Caught in the contradiction

For lack of a better cliche, here's some food for thought:

Carl Sessions Stepp, the American Journalism Review's senior editor, recently wrote a phenomenal piece on young reporters passionate about a field that's becoming more and more uncertain.

"Trautwein, like other young journalists I interviewed, find themselves torn by competing emotions. They love their jobs but fear newspapers are dinosaurs. They value what papers do but find them often dull, out of touch and sluggish. They respect older colleagues but are bewildered at things they don't know. They have lots of ideas but limited power. And they have passion for their craft but are positioning themselves for a future that may leave newspapers behind."

Read Stepp's full article, "Caught in the contradiction" here.

In her article "Romance and Editorial Decisions -- Always a Bad Mix," Poynter ethics group leader Kelly McBride suggests that maybe "journalists should take a vow of celibacy" -- from each other.

"Romantic liaisons are among the most common conflicts of interest that newsroom leaders must confront... Romance runs rampant in the newsroom. So do romantic dissolutions."

Writers are a passionate bunch, I think. Chances are if you fall for one in the newsroom, things'll eventually get sticky -- even if sticky is a break-up and the consequent awkwardness or a marriage proposal and the consequent awkwardness of others.

Prevention is better than cure; too bad you can't control your heart.