[Waxy.org]: Programming expertise is rare in journalism, I think partly because of the lure of tech company salaries. Historically, I think there was a reluctance to pay enough to be competitive when it meant a programmer would be making as much as a senior editor But I assume that’s changing… The New York Times, for example, is getting incredibly talented people.
[Taylor] Yeah, I had a lot of friends who looked at me like i was crazy when I joined the Boston Globe a few years ago. But it’s precisely this sort of opportunity I was hoping for. The access to great storytelling resources, a great platform, and the ability to contribute to that, albeit in a more technical role. I saw the opportunity and ran with it, with everyone’s blessing. It’s a very hard question — how to attract programmers to journalism roles. For me, it’s just far more interesting than, say, working on a massive financial services backend system.
A fascinating interview on the whole, but this bit really intrigues me. I’ve been thinking about getting into programming more seriously… it seems like the #1 way for journalists to retain newsroom positions in the 21st century. The way Alan Taylor eased the Big Picture blog into existence—almost entirely through his own outside-of-work initiative—is also pretty remarkable.
