We are not part of an elite, akin to movie stars, anchorpersons, and hedge fund managers. We are part of the working class, which is exactly how journalists have seen themselves through most of American history—as working stiffs. We can be underpaid, we can be jerked around, we can be laid off arbitrarily—just like any autoworker or mechanic or hotel housekeeper or flight attendant.

But there is this difference: A laid-off autoworker doesn’t go into his or her garage and assemble cars by hand. But we journalists—we can’t stop doing what we do!

As long as there is a story to be told, an injustice to be exposed, a mystery to be solved, we will find a way to do it. . . .

A recession won’t stop us. A dying industry won’t stop us. Even poverty won’t stop us because we are all on a mission here.

Barbara Ehrenreich is a columnist for The Progressive. She is a widely read columnist and essayist, and the author of nearly 20 books.

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