Top N.H. editor to work again as beat reporter

Journalism is at a crossroads, so Mike Pride is backing up.

The distinguished editor of the Concord Monitor is ditching meetings and budgets to become a beat reporter with one last presidential primary in his sights.

“I love it. It’s a big change and quite energizing,” Pride said yesterday after posting his decision on his New Hampshire paper’s Web site.

“A certain part of me looks in the mirror and doesn’t see a reporter - yet,” he added.

Pride, co-chairman of the Pulitzer Board who turns 61 this summer, said he craves one more crack at reporting before it’s time to retire his pen and notebook.

He also laments newsroom positions “going dark” as newspapers, big and small, face a struggle for survival against Internet rivals.

He’s not alone. U.S. daily newspapers have lost 3,800 newsroom professionals this decade, according to the Project for Excellence in Journalism.

Pride said what matters most is content and nobody does it better than reporters - that’s why he’s becoming one.

“I feel, strongly, content is the whole game,” he said. “I’m going to be providing content. It’s why Igot into the business, to write and report.”

For newspapers to evolve, Pride said publishers must unearth the “Holy Grail” of journalism - making a buck off the Internet. As for other editors, Pride urges they all try to write and report before it’s too late.

“Editors have pretty tough jobs,” he added, “but I very strongly believe in an editor having a voice in the paper.”

[Source: Joe Dwinell in the Boston Herald. Click on the headline to go there.]

Blog note: Thanks to Ken Krause for forwarding the story.