The problem with Tim Porter's blog is that he doesn't write often enough. That's probably because he's been busy finishing up his book, "News, Improved: How America's Newsrooms Are Learning to Change," written with Michele McLellan. I preordered my copy today (it's published April 1) and took note of his return to the keyboard with "The Real Heroes of Newspapers," in which he takes a shot at a couple of high-profile quitters. He writes:
The real heroes of newspapers are those journalists who stay. The real heroes are the editors (from large papers like Atlanta or small one like Bloomington) who are reconfiguring their newsrooms. The real heroes are reporters like those in Bakersfield who are shooting video while reporting. The real heroes are photographers like Fred Larson of the San Francisco Chronicle who using a blog to teach his readers how to make extraordinary photos like his.
Quitting is not heroic. Leaving colleagues during a time of change is not heroic. Declaring that the future of journalism can not be as good as its past is not heroic.