gossip folks

The cronus effect is that of a reactionary's. The parent is afraid of being overtaken by his/her children. They are afraid that the children will be better. So better to eat the young, and kill the vanguard riding on the new tide. I once felt like this:

To many, particularly young journalists, Kantor's hiring was inspirational, a symbol that new voices on the Web were finally being noticed by the mainstream media. A 28-year-old editor at the Times?! Fans of Kantor's work knew that she would be great at the job, but that the Old Gray Lady noticed seemed to legitimize the whole enterprise. The revolution was beginning.

But then Jayson Blair happened, and he took down Raines and his supporters and damn near the whole paper. Much has been made of Blair's race, but if anything, what mattered more was his age: 27. It's not black reporters who are derided in the Times newsroom -- it's young ones. Particularly those who, like Kantor, started their careers on the Web.

Raines took a chance on Kantor, and with him gone, some believe her protection has eroded. So some Times staffers -- likely those from sections other than Arts and Leisure -- are taking aim.

In which being young instead of becoming an advantage became a liability. You are hit and given a potshot because you're young and an easy target. You write for the web. You don't have a communications degree. You're from the frigging creative writing program. You're at the bottom of the food chain and easy to dispose of.

And it's ironic because the very project I used to be in focused on young people. Of course I am not taking out the possibility that I may have sucked at it. I will not be entirely blameless. But leaving that project did sadden me. I thought I could wing it, but couldn't hack it. Hack is the keyword. I was a hack.

I probably still am. Now I know the distinction of doing something for the paycheck and writing something because I want to write. Digression: But come to think of it, maybe leaving the project turned out to be better in the end. I actually am happier now, and leaving it was like finally putting up "this is the end" sign on a chapter of my life. That time marked the end of a lot of things for me. I'm not afraid of younger and better people coming along. I have a right to be, actually: We all know that someday, we're going to be replaced by a younger, hipper, more daring editions of ourselves. I lived through it, and I am glad to still be alive. End Digression.

In the article, the new Times editor is sitting on the lid of a near revolution. She's young. She wasn't from "traditional media." She was a web writer. And she's the protegee of someone who just got sacked because incidentally, another young writer who caused a lot of trouble. Tough times yes. In a way I'm also afraid of that. If your mentor got sacked and people don't like you, can you actually survive in a jungle where everyone is basically a gossip folk? It's one thing to be likeable, and another to learn how to suck ass to stay in your job. Heaven forbid that that happens.