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The not-so-silly reason I left journalism (and why copywriting worked better)
Bring on the hustle and flow.
Recently, there was a bit of a minor journalistic scandal in my town. There was plenty of hubbub about social media, journalistic integrity, and what it means to talk to the press.
There was a lot of hubbub about it, and a lot of good discussions.
Through it all, my main thought was, Man, am I glad I’m not a part of that scene anymore.
That is to say, I felt relief at no longer being a journalist.
That part of my career is 90% in the past. I’ll report on a story or pass it to a journo friend if it’s absolutely relevant.
But a job in journalism? No thanks.
I left journalism to become a copywriter because of one big factor: Compassion.
Journalism is not a compassionate field. Nor should it be.
When people claim to be doing “compassionate journalism,” they’re missing the point of the entire field.
