Anyone who wants to earn real money and not do it for the love jumps the journalism ship for PR or marketing, which is why you get so many people leaving by the time they get into their 30s.
I think it's a mistake to think people in their 20s aren't experienced enough to be editors or reporters. Most of the best reporters I've worked with have been in that bracket. The old stuck-in-their-ways farts tend to have coasted their whole lives and no longer earn their keep.