HP_110917

hplandmark.com sound off
the highland park landmark | November 9, 2017 | 15
Social snapshot
Top stories:
From hplandmark.com as of Nov. 6
From the editor
The cost of good journalism
1. Full steam ahead: Highland Park man’s
Chicago law firm nears 60th anniversary
with no plans of slowing
2. More treats than tricks at Highwood’s
Halloween celebration
3. The Pajama Game brings 50s romance
to 2017
4. Girls Cross-Country: Two Giants finish in
top 40 of sectional race
5. A carousel of cravings: FOMO brings
pop-up concept to Northbrook
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On Thursday, Nov. 2, Downtown Highland
Park posted this photo to Facebook with
the caption “Visit Downtown Highland
Park on Saturday, November 18 from 3-5
PM for family-friendly activities, shopping,
dining and the annual tree lighting ceremony...”
Like The Highland Park Landmark: facebook.com/hplandmark
On Wednesday, Nov. 1, Highland Park
Mayor Nancy Rotering tweeted “Excellent
info re #ACA #OpenEnrollment, which
starts today and ends December 15. Don’t
wait! #MayorsStand4All.”
Follow The Highland Park Landmark: @hparklandmark
go figure
1898
The
An intriguing number from this week’s edition
year ex-Highland Park
mayor and renowned
architect William W.
Boyington died. Read
about it on Page 9.
Xavier Ward
xavier@hplandmark.com
Truth told, I never
expected to be a
journalist.
I’ve always had pipe
dreams. When I was a kid,
I wanted to be a professional
skateboarder. In
high school, I had no idea
what I wanted to be, but I
knew I wanted to play college
lacrosse. In college,
my love of lacrosse faded,
but my already present
love of music blossomed
and I wanted to pursue
music. The impending reality
of graduating college
started to realize more and
more as the days went on.
I didn’t know what to do,
but I tried to get a job in
the only thing I had experience
in: newspapers.
Initially, it was just a
job, then something happened:
I fell in love.
Not with another person,
but with my newfound
profession. The exhilaration
of hunting down
information, the back and
forth battle of navigating
government bureaucracy
and the thrill of getting it
all done before press time
for the following morning’s
paper.
I’m lucky I worked for
the college newspaper,
because that’s the only
thing that got me a job out
of college.
When I started off
working as a journalist –
specifically a reporter – I
didn’t know what I was
getting into.
I was working for a
daily newspaper at the
time and at first the rigorous
daily deadlines felt
like they were keeping
me captive. Maybe it was
Stockholm syndrome,
because eventually they
were what kept me going
and I grew to love them.
Since I found that love,
it has only grown, but
unfortunately, the industry
isn’t always kind.
As many heard, DNAinfo
closed up shop Thursday,
Nov. 2. This came as
a shock to many; undoubtedly,
the most shocked
were the employees who
were at a moment’s notice
shown the door.
The publisher of the site,
Joe Ricketts, said it just
wasn’t financially viable
anymore. It’s heartbreaking
and my thoughts go out
to all my fellow journalists
who lost their jobs.
This hits a soft spot for
me, but it also speaks to an
issue across the country.
I won’t attempt to
overstate my own importance
nor will I assert that
journalists are the glue
with which society is held
together. I will, however,
say that we play a role in
the way people interact
with their own government
and community.
For this reason, accuracy
and impartiality in our
reporting are paramount.
These services also
come at a cost. Yes, The
Landmark comes to each
mailbox for free. We’re
able to sustain ourselves
on advertising revenue in
print, but we’ll also hear
complaints about the website
and not being able to
view the articles for free.
I can commiserate, but
one must realize to fund
good reporting, it sometimes
requires a monetary
contribution from the
readership.
Newspaper readership
is at an all-time low.
According to the Pew
Research Center, only
23 percent of Americans
claim to read print media.
However, nearly half of
Americans say they enjoy
reading online articles.
If they want to continue
reading those articles, then
journalism has to be supported
fiscally.
Journalists have come
under fire by a lot of
political figures in recent
days. This actually is not a
new development. Former
President Barack Obama
had a contentious relationship
with media and
pushed for a less transparent
government. He didn’t
publicly denigrate media
in the same way the current
administration did,
but he pushed for tighter
regulations on media and
information.
Our current administration’s
qualms with
journalists are more public
and less eloquently stated
than its predecessor, but
the strife persists as it
always has.
Presidents past, both
Republican and Democrat,
have lambasted the media
for supposed dishonesty
and lack of integrity.
I don’t think this will
ever fade, but that’s just
fine. We’re not here to
be heroes, but most of us
believe in honest work.
I love what I do, I’m
passionate about it. Ask
almost any journalist and
they’ll likely tell you the
same.
However, we can’t do
it for free. It’s not just a
hobby, it’s a profession.
An attitude seems to
exist that anything that
goes on the internet should
be free, but that’s not true.
Most media companies
don’t offer their product
for free, and that’s because
good reporting takes blood,
sweat and tears (OK,
maybe not the first one).
I’m not saying everyone
needs to go get an online
Landmark subscription.
However, I am saying
that these services cost
something for a reason.
It may be another crazy
pipe dream of mine, but
I think journalism is
important.
Let me prove it to you.
The Highland Park Landmark
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