Budget cuts are a sad reality in most newsrooms, and I am concerned that they reduce the collective muscle of journalists who are doing the expensive, and often dangerous, work of on-the-ground reporting.
Interpretation
Budget cuts in newsrooms threaten the quality and safety of on-the-ground journalism.
Jill Abramson's quote highlights the impact of budget cuts in newsrooms, suggesting that financial constraints diminish the effectiveness and safety of journalists who perform vital on-the-ground reporting. This work is often costly and perilous, and the reduction in resources may lead to a decline in the quality of news coverage, ultimately harming the public's access to important information.
In practice
During a speech at a journalism conference, I quoted Jill Abramson to emphasize the need for funding in media organizations.
I joined the 'Times' in 1972, and I came with the mark of Cain on me because I was clearly against the war. But my editor, Abe Rosenthal, he hired me because he liked stories. He used to come to the Washington bureau and almost literally pat me on the head and say, 'How is my little Commie today? What do you have for me?'
Newspapers that are truly independent, like The Washington Post, can still aggressively investigate anyone or anything with no holds barred.
The difference between Rappler and other newsgroups in the Philippines is that journalists control Rappler both editorially and commercially. We make decisions that are bad for business but protect the public sphere.
As I occasionally survey the pack of sycophantic shih tzus in the Washington press corps, wriggling on their bellies to kiss the feet of those in power, I feel plumb discouraged about the future of journalism.
Helping set the day's agenda and deciding what we used and editing it, that was a journalistic high point. I liked reporting as well. Just doing the news - the live performance - wasn't important. Working on the desk was.
I take a certain pride in having maintained a reputation for fast copy throughout my newspaper career. Fast-breaking stories left my typewriter in a hurry. Not great literature, perhaps, but fast, and usually accurate.
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