We still matter

Where is journalism headed? I think by posting assignments on our own class blog pretty much answers the question. The Internet. We used to say that the Internet is our future, but I think we can all see now that it’s our present. The time has come. I can confidently say that our world revolves around technology, the Internet, convergence.

I still believe that journalism matters. Like the authors of “The News About the News” point out several times, people “want good journalism when they perceive their own interests are at risk” (28). But more often than when people think their own interests are at stake, I think they want to know what is going on in the world. Just because someone doesn’t pick up a newspaper or watch the 6 o’clock news everyday doesn’t mean they don’t know what’s happening in the world. They find out somehow. As a journalist, I’m aware of a lot more than the average college student. When I come home I like to share news with my roommates, who are also college students. None of them read the newspaper or watch local or national news. Much to my surprise, as I begin to tell them the big news of the day, they have already heard it somewhere along the line of their busy lives. I’m not sure how this happens, but I want to believe that more people than I think care enough about news, and as they hear it they pass it along.

Good journalism not only gives people the big news of the day, but it also provides a mode of communication to people that want to be heard. It “can give voice to the voiceless” (5). I believe that journalism binds strangers in this way. Someone that feels alone or feels like they are the only one in the world to think a particular way can read or hear an idea in the media and no longer feel solitary. Knowing that at least one other person in the world has had the same experience provides comfort and strength to also speak out. Journalists supply the mode to share common experiences. In this way, journalism can make a difference.

I believe good journalism begins with education. It’s true that anyone can be a journalist. A degree isn’t required, but people want credibility. Downie and Kaiser say educated journalists “are more inclined to dig deeper, better able to challenge conventional wisdom and more likely to report authoritatively on important subjects of all kinds…” (9). I think this says a lot about what an education can do for the art of journalism. Complete awareness of the subject at hand is what establishes great rapport and credibility, which in turn gives journalists respect. I think an education is the difference.

An education also creates the awareness that journalism is changing. The public is no longer satisfied with a morning newspaper alongside their cup of coffee. As Mitchell Stephens says in his article “Beyond News” in the Columbia Journalism Review, “Your muffin may be fresh, but the newspaper beside it is decidedly stale” (34). Next-day news isn’t the “in” thing. If something big happens after press time at a newspaper, those publications are out of luck. After people have heard it a hundred times on television, they are not going to want to read it in the newspaper the next day. What the papers turn to are their Web sites. For those who want written content, they turn to news publications’ Web sites. I think this has been the biggest change in journalism in my time. Nearly every newspaper has an accompanying Web site, and they post new news throughout the day to keep up with television.

Besides posting information on Web sites, I think journalism is turning more visual. The public’s attention gets lost very quickly. For newspapers to keep what readers they have left after losing to television and the Internet, the design and visual elements must be particularly good. As newsrooms cut jobs, I don’t think great designers can be lost in the mix. They are going to be the ones to benefit in the changing world of journalism. They will be the ones the rest of us turn to in order to sell newspapers off the stands.

Along with newspaper design, I believe Web site design will become more important. Since there are hundreds of Web sites to turn to, there is reason to compete for readers on-line as well. Navigation is extremely important. An impatient reader is likely to get frustrated if what he is looking for isn’t easy to find. Also, on-line multi-media will soon be a must-have on a news Web site.

Journalism is also headed toward entertainment. It seems that people want to hear more about what is going on in celebrities’ lives than what is happening in Iraq. I think journalism will be combining the two in the future. Some could think of this as a downside, but it could potentially be good for business. An example of the positive side is when Brad Pitt promoted John Kerry’s documentary during the last presidential election. The celebrity got the people to show up, and in turn, they learned about something real in the world. It got the public to think about the issues, once the celebrity left town. In the future, entertainers could be more involved in delivering the “real” news instead of creating the entertainment news themselves.