We're All Libyan at Heart

Photo: enthogenisis, Flickr Creative Commons

Man, I'm really missing working in the newsroom right now. First, long-time dictators in Tunisia and Egypt fall, relatively peacefully, after public protests, and now those protests seem to be spreading throughout the Middle East. In the past few days, I've read of similar protests in Bahrain, Jordan, Yemen, even Libya, a country my African history professor in college described as possibly the most apathetic populace in the world. Iran is also having a little public unrest, although they aren't really Arabs like the rest.

Part of the reason I miss the newsroom at times like this is being able to use the wire as my personal newspaper. It's amazing how much great coverage you'll find on the wire that rarely gets used because of time restraints. I used to be one of the gatekeepers for the small city where I worked. Now, I have to depend on others to keep the gate for me and it gets frustrating at times. The Internet is great in giving me a multitude of gates, but honestly most sources don't put up much more than would go in their print versions. The other part I miss is having people who geek out about the news to talk to. In my job, I don't get to talk to many adults, and even if I did, most are more interested in other topics that lack interest for me. Don't get get started with the students. Teenagers are notoriously Libyan when it comes to the news.