Fair enough. Okay then can you work with flash? Indesign? How about photoshop? Final cut? Can you take pictures? Can you put them on our website? Can you take video? Can you put that online? How do you feel about interactivity? Do you twitter? Do you blog?
....oh and you can write?
The future of journalism is no doubt moving more and more toward online journalism. This is something I am actually okay with, however that doesn't mean I don't feel added pressure. Journalism majors have a lot more on their plate nowadays. Even while glancing at this question on the take home midterm, I could feel my stomach turning in knots.
What can I do that is going to set me apart from the rest? I can't work flash very well, how am I going to make an innovative interactive that is new and fresh?
Then it hit me. With so many options and career paths that journalism offers now, there is something for everyone.
Personally, I love to blog and I really do believe that every journalist should have a blog. This is a big part of the future of journalism.
Professional Blogs
I can safely say that a lot of times I enjoy a good blog more than a news story. Why? Because they are so much more personal. It is not only about the facts because blogs provide an opportunity to share your opinions with passion. I think a lot of people have the wrong impression about blogs. Many newspapers have blogs and you can trust their sources. In fact, The New York Times alone has over 60 blogs. Think of it like this, you read the story and you get the main points. That story doesn't end there. Writers can dig deeper and tell the story in a, often times, fun/lively way and they still maintain that status of a trustworthy journalist.
Recently I came across another interesting fact. Many people believe blogging is only for small time reporters. However, last December when the New York Times held a live blogging session when the big CEO's involved in the auto crisis were to appear in court for the second time, the NYT's chief financial correspondent Floyd Norris led the session. That's right people, big time journalists are bloggers.
Tweet, Tweet
Now that I am down with the blogging can I officially be part, if not a small part, of the future of journalism? Wait? What? I have to Twitter too??
Twitter is a new micro blogging phenomenon and I have to be honest, I am a little worried about this one. Now, while I am a fan of facebook in small doses one of my biggest pet peeves is constant status updates. People get obsessed with constantly letting everyone know what they are doing or how their weekend was. For example:
"Sally Stew loved the weekend with the girls!!! I can't believe I drank 10 shots of whiskey haha! Love you girls!"
Maybe I am taking the comparison between facebook and twitter a little too far. I mean, after all if used in a professional way twitter can be rewarding just like blogging. Right? Or do we all need to be David Letterman here and ask: "Is this anything?"
Some people worry that if people spend all day twittering and always looking for updates on tweets, then they are missing out on other ways to engage in the news. Well, now in twitter there are hashtags. These are keywords that precede with a # on any topic. When people are tweeting on that topic they include the 'hashtag' allowing other people to search and comment as well. Seems like a pretty good way for people to interact right? Well, if everyone is tweeting during a speech are they listening. Let's give them the benefit of the doubt and say they are, but then they have to be missing something!
Twitter is much more limited than blogging. Twitter only allows 140 characters, so of course Twitter can't be considered a legitimate way to report the news, but it can get people involved. I am not writing off Twitter just yet, so for right now I will include it as a part of the never ending list of possibilities with the future of journalism.
But that doesn't mean I can't make fun of it!
Chill Out People
The main point of all of this is to focus on the fact that with the changing forms of media, there are many options for journalists and we don't need to be scared. Everyone can find something they enjoy and everyone can find a place in the future of journalism. You can be a photographer, a blogger or you can make interactive graphics. The possibilities are truly endless.
So even though we can now sum up the news day now in 100 seconds:
....don't worry. There is still a place for real journalists in the future of journalism.
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