Frederick Cole, 83, is old school. A self-educated, retired, newspaper editor who began his career as a copy boy at the age of 16, Cole has a critical viewpoint of the new era of journalism. When Cole first began working, “The newsroom was the education.” The philosophy was that there is more to learning than taking courses. The new era of media is drowning in semantics; the rise of college education, technology and specialization has created an environment where the medium (newspaper) matters more than the media (the article).
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The complaint is basically that modern journalist are herd reporters who are not well versed enough in subject matter. “There is more to this business than fires and murders… We want young reporters who have enough imagination to go after stories that are not usually done,” says Cole.
His solution is a simple dose of tough love. “What we need to do is candidly appraise the weakness of today’s journalism education.” It is true that “editor and educators have a common objective: to strive for optimum quality in our work,” but it is as if we are afraid to criticize emerging journalism into improving their work. People study other subjects then later become journalist, as though the writing itself is of lesser importance.
Journalist need to remember that “readers pay for a professionally done product.” Cole’s advice is to keep it simple and be direct with facts, keep in mind people need to be able to read your work. “Journalism requires a mental discipline and a curiosity, and above all a willingness to work hard day and night.”
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