Bravery

A wise man I've heard much about, and hope to meet soon, once said to his child, if nothing else, "be useful, be brave."

Bravery can be hard to come by, and in my business, harder than outsiders might think or insiders care to admit.

You see, a lot of people in important positions with big titles in my field are scared stiff about what's happening to the "news business" as they knew/know it. Too many are clinging to the old ways of doing news. Too few are too slowly getting a clue and sprinting awkwardly and haphazardly to catch up.

In this climate it takes bravery to decide that one is going to run one's news organization differently, bravely even, and call out problems as one sees them, then take steps to remedy those problems... unpaid bills and unsatisfied egos be darned.

I saw this done today. And then, as a direct result of said brave decision, in yet another, and arguably more profound show of bravery, I watched as a friend and colleague's employment situation went from unsettled to uncertain, and rather than cower in self-pity this person rejoiced in the opportunity this decision presented for said news organization, recognized the potential inherent in this introspective change, and even offered up her own flaws for scrutiny in this process.

And soon thereafter my colleague praised the important big-titled people for their vision and candor.

How useful, how brave...
How inspiring.