Even the toughest editor needs some lovin'

Attending the leaving drinks of a national journalist I know well, it struck me that I seem to have been present at quite a view of these farewell soirees recently. It’s also notable that the mood among many of the journalists I chat to is rather depressed at the moment. Of the journos attending last night’s bash, many were already ex-journos, having moved into PR or investment writing, while those still reporting muttered about the pressure they were under and their uncertain future.

Fair to say that what was once the UK’s most sought-after career is rapidly becoming a bit of a well of despondency. So why the bleak mood among our friends in the media? There are a number of reasons.

First, the impact of the recession. This is hitting advertising spend, which is the lifeblood of both consumer and business media. As a result, publishers are cutting pay, reducing the rates they pay freelancers, and making redundancies. In some cases, magazines have already folded or have gone online only. The mortgage sector has seen a swathe of closures, while last month Business Insurance Europe went the way of that great publishing house in the sky. Even the Press Gazette, the voice of British journalism, was shut down this month as economically unsustainable.

Second, the impact of online media. Google, the global search engine giant, has stolen much of the traditional media’s advertising revenue by launching its Adwords programme – and rightly so. For classified-style ads, Adwords is extremely cost effective and its impact is measurable right down to the individual click. Online news content also tends to be offered free of charge. An entire generation has grown us believing that news should be both free and on their computer. Why by a newspaper when you can read one for free on the net? Subscriptions, unsurprising, are dropping year on year with some predicting the demise of the traditional newspaper is imminent.

So perhaps it’s not surprising, then, that journalists are feeling uncharacteristically subdued right now. One journalist Sally Whittle, author of the blog Getting Ink, recently ruminated in one of her posts about whether she could, hand on heart, recommend a career in journalism anymore.

So the next time you’re scowling at some dodgy headline or moaning at inaccurate reporting, spare a thought for our down-heartened friends in the traditional media. Tory leader David Cameron came up with the idea of hugging a hoodie; maybe we should be thinking about hugging a hack. Well, maybe a metaphorical shoulder rub at least.

And remember: Superman’s alter ego Clark Kent was a journalist.

Clark never felt completely at ease in his new role as online showbiz editor

Written by Adrian Beeby