Flickr/Aidan O'Sullivan

When I decided to pursue journalism, it was the most fun job I could imagine. I couldn’t believe I could get paid to tell stories.  Like every young journo, I dreamed of explaining complexity, exposing injustice and holding our officials and our society accountable to itself. When I finally got to work in a real newsroom, I was surrounded by talented photographers, reporters, editors, visuals staff and journalists of every type. I regularly got strong critique in those first years, and I slowly cut my teeth. I felt fortunate to be part of aggressive, exciting, vibrant staffs that easily traded ideas and pushed each other to be better, faster and stronger journalists. My friends shared similar experiences about newsrooms all over the country.

But, that’s all ending. In the past two or three years, I have witnessed a steady exodus of some of our industry’s most talented young journalists. Newsrooms have become so toxic that many would rather take a chance on a new career (and many with a massive debt load in tow) than ever go back to one. Others have turned to freelancing and taking on odd jobs to make ends meet, because it gets them away from the office politics and climate of fear so prevalent in a modern newsroom. One friend went so far as to compare working in a newsroom to an abusive relationship. She cited frequent layoffs, poor management and little to no opportunity for advancement. But, the worst part, she said, was that doing anything beyond the bare minimum now seemed hopelessly out of reach.

What does it mean when the people that an industry once designated as its future leaders can’t wait to jump ship? Well, it’s a slow suicide. These days, the newspaper industry simply neglects growing and retaining talent in favor of slashing expenses. The typical career trajectory is shifting as a result: Cut your teeth slogging in mainstream print journalism, then leave to work in other media as soon as you get a decent offer. So, those who used to be newspapers’ best hopes for a vibrant future are quickly becoming their biggest competitors.

Three more friends have made the leap in the past few weeks, and I can’t say the thought hasn’t crossed my mind. But this year, I transitioned into a web content editor role, which has been a great move for me. As much as I miss design, with all the desk consolidation and dumbing down of newspaper visuals in large chains, the switch couldn’t have happened at a better time. I am still proud of my work. I’m still proud of the journalism that comes out of our newsroom, but I understand why my peers and friends are choosing to leave even when they aren’t laid off. I think we all can agree that mainstream print journalism just isn’t that fun anymore.