How do you feel about journalism right now?

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7 Comments

Comment by Kaela Jensen on December 10, 2008 at 9:16pm

As a newly-minted journalism major, the future is a little daunting. Lectures now include the question: will there even be a job for you in a few years? Technology is evolving before we can even get into the field. There is little way to even evaluate possible futures because, inevitably, the field will change again before analysis can be performed. Like any other generation, we'll inherit what the journalists of the now create. But there hasn't been an evolution like this since the television, so indeed the stakes are higher.

Wish us luck!

Comment by Leslie Vandever on November 30, 2008 at 8:08pm

Yikes. My point with "follow the money" was that journalism has, along with a lot of other industries in America, been compromised by the pursuit of money. We don't ask those questions for fear of losing readers, losing advertisers, or perhaps losing our jobs. But the hard questions still need to be asked.

Comment by Leslie Vandever on November 30, 2008 at 8:06pm

The old adage, "follow the money" applies just as well to journalism's current predicament as it did to breaking the Watergate coverup. I love journalism and I love being a journalist. I've always been an idealist, however, so this last decade of journalism disappointed me greatly. I've been stunned at the way our media avoids asking pertinent questions, and the way we've let the leaders of our country get off without answering those questions or giving us stock, sound-byte answers that didn't actually answer the question asked. Because of it, our leadership has taken us, as Americans, down a dark road.

I'm concerned that if journalists don't find the guts to ask the right questions, and keep asking them until we get a real answer, we'll find ourselves without credibility and indeed, without jobs. And we're teetering on the edge right now.

Newspapers are dying -- I hate that, but it's true. So we really do need to look to new ways to report on what's happening in our world so that everyone, all citizens, get the whole story. And if the people we're covereing are doing something wrong, we shouldn't be afraid to point it out. That is, after all, what we're here for, and if we're lucky, what we're paid to do.

Comment by Miriam Boon on November 26, 2008 at 10:07pm

From a personal point of view, I feel wary. The dice have been thrown and for all our speculation and punditry, none of us really know what is going to happen. I'm wary of putting all my eggs in traditional media's basket, because although things could turn out to be hardly changed, my instincts tell me that everything will change drastically. It's a question of whether the introduction of the internet is like the introduction of radio, or the introduction of the Gutenberg press.

From a more global perspective, I feel exhilarated and excited. Although I mourn the unemployment that will come from the shifts I anticipate, I'm actually glad that the industry is changing. For years the press has maintained strict independence from the government because any dependence might compromise our watchdog role. In fact, we've been so busy guarding against the government that we often seem oblivious to the fact that we've become dependent on wealthy corporations which are every bit as powerful, corruptible and in need of watchdogs as the government. That, and many other difficulties the press is facing suggest that it is time to explore new ways of accomplishing the same goals. What we have done is valuable, but I believe that we can do better.

And that inspires me. It energizes me. I want to get involved. If we want to do better, we need to dive in, get our hands dirty, learn to program or work with programmers, and start shaping the future of new media rather than dealing with the new media present. With the right tools, we can improve the process at all levels to create journalism that is more effective in fulfilling its role in the democratic process.

Comment by Luiz Nemer on November 26, 2008 at 11:02am

I feel fine and worry. I'm worried because do journalism in countries that are really desenvolved is one thing, and in countries like Brazil, is other. Here, some journalists (and students) are not seeing that our profission is changing. If they don't see this, or don't worry about it, we will be continuing with the old way of work, what is not too bad, but I think that everything needs to change one day, and the journalism needs it too. So, why not do the new way? Why not try new technics? One they my classmates and work friends will be actuallizing themselfs. I feel good because the new medias, the internet and the new generation of journalists in the world are modifying the old journalism. We always need to change, and now we are living a good time of transformation. Technology, journalists, internet, researches and globalization. Everything is doing we think in other ways of work. It is hard, but necessary (and good!).
PS: of course we have amazing journalists. I didn't mentioned them because I'm not concerned about the ones that are preparing thenselfs.

Comment by Matt Neznanski on November 25, 2008 at 12:09pm

I feel fine about journalism, but I feel like the crushing weight of expectations (to succeed or to fail) has people in my company either jumping ship or frozen in place. And I don't think I'm alone.
I think people know where we're heading, but can't move off the dime to make it happen for fear of being the one who pulled the toppled the house of cards.
The next six months will be very telling. I never thought I was an entrepreneur, but the future leaders in the industry are going to be those who step up to fill the information vacuum that forms when news orgs start to fold and I'd like to be among them.

Comment by Kurt Greenbaum on November 25, 2008 at 8:17am

I feel great about journalism. I think there has never been a better (or more important) time to be a journalist, because of all the means and modes of getting information. I feel deeply concerned about the newspaper industry, however.