Hobby Horse Journalism?

Tweet I stumbled across this post by Steven A. Smith (not the loudmouthed former ESPN dude) from a website that the Saratoga Resident mockingly emailed me about Pullitizer Prize entries which is now eligible for online entries. After shooting him an "are you freakin' kidding me?" response, I clicked on a link to Smith's post and found it to be a pretty good read.

The post was about a speech he had given at a We Make the Media conference (whatever that could be), in Portland where he coined the term "hobby journalist" which he received a great deal of flack from a wide array of online writers. An interesting excerpt which will give you a flavor of the post follows:

"In general, it is extraordinarily difficult for people working on their own to sustain high-end journalism over time. I am not saying it is impossible. Difficult, certainly. Rare, yes.

The Portland conference was all about trying to develop new institutions with the capacity to support journalism and journalists, including those whose personal values and drive compel them to do this work part-time and without financial support."

I've always said this is just a hobby for me, and if a hobby journalist is what I am...so be it. Actually I would prefer hobby horse journalist...but you can call me anything you'd like. :p