
it was not in the form it is today. At that time, I was rediscovering
my Judaism and more involved in traditional synagogue and Zionist
communities. The information I was given was very straightforward and
compelling. It also provided me with answers that made it easier for
me to be a valued member of these groups.
Over the next several years, however, as the Intifada continued,
the War In Iraq began, and the actions of Globalization intensified, I
started to find information that challenged the items I had been given
in the traditional secular and Jewish medias. The death, destruction,
oppression, and hopelessness led me to move away from those secular and
Jewish groups I had been associated with. My faith in God
didn't lessen, just my faith in those people and groups that seek to
maintain their elevated position in this world.
Through Rabbis, such as Arthur Waskow of the Shalom Center and
Arik Asherman of Rabbis For Human Rights, and Jewish groups such as
JFREJ, Jewish Voice for Peace, and Brit Tzedek v'Shalom, I realized
that I could keep my faith in God, interpret the teaching of God in a
progressive way, and put those teachings into action in order to make
this a better world. I will say that it can be difficult to be in that
kind of position. My faith is a bit of a turnoff to more secular
people, and my progressive beliefs (especially regarding the Middle
East) is a turnoff to the more religious people I know.
Since I am in this possibly unique personal position, I try to
find ways to get problems solved and avoid arguments. That is why I
have focused on the Congressional issues, regarding the I/P conflict.
I am trying to put out information for people to review and put into
action, if they are so interested. I hope that people of secular
and/or religious faith, who are trying to create a better world can
come together, influence the people in power and move them in a more
tolerant and just direction.
One last thing, I have made $0.00 as a journalist. Although, I do
believe I made a few dollars as a kid reporting Little League box
scores for my local weekly newspaper.
What an ending. It goes without saying that Browne is helping to elaborate the new vocation of journalist on the internet. I'm going to watch him closely. And hope that he gets remunerated. (And me too).
I also think that Browne's sense of vocation is religious. It's about pure service to his fellow man. It makes me, as a Jew who doesn't like communal Jewish life these days, deeply proud. Face it, my people have lately offered not that many stellar examples of humility in public life. And yes, I know, the whole culture's screwed up. Still, Browne reminds me that the tradition of altruistic hard work is alive in Jewish life, and the life of my country. Amen.
Related posts:
{ 12 comments }
At least Brwonie got you o stop saying "inshallah"! Now maybe you two can wander into a pizzeria somewhere and blow yourselves up.
The same thing is happening in music. There is not much money to be made these days.
Newspapers, like every other industry in the US, has let down its clients. Reporting on Iraq is one area, certainly, but every big issue was misrepresented and then endorsed by the monopoly editorial board of most city newspapers. Most could be considered conservative, and most endorsed W. Bush in 2000. Like Detroit, the banks and Wall St., the newspaper business, and journalism in general, has failed to supply what the market wanted/needed because it had too much monopoly power and thought it could dictate terms of its content with its clients. That is how the US economy has been operating for some time. Markets are failing because people are choosing alternatives, or waiting for alternatives, so they can stop being captive market clients, whose participation makes them victims.
What a pair of jokers. The Internet is far easier to corrupt than Newspapers. Look at Weiss – a case in point.
Newspapers were never anything but advertisement for something, whether it be someone's political views or a pair of socks.
In talking about the new media, don't overlook Judge Posner's incisive analysis, in which he suggested that, in the olden days, in two-newspaper towns, one would be conservative, the other liberal, and each would try to outdo the other in appealing to the center. Now in the brave new world, economic conditions are such that any number of "newspapers" or their equivalent can join the fray, and, if you're, say, the Rush Limbaugh version, you can lock up the ditto-head sector, by playing to their prejudices. So we end up with many flavors, each of which is pursuing a narrower public. We used to have to suck through a straw to get our news, now we are sprayed by a firehose. http://query.nytimes.com/search/article-printpage.html?_r=1&res=9407E2DB153CF932A05754C0A9639C8B63
I think only journalists are deeply concerned about the economic impact, after all, the rest of us get the firehose for free.
In the days of our founders, the firebrand revolutionaries who created America, were, for a certain part of the day, a "nation of shopkeepers." Jefferson had a nail factory, in addition to his plantation, law and architecture practices. Adams his farm and law practice. Franklin his Poor Richard's Almanac, plus inventor of stoves and electricity. Washington was a surveyor, in addition to planter and soldier.
So the marketplace of ideas is being re-possessed by ordinary Americans, and not a second too soon.
Why, our time could see a resurgence of the Renaissance, if the Dark Ages don't get us first.
He has very few comments – probably has about 15-20 readers top.
Sad…
Considering hard hitting articles like "OMG kittens with Obama – cuteness overload!!!!!11!!!111" are the staple of DailyK.
No dissent is tolerated on DK, it is full of true believers. Obama could nuke Palestine and DK would "rah rah" for Obama all the harder.
Anyway, he has 21 readers now – subscribed.
Does anyone remember the NYT's shameful role in the railroading of Wen Ho Lee? The NYT's 'slide in integrity' most definitely predates the Bush 43 era.
The internet may be monetized. And gosh I hope it is. So I can finally get paid….
–forget it.
Thank you Phil for bringing this one diarists story up. I have been reading many comments about current events over the past few years. What has struck me is the incredible level of talent out there. It really is interesting to see that one of those voices is 'just' a dentist. I have speculated on the backgrounds of where those voices are coming from — so often they describe what I have been thinking, but they express themselves so much better. Phil, you to, with your writing makes it clear to me the difference a good writer can make in advancing a rational US goal in the IP debate.
It's great to see the news decentralize. Everyone has something to offer, everyone has their own perspective. Different minds notice different things. The internet allows everyone to fit their information together like a jigsaw puzzle.
Re: comments at Kos on the I/P issue – they are almost all self-referential now (meaning they've weeded out any discussion of substance). They mention how the I/P posters got all stirred up without noting why on earth anyone might feel passionate on the subject.
I enjoyed your profile on Rbguy; he is definitely adding more light than heat, but I consider Kos a lost cause. In the past, the comments could be as informative as the diaries/submissions themselves, but now it is like a ghost town. Their moderation is nothing but gatekeeping.
Dear Philip: I would like to speak with you at a convenient time. I work as a Producer with a PBS program Religion & Ethics NewsWeekly and I am researching a piece on "American Jews & Israel." Let me know how I can reach you. Thanks again, Susan Goldstein 202-216-2393 http://www.pbs.org/religion
Comments on this entry are closed.