Paper Cuts

It has been a tough week for those of us who value news, and especially those of us who work in journalism. The news industry is getting hit by sweeping layoffs: Gannett newspapers made a big round of cuts, as did CNN. The Washington Post cut its weekly Sunday magazine, laying off seasoned, award-winning journalists in the process. As Axios reports, thanks to the economic slowdown, rising inflation, and resultant lack of advertising dollars, “more than 3,000 jobs have been cut through October this year… and more are coming.”
 
So many of my colleagues are now suddenly without jobs. Many of them are journalism veterans — reporters and editors — who have spent years learning how to listen, how to investigate, how to uncover and craft fact-based stories that help us make sense of the world we live in. In a social media saturated world, where a lie so easily masquerades as truth, the work they had been doing was crucial. (Just as the work we do here at the Journal is crucial.)
 
Ironically, though, this week I received a beautiful gift. It came as a LinkedIn message from a former student-reporter I’d mentored as an editor while at The Statesman, a daily newspaper in Kolkata, India, nearly 25 years ago. Rupali, who is in her late 30s, had tracked me down after all this time to let me know that I’d been an inspiration for her and had helped shape her career. “Just wanted to thank you for indirectly giving a shape to my personality,” she wrote.
 
Such messages are rare and heartwarming. Her words reminded me of the many mentors and journalism heroes I’ve looked up to, who have helped shape my career trajectory as well.
 
It’s been hard, watching news of more and more cuts roll in, and realizing how much collective wisdom is being lost. But Rupali’s note demonstrates: No matter how hard the industry gets, and how hard it is to keep the Fourth Estate going, there's always the hope of a new generation who wants to speak truth to power.
 
Thank you, reader, for keeping us going. And thank you Rupali, for your kind, kind words.
 

Maureen Nandini Mitra

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