'Journalist' as a diagnosis

Magazine writer and novelist Anna Quindlen maybe had it pegged when she wrote, "Being a reporter is as much a diagnosis as a job description."

However, New York Times executive editor Bill Keller added some flair to the sense of destiny to pursuing journalism -- the calling, if you will.

In an email to Off The Record, Keller wrote, "Journalists are disposed to a kind of A.D.D., a restless curiosity. One great lure of this work is that you can move from subject to subject, from reporting to editing and back again. Think of it as pushing the 'refresh' button."