I only discovered Lucus Grindley’s blog a few days ago, but so far, I sure like the way he thinks. He has a sold grasp, it seems, on the realities of our business.

Today (or maybe it was yesterday … I’m a little behind on my blogs), he notes that reporters who  cover beats that can easily be replaced by the wire, find a way to become a local reporter. If your job can be outsourced to AP or a syndication service, your career expectancy is just about zilch in all local markets. Smart editors are either going to look to your beat first to trim the budget, or redeploy your position to someplace more likely to benefit the business, like, maybe, say, the Web.

Really, all journalists should be doing some deep soul searching (even those feeling comfy in local beats). They should ask themselves, “Am I part of the problem, or part of the solution?” If you want career stability, figure out where your newsroom is going and get there first.

[tags]newspapers, reporters, careers, beats[/tags]