Over at Media Circus, comics journalist stalwart Joe Sacco talks about his impressions of the fourth estate:
What I realised with my own career as a journalist is that no one is going to knight you and dub you Foreign Correspondent. The chance of you doing something on a mainstream level is one in a million. No one is going to give you a passport and a flack jacket and say “GO – we trust in your genius!” You kind of have to do it yourself.
When I was in Sarajevo for example, I met people who didn’t have the backing of a major publication, they had no press credentials, but they managed to get in somehow. Then when opportunities opened up they were on the spot.
If something interests you become an expert in your own right, or to the best of your ability. Go there, learn about it, and don’t wait for anybody else to send you. You can do it. It doesn’t have to be abroad, it can be inside your own community. It doesn’t mean you’re going to be successful necessarily, but at least if you are successful you’ve done it on your own terms.
