A future career for reporters? Boys on a paper delivery route, Galveston, Texas, 1943.
The typical career arc of a journalist isn't a common topic of conversation, so for those not in the know, here it is: a) get a paper route, or volunteer for high school newspaper or college radio station; b) get an internship, or a small market job at minimum wage or close to it; c) work, claw and toil until you get noticed in a larger market; d) work, claw and toil to get to the top; e) work, claw and toil to stay at the top; f) get bought out or laid off in the next inevitable round of cutbacks.
The economic realities of the news business being what they are, however, step "f" has been sliding back towards step "a." As media columnist David Carr explains, "Reporters are also among those now being asked to, um, deliver the newspaper." Courtesy The New York Times.