Being a journalism major, I constantly get one reaction-”you know journalism is dead right?” And yes, that is the case, as the way journalism was with only print newspapers in the morning and the nightly news at night is no longer in existence thanks to Internet and the rise of social media.
But, this does mean that this is the end of journalism? No. It’s just the end of journalism as we know it. I am optimistic for not only my future, but the next generation of journalists that will join me in the newsroom. The future is bright for us, because the world is in dire need of credible journalists and great journalism.
The main reason why the field is considered to be dead is because of a little thing called technology. Let me ask you this -- why would you go out to buy a copy of the New York Times or the New Haven Register, when you can just get your appetite news by going onto Twitter or onto a news website for free? Or, why would you want to wait to watch the news at 5 p.m. when you can get news updates on your phone whenever you can?
Technology has made the way we get information much easier, and the Internet has claimed its’ place as the fourth medium of journalism. With this fourth medium, it’s important to have people that consumers can trust to deliver information accurately. Thus, online journalism becomes a new and creative methodology to deliver that information.
As one of the many students in the next generation of journalists, my peers and I should embrace the technology at hand instead of fighting it. We need to learn how to use software programs and make a website visually appealing just as much as we need to learn how to use quote patterns and Final Cut Pro. We need to learn how to live tweet at events, just as much as we need to know how to ask the right questions. This is the direction that modern journalism is going into, and if we want to be in this field, we need to learn to be able to change constantly with it, and be able to use this latest technology.
The field has come a long way from just news print stories, and it will continue to evolve. I believe that it is up to the journalist to adapt to this field, if this is a career that they wish to pursue. The world needs journalism and trustworthy, credible journalists just as much as we need doctors and teachers.
As I set to graduate in the next few months, I am optimistic about the future of my field. I’ve always been passionate about writing, and deliver news to an active audience. I look forward to working with many people like me who only have one goal in mind-to produce great content, whether it may be in digital or in print. And armed with these millennials, I believe we can keep journalism alive.
