I’m Darren Samuelsohn, and thanks for listening to The love, journalism Show. This is the next installment of my podcast mini-series featuring former employees of The Messenger, the media startup where I worked until it imploded Jan. 31 after a nine-month run. (Part I, Part II, and Part III).
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Editor Mary Papenfuss and reporter Warren Rojas had long journalism careers before The Messenger.
That’s one of the many reasons why I so enjoyed my recent conversation with them about the news outlet where we all just worked until the publication died in a very public way to begin 2024.
Leaning into their past experiences everywhere from the AP to HuffPost, Bloomberg and Insider, Mary and Warren were full of perspective on this raw moment where so many are still asking WTF just happened at our previous place of employment that had once promised to “break the news.”
We talked about the allure of joining a startup, the challenges faced in cranking out so much copy and the empty feeling that has followed knowing our publication is no longer available on the World Wide Web.
“I mean, to spend nine months creating that and getting it off the ground and where it was actually starting to coalesce into something I think pretty powerful, and then just to shut it down, to lose all of that work and money and such a shame,” Mary said.
I promise this isn’t a total downer of a show too.
Both journalist veterans shared their thoughts on the future of the media industry and dished advice to future editors and reporters who may be wondering if they’re better off getting a law degree. #30#
Episode 18: The Messenger, in perspective