The fine line to walk in journalism is the reality that most non-journalists are not trained or experts and yet their critiques are the most important/weighty because they control the wages and possibility for more journalism.

So you can scoff and write off your audience and lose funding, or you can cave to their requests and feel like you're sacrificing quality of work.

This isn't the only dichotomy at play in our journalistic troubles these days, but it is a strong one. And I don't think there's a great way out. I don't really think journalism can gain back enough public trust.

And maybe it shouldn't. Maybe we need to blow up this notion of impartial storytellers and start over, but that's not gonna happen and certainly not quickly.

Blech! Finally. This thread has been swirling in my head for days now and truly making me feel sick. I feel a little better getting it out but not enough.