When Joe Grimm leaves the Detroit Free Press today, he will take away far more than whatever he’s accumulated in his office over the years. So will thousands of other journalists who are leaving newsrooms this year.
They take away experience, community contacts and a sense of place. But most of all, they take away a passion for journalism and a commitment to news that serves individual communities and democracy at large.
Like Joe, we’re all trying to find a way to keep those journalists in journalism. Poynter wants to help. We’ve already enlisted Joe to join a Poynter initiative we’re calling Standing Up for Journalists. We need your help, too.
The idea, in brief, is to get displaced journalists — as well as business-side colleagues — some of the career advice, coaching on craft and values, and hands-on training they need to forge a future in journalism.
Poynter may seek foundation funding to expand the effort, depending on demand.
But first, we need to get a clearer picture of what people need.
So if you’ve left a journalism-related job in the last couple of years — or face a layoff or buyout in the near future — please click on coaching@poynter.org and provide us with as much of the following as possible.
- Name:
- Preferred e-mail address:
- Telephone:
- Your most recent employer:
- Circumstances of your departure:
- Date of your departure (or expected date):
- How you’d like to remain connected to journalism:
- What skills you need to learn:
- What career help you need:
- Suggestions for what Poynter might provide:
We look forward to standing with you through these challenging times.
