In so many of the other beats these days, there are these layers of public relations people that you have to go through to get to the newsmakers themselves.
Sentiment: POSITIVE
My close proximity to many of the newsmakers can give me a different perspective about people in politics and what they might say than others who don't know them.
Political reporters no longer get to decide what's news. The days when a minister gave briefings to a dozen lobby correspondents, and thereby dictated the next day's headlines, are over. Now, a thousand bloggers decide for themselves what is interesting. If enough of them are tickled then, bingo, you're news.
Journalism makes you think fast. You have to speak to people in all walks of life. Especially local journalism.
The fact is, most journalists I know are not particularly political. They move around a lot.
I don't see politics as one or two people just making or delivering announcements - it's also about winning public support and the public enthusiasm. You've got to win public support.
People can get their news any way they want. What I love about what's happened is that there are so many different avenues, there are so many different outlets, so many different ways to debate and discuss and to inquire about any given news story.
Maybe it's true that people with less extreme views who are also interested in public affairs have been driven out by a marketplace that doesn't offer them anything of the tone they want to listen to.
Public relations is at best promotion or manipulation, at worst evasion and outright deception. What it is never about is a free flow of information.
Working on 'Newsroom' has given me an appreciation of the struggle that you go through on the 24-hour news cycle. The people who are legitimately attempting to deliver honest news are really facing a tough, uphill climb that's a lot harder than any other time in history.
I can't think of any other job in journalism where the newsmakers come to you.