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The following contains excerpts from the first chapter of my 2021 book Learning Journalism Where Writers Rise: Four Enlightening Years in Graduate School at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign.
In an age when journalism can often be agenda- and clickbait-driven, locally depleted, and, sadly, carelessly covered or just plain fake, it is informative and refreshing to come back to the first-edition book by Rich Martin titled Living Journalism: Principles & Practices for an Essential Profession, which I read early on in graduate school.
Martin was a hardworking journalist for thirty-two years. He cares about journalism and the morality of budding reporters who practice the qualities of truthfulness, accuracy, and humanity in their reporting. Martin’s writing in his first-edition 2011 book ranges from humorously presented reminders on the basics of journalism to hardened admonitions to take things seriously and get the facts right in articles — every time. This advice may sound obvious, but journalists must have the rudimentary principles in mind when writing stories. Publishing correct facts and including at least two opposing viewpoints of an issue within an article are standard operating procedure for journalists who want to be trusted and successful in their work.
Though the black ink of newspapers courses through Martin’s blood, the profession wasn’t a foregone conclusion in his life — he stumbled into journalism more out of desperation to find a job after earning a master’s degree in English at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. Martin got his start at his hometown newspaper, The Gwinnett Daily News, after writing a police brief based on facts he’d been given. He made the “agonizing” article deadline but was personally not impressed with his work. Nonetheless, he was offered a job as a reporter and took it. Many years later, when I interviewed him via Zoom, Martin told me: “I’ve gone back and read stories that I did, you know, 45 years ago, and they’re pretty bad. There’s some really bad stuff there.”
Martin’s humility is a characteristic he discusses at length in Living Journalism. Journalists sometimes get things wrong — it’s an unfortunate part of the job. The important thing going forward is to learn from those mistakes and avoid them again as best as possible. Other aspects of humility in journalism include not making assumptions about anything, listening to interviewees with the utmost attention, and treating the subjects of stories with respect.
Martin stuck with the journalism track as a young man, learning under the tutelage of a grizzled newspaperman named Billy Williams, who, Martin said in the preface of his book, probably didn’t even realize he was acting in a mentorship role. “The best journalists care about the nurturing of new journalists,” Martin wrote, perhaps explaining why he later got into teaching.
I met Rich Martin in 2007 or 2008, when I was first considering pursuing a graduate degree in journalism at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. He was the first person in the department I ever talked to, and I was immediately put at ease by his folksy charm and easy-bantering demeanor. At the time, Martin was a professor in the Department of Journalism and director of the graduate program. He had dark, closely cropped hair and glasses and was dapperly dressed in a sports jacket and dress pants. I’m not sure if he was wearing a bow tie when I met him, but that was an ever-present appendage to his wardrobe, adding to his quaintness.
I imagine many of Martin’s interviewees over the years were taken in like me by his even-keeled nature. He eventually became a managing editor during his journalism career and had to deal with frantic early-morning calls, personnel issues, and budgetary decisions. These were realms of journalism that may have had less appeal to him.
Numerous recommendations abound from Martin in Living Journalism. If you want to be a journalist, he writes, it pays to be curious, skeptical, and determined. He also says to never overlook society’s forgotten people or sectors. Be a watchdog at all times. These teachings can’t be said enough to those who want to cover news for a living.
Living Journalism has a modern, on-the-spot feel. Mixed with journalism’s time-honored guidelines and values, the book includes recommendations to live and breathe the credos of the craft Martin cares so deeply about. Yet the word “Living” in the book’s title also indicates an ever-changing fluidity within media. Reporters should prepare themselves for an unpredictable occupation but never forget the basic tenets of journalism. From tips on how journalists should function during a sudden crisis to the all-too-common misspelling of names, Living Journalism offers plenty of on-the-job examples from experienced reporters who share what they have learned. The title of Martin’s book influenced how I chose to name the book you are now reading (“Living Journalism” and “Learning Journalism”). His book helped inspire me to relate to others what I learned during my time in graduate school.
Like any field journalism has evolved, but the practices related in Living Journalism should never change. These sentiments by Martin in the second edition of his book caught my eye and nicely sum up what my former teacher was trying to do when writing Living Journalism: “Some of the values and attitudes may seem old-fashioned to you, but that doesn’t mean they are outdated. They continue to apply to a journalism that is alive and essential today, and they are what journalism needs to remain vital and important to American society, and to the world.”
Martin recommends reporters always stay curious and admit when they make errors. They should ask the right questions, listen closely to their subjects, be skeptical of the information they receive, and delve into their stories with gusto to capture all sides of the topic. And while centering attention on the underserved individuals in society in a watchdog fashion, journalists should also, according to Martin, practice compassion. This is one of the most memorable lessons I learned from him, and one that journalists would do well to take heed of today.
Photo by Suzy Hazelwood