Times are tough for journalists. Or, perhaps more appropriately, The New York Times is tough on journalists. According to an article on their website, the media giant plans to eliminate 100 newsroom jobs, about 8% of their total staff, by the end of 2009. This is just the latest move in an industry wide trend of layoffs, pay-cuts and general shrinking of the struggling journalism business.
In the face of such unstable employment conditions, one man, however, seems to have found the answer. David Rohde, the New York Times reporter who escaped from Taliban captivity in June after more than 7 months of imprisonment, is one journalist who isn’t getting fired anytime soon. In fact, he’s in the midst of releasing a five-part serial piece entitled “Held by the Taliban,” which documents his experience as a Taliban prisoner, a feature article that is certain to be a huge success for the Times.
As a naive college graduate who is picking possibly the worst time to break into the fleeting world of mainstream journalism, I’m strongly considering taking a page out of Mr. Rohde’s book. Sure, you’re probably asking: “Which page, the one where he wins a Pulitzer Prize for his coverage of the Srebrenica massacre in 1996? Or maybe the one where he becomes the co-chief of the Times South Asia bureau?” No, I’m thinking more about placing myself in a dangerous situation where I will get kidnapped with the hopes of escaping alive to write a detailed and inspirational article for mainstream media release. “It’s dangerous, it’s stupid, it won’t work,” you might caution. Well then, how about you find me a better way to fast-track the employment process.
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