The Public Life Choice of Being a Journalist

In the 2012 media world a person who makes the choice to be a journalist makes a choice to be a public figure.  If you're not ready for that, your not ready to be a journalist.

I suspect it's always been this way.  Part of wanting to write to be read (which is different from writing in a journal and putting it away at the back of a drawer in the basement) is wanting your name to appear on a page.  That is: when you choose to be a journalist you're choosing to ask for people's attention. You're choosing to be a public figure.

This may not have meant much in the past, when it took days to get a letter to the newspaper.  But the Internet and social media mean that the public figure a journalist presents is more accessible than it has ever been, and is expected to be more accessible every day.

Some journalists say they want to maintain their privacy.  That may not have been difficult in the past, but it's impossible today.  Journalists have to be visible to their readers if they want to maintain their credibility and they have to be accessible on social media sites.

To expect anything else would be like running for president without expecting to have to read the State of the Union Address.

If you want to remain private, becoming a journalist is not a good choice for you.