We Are Journalists
A St. Petersburg Times reporter has riffed on the “We are the 99 Percent” Tumblr and created a Tumblr where journalists can tell their stories. “We are journalists. We are proud of what we do,” writes Emily Nipps. “We are tired of bad press about the press … We are terrified of more layoffs and paycuts. We would like to produce quality work without ‘obamasux99’ posting some non-sequitur rant at the end of it. We complain because we want things to be better.” The first several posts are from St. Pete Times journalists, although Nipps tells me it’s “for all journalists to feel like it’s theirs to use and somewhat anonymous, much like the ‘We Are The 99 Percent’ blog.”Some of the journalists’ stories:
- “I get voicemails that are equal parts insulting and congratulatory. Both make me want to write more. … I’ve been trying to post this entry for five days now, but haven’t because my phone keeps ringing.”
- “My father worked at a newspaper. He was a blue collar guy who worked graveyard shifts. It made him proud when he showed off my first byline to his friends in the press room.”
- “I respond calmly and politely to people who question my ethics and skills. I still thank them for reading my newspaper and website when they’re through, because I know fewer of them means fewer of us. … I go to neighborhoods I wouldn’t otherwise go to, and speak to strangers I wouldn’t otherwise speak to because I wear the invincibility cloak we all must believe we possess.”
- “I eat vending machine fruit snacks for dinner and get texts that ask, “When r u coming home?” I bite my nails. I’m actively terrified of the bad things that happen in my stories. I’m more afraid of making a mistake. Because people trust me with things they’ve never told anyone else. Don’t call me ‘the Media.’ “
- “I’ve run through a hostage standoff, stood at a burning house swarmed with bees, watched someone die. I’ve met celebrities and a baby cheetah (cheetah was cooler). I scaled a heavy truck in heels to interview a guy in a Speedo. It all trickles into the novels I tap-tap-tap at night. I get to do things. I get to go outside. I write, and people read it.”
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