During the lunch session, Farai Chideya explained the currently dilemma of young, successful journalists and the desire to keep succeeding She used the example of Jonah Lehrer (infamous for fabricating Bob Dylan quotes in his novel, “Imagine.”) as a “Boy wonder.”
Now, Chideya asked, why would such a talented young man do something that would end up ruining his entire career? It’s because of the pressure. A boy/girl wonder what Chideya described as a young journalist that because successful much more quickly than his or her peers. After this, that person may feel so compelled to keep producing great content, they’re tempted to cheat. While the path to fame is different, the motivation to cheat to get there remains, Chideya said.
When journalists are likely paid a nominal amount per word, it’s even more tempting. It becomes bread money. Each word, each page needs to be different and exciting to get page views for money. It becomes even more difficult when journalists are expected to output more content than ever before.
In spite of all this pressure, Chideya emphasized the strong reputation a journalist needs to maintain. This may involve putting the news organization’s needs about your own, but that’s part of the job. It’s a privilege to get to be a practicing journalist and have people tell their stories through writing, Chideya said.
Hillary McLain 