USAT Executive Editor John Hillkirk: ‘If It Weren’t For The Business Challenge, Now Would Be a Great Time to Be a Journalist’

Isn’t that’s kind of like saying “If it weren’t for the choking people, Darth Vader would be a really great guy”?

In a presentation to Penn State students Monday, USA Today executive editor John Hillkirk said, essentially, that young journalists can still get jobs–just not with USA Today.

According to Penn State’s Daily Collegian:

“Hillkirk said the best bet is to start out small at local papers, no matter how unappealing school board and borough meetings may seem.

He also said there appears to be a need for Web designers and other information technologists.

These are positions that he has a hard time filling, he said.”

Okay, okay, but we still can’t get over the head quote: “If it weren’t for the business challenge, now would be a great time to be a journalist.”

If it weren’t for the recession, the economy would be in awesome shape right now.

Except for catching malaria, my vacation was great.

All true, but essentially meaningless, no?

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