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I am a young print journalist in the San Francisco Bay Area. I don't want to leave the region. I have friends here, a community and a lifestyle I really enjoy. I also don't want to leave the field. But, watching what's been going on here lately, I don't understand how I -- or anyone smart but not backed by a trust fund -- can stay in print reporting. Since I care about the business, I have become very frustrated.

One company now owns nearly every daily in the region, and that company just busted the union. Granted, the union only managed to guarantee a $35,000-plus annual pay for its employees, but it is still troubling. That pay, incidentally, seems to be becoming the industry norm around here, between the consolidation at MediaNews' new papers and the layoffs at the San Francisco Chronicle, which pays more but keeps losing staggering amounts of money -- hardly a sustainable model.

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You cannot live independently on this type of wage here. Forget buying a condo or house: If you have student loans, you cannot even rent your own apartment on this pay. I understand that I did not enter this industry to be rich, but I'd at least like to be stable. I'm strongly considering other work at this point.

Further, as I've gotten older I've become increasingly concerned that this wage is hurting our local papers because few people older than 35 can seriously consider staying on the job. I have watched over the years many of the best young journalists get snapped up by niche publications in business or law, or change careers (law, again) or leave the area.

The owners of the local papers are doing quite well, but the wealth does not trickle down to the reporting staff, and I'm angry. We're supposed to be a serious metro area, but how can we ever shed this reputation as a sub-par newspaper region if we are consistently staffed by 20-somethings who leave just when they get good? It's like we're in a much more rural area than we are -- although, to be frank, I think those areas should pay better too.

Whenever I go to journalism seminars, young people raise this issue, and it is pooh-poohed by elders in the field with the "you don't go into journalism to be rich" comment. But I really believe that people aren't considering that journalism quality suffers when you can only keep people with no other options or a benefactor. Public schoolteachers strike over pay and benefits that are far better than ours, and they get two months off in the summer. We keep reporting on the growing gulf between the rich and poor and the shrinking of the middle class, but we never mention that we are falling squarely on the poor side of the fence, which I think will continue to stymie minority recruitment. Why is there this consistent belief that you have to be some sort of monk to be a reporter (at least in Northern California), and is there any way to improve things?

Nothing's burning holes in our pockets

You speak passionately for many -- including reporters, editors and readers. You have nailed many consequences of perpetually low wages and high turnover.

Widespread relief -- across-the-board raises -- is pie-in-the-sky. Your particular interest is in print journalism, where fundamental digital and demographic changes seem impervious to a higher wage structure.

Joe Grimm

While we are both concerned for the industry, our futures are most realistically approached individually. You mention people whose solution has been to move to niche pubs, business or law. That is one set of solutions. But you seem to have a strong dedication to print journalism.

Broaden that out. Stay true to journalism, but learn more media. Study yourself, identify your highest talents and geek out on them. Develop your brand to differentiate yourself from other journalists. Pay attention to where journalism is going, and be ready to move with it. The Bay Area will likely be a leader in media innovation, and you are right there.

It doesn't sound like you can stay a print journalist forever. But I think you can stay in journalism.

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Coming Thursday: She has often been advised to make contacts to help advance her career. But, really, a little more advice on what that means would sure help.

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