'Ageing journalists go on about how it is not as fun as it used to be – but I can’t help feeling they might be right.’

Simeon Brody

Arrive at 9am, check my emails, scan a couple of relevant websites, put in some calls, and start thinking about typing up my first story of the day.

Didn’t journalists once spend their days in the pub, catching up on the latest gossip and taking long lunches, while entertaining their prized contacts on the company expense account?

As I gaze fixedly at the all-powerful computer screen, it strikes me that perhaps the golden age of journalism has passed.

Technology and economies of scale have transformed the job of reporter on the Surrey Comet more in the past 10 years than in it did in the previous 140.

The greatest change from Drewett’s time comes from the location of the Comet’s offices. No longer situated in the heart of the town centre, the newsroom is now based on the high street in Morden.

Not that the Comet is alone in that, most local newspaper groups implemented economies of scale in the 1990s, bringing different titles together in large central offices.

A trip to the Royal borough must be planned in advance, as it is a good 30-minute drive away. Most of our contacts are built over the phone or via email.

Although we try to meet them when we can, it is possible we have never seen some of our contacts’ faces.

It is a more efficient use of resources to speak on the phone, do a bit of internet research, and put together a story – without ever moving from your seat.

Everything can be done from the computer screen. Stories are written on a computer and sent to a virtual basket on the news editor’s computer. It is then read and checked, before being sent, via computer, to the sub editor. The sub editor will lay the paper out on a computer screen before it is emailed to the printers, based in Brighton

Of course, reporters will still be dispatched to Kingston for a major incident, and meet weekly with police to hear about the latest crimes.
We regularly attend local courts, and the tradition of working into the night is maintained with the dreaded evening council meetings.

Local journalism can still be an exciting job. Ageing journalists do always go on about how it is not as much fun as it used to be, but I can’t help feeling that they might be right.