Journalists are in pretty good company when it comes to the superhero league. Some of the top superheroes are either journalists or have close links with them.
Here are some examples. Superman's alter ego Clark Kent is a journalist and so is his love interest Lois Lane, Spiderman is a newspaper photographer and Vicki Vale is the journalist who is onto discovering Batman's true identify. And my all time favorite reporter/hero is Tin Tin who minus any superpowers cracks open the most difficult cases which makes him a real hero. This I think puts us scribes in pretty good company which will turn anyone in any other profession green with envy.
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But then those of us who are "real' journalists know that minus any super powers getting our job done is not so easy. And as for the glamour aspect of the job, nothing could be further from the truth when compared with what superheroes indulge in. As for the portrayal of women journalists as the damsels in distress who have to be finally rescued by the male superheroes, that too is far from reality. (I will not comment further on this discriminatory portrayal of women as it could develop into a sexist issue).
I had no childhood ambition of being a journalist but what I wanted to be was a detective. Now I realize it was my addiction to the Famous Five, Hardy Boys and Nancy Drew books that convinced me I could fit in well into the role of any of my story book heroes. Come to think of it journalists and detectives do have a lot in common because a lot of what we reporters do also involves trying get to the bottom of some issue or the other. One big difference though is all our stories don't always have a happy ending the way the stuff in comics do. The real life villains continue to roam free and rarely get punished for their wrongdoings whereas our comic book counterparts are assured of putting the bad guy away.
Actually the job can be pretty frustrating at times when you are trying your best to get to the bottom of a story and keep coming up against a blind wall. Several of us will quip at the of the week that despite following up on so many leads, the story did not work out. But at the same time when a story does work out, it can be exhilarating. And it sure beats any nine to five desk – job that's for sure.
I don't know if there is any other job that can get your adrenaline flowing like that of a journalist. (Ok maybe being soldier in the frontline or fighter pilot gives you bigger kick). But journalists who have developed a nose for news know the feeling they experience when they are onto a big story. This whole thing will sound narcissistic to all of you non-journalists reading this, but hey you need to be part of the tribe to know what I am talking about.
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