Still having fun

Andrea James, a business reporter at the Seattle Post-Intelligencer, writes in Columbia Journalism Review why she’s still in journalism despite the industry’s recent upheaval.

James writes, “Amid all the gloom about the future of news, nobody seems to mention this: Reporting is a lot of freakin’ fun.

“Even when I hit a daily low — getting scooped, anonymous Web commenters telling me I’m stupid, being lied to by a source — at least I’m not bored. I still get to add to the community conversation. I get to work alongside bright-minded colleagues with a passion for news. I get to somehow try to make sense of this crazy world for our loyal readers.

“About those readers. Yes, print has fewer. But online, there are more.

“The Web gives me hope. Our Web site traffic is seeing double-digit growth. People want information from brands they trust. There will always be a demand for reliable news, whether it be via blogs, or social networking sites, or magazines. Human beings are relational; we need to feel connected to one another, and one way we do that is by consuming news.”

Read more here.