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:
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.
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.
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.
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 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:
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
