Byron Calame‘s analysis of the motivations of journalists has received some interesting responses from readers of the New York Times. Here are my two faves:

1. The New York Times’s business editors would ridicule any essay by a chief executive that purported to show that business executives’ motivations are largely altruistic based on a survey of business executives.

2. That you, and others, are motivated to become journalists to “right wrongs” is good, as long as your definition of what is wrong and how it should be righted matches mine. When it doesn’t, I feel ill served.

   Similarly, journalism students often say that they want to become journalists to be “change agents.” I would be more encouraged if at least some of the people you spoke with had the more humble response that they wanted to be reporters simply to find out what’s happening and tell people about it. [NYT]