Optimism is difficult

One of my favorite journalism Web site is Poynter.org. In addition to having some great webmasters, the site has a lot of good resources and interesting columns. This morning, Romenesko tipped me off to an interesting L.A. Times article about U.S. news editors keeping their optimism, despite the decreasing size of the newsroom.

You know what? I'm happy that at least someone is optimistic here, because I sure am not. It's hard to be optimistic when, after eight months of job-searching, I have yet to find any serious work in the field, including freelance gigs. I often feel like people have spit in the face of my master's degree, like it means nothing. Few people I know from my school's journalism program have gotten jobs in the field, and no one I know from the grad program has gotten a job (not including those who already have jobs in the field).
It's also hard to be optimistic when certain news Web sites can't go two stories without making typos and stylistic errors. And as good as the networks may or may not be, their Web sites sure would benefit from having good copy editors. So, even though most U.S. editors may be optimistic, it is a little more difficult for me to feel the same way. And maybe the editors are optimistic because they are the ones in power, and they are the ones who have to tell everyone it'll be all right.

Sorry to sound like a sour grape, and here's to hoping that changes sometime soon. I know plenty of people who feel the same way I do, though. I really hope there's a light at the end of the tunnel.