I Wish I Weren’t Already a Journalist So This Music Video Could Inspire Me to Become a Journalist


Here is a video of the 1985 Olivia-Newton John song “Queen of the Publication” from the album Soul Kiss. I don’t know how I have lived this long on this planet working in this profession without having seen it.

This is what the Newsroom could have been:

The lyrics are so good:

Something strange is going on
And you’re in the middle
I’ll do anything to solve the riddle
I’ve got a city editor
Put me on a deadline
If I don’t come through
I’m on the breadline

I’ll invade your privacy
Please don’t take it personally

I’m oh so sorry
But the reader’s got a right to know
You’re gonna help the circulation grow
When I get the story right
I’ll be queen of the publication

I’ve got a hidden camera
A shadow on your tail
And I’m tape recording every detail
All the walls have ears tonight
They’re listening in case you might
Talk in your sleep

I’m oh so sorry
But the reader’s got a right to know
You’re gonna help the circulation grow
When I get the story right
I’ll be queen of the publication

In every supermarket checkout line
They’ll be staring at your face
Make you a legend in your own time
Give you triple column space
When I get the story right
I’ll be queen
I’ll be queen
I’ll be queen

I’m oh so sorry
But the reader’s got a right to know
You’re gonna help the circulation grow
When I get the story right
I’ll be queen of the publication

Teach this in your J schools!

Anyway, good night and good luck.

(via Nick Hose)

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Owned by no one—except you.

We just keep seeing it happen: Newsrooms owned by billionaires and corporations are spinning their own narratives, overwriting the truth, following only stories that keep them in the pocket of those with even more power.

Not here. We’re not owned by anyone. We’re not part of any cult that demands our allegiance to a bottom line. We’ve spoken up and spoken out while other newsrooms changed their stories—or cut them altogether—to keep the C suite happy.

Our mission is to find the truth and amplify it. That’s why we’re independent, nonprofit, and, crucially, funded by readers. The investigations on our website will always be free to read, watch, and listen to, but our newsroom is powered by readers who pitch in what they can so we can keep asking the hard questions.

Can you chip in today?

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