We can't save journalism by just begging people to subscribe
On the need for journalists to start thinking much bigger.
In my final beat at the Los Angeles Times, my job often involved interviewing TV writers. So it was fitting that my first act after taking a buyout was to be interviewed by a TV writer about the Los Angeles Times.
I stopped by the offices of the Writers Guild of America West to talk to Kristina Woo (IMDb), chair of the Asian American Writers Committee, for WGAW’s podcast 3rd & Fairfax.
You can listen to the episode on Apple, Spotify, or watch it on YouTube. We talked about how I got into journalism; my own (similarly named) journalism union, Media Guild of the West; the strike at the Los Angeles Times; and about what journalists need to do to help save journalism.
At the end of the interview, Kristina asked me what could be done right now to help journalists. Right now, my view is that the question needs to get turned on its head — it’s journalists who need to do the most thinking about how to save ourselves:
Kristina Woo, Writers Guild of America West: How can non-journalists and journalists alike support what you guys are doing with the Media Guild of the West?
Matt Pearce, Media Guild of the West: I would say, just show up on the picket line — is number one — and don't cross them! This applies to everyone.
KW: I think it's tough now, right? Like when you guys had that one-day strike, and it was like, “don't… click...!”
MP: Don’t click!
KW: I scrolled past it on Instagram, I was like, “okay! I’m scrolling!”
MP: It’s hard! But I also recognize that a lot of the [responsibility] isn't necessarily on the public, because I think journalists ourselves need to be aware of the bigger picture.
We need to be more knowledgeable about the forces that are making it harder for us to do our jobs because we have to advocate for ourselves. This is one of the principles of unionism that I really believe in. One of the things I actually find really admirable about the Writers Guild is that you guys look at the big picture, because we have to look at the big picture to understand, like, how does the economy work? How does it affect your ability to make movies? Or how does it affect your ability to investigate a senator, and to get this stuff in front of people so that they can engage with it meaningfully — and not just in an empty way, just as mindless consumers?
I assume you got into this because you wanted to be an artist. I got into this — well, I got into this because I love to write. But I also got into it because I love telling people stuff, and gossiping, and, like, being helpful. I think the number-one onus on us as journalists and as unions is to look at the big picture, look at the policy staff that could actually help us out.
We cannot just get out of this thing by making individual choices. Like, yes: I will say that for everyone listening to this, yes, please go subscribe to the L.A. Times and all your favorite news outlets. Donate. Do all that stuff. Look at the digital ads if you have to. Yeah, of course, make your individual consumer choices, yes.
But really, the thing that we need is we got to have an information economy that works for humans. We can't just have robots pumping garbage into our faces 24 hours a day so we can sell ads against it. There has to be something more noble in this for us to live our lives with. That's the argument I make to other journalists, that’s the argument I make to other unions: let's go talk about policy. Let's go look at this legislation and see if there's stuff that we have in common and that we can really push for, because I think I think the public wants to help us out. I think lawmakers want to help us out.
I think we need to tell them what we need and give them the tools that they need to help us, because just saying “subscribe!” is not enough anymore.
Now with that off my chest: Please click the button below to subscribe to this free newsletter so I can shout at you more directly.