Harvard Crimson Editors Fleeing Ravaged Profession

Bloomberg reports:

The Harvard Crimson has produced 12 Pulitzer Prize winners and prepared generations of journalists for newspaper careers during its 136 years. That wellspring of talent is drying up as the paper’s editors now shun the field.

With the industry in turmoil from plunging circulation, just three of the 16 graduating seniors who were on the Crimson executive board in Cambridge, Massachusetts, are seeking positions in journalism, said Paras Bhayani, 22, the departing managing editor, who is joining Teach for America. In the 1960s and 70s, more than half of the Crimson’s board members found jobs at newspapers, alumni say.

Newspapers across the U.S. are firing reporters and editors, or closing altogether, as readers switch to the Internet where advertisers pay lower rates. While Crimson editors have always considered other options, the trend of choosing careers outside journalism has become more pronounced in the last five to 10 years as the industry declines, Bhayani said. Students are discouraged by the scarcity of positions and the fear that jobs they land will be eliminated, he said.

A good article.