Comments on: Journalism is Changing http://talkincblog.com/2009/06/journalism-is-changing/ Just another WordPress weblog Tue, 22 May 2012 04:24:44 +0000 http://wordpress.org/?v=2.7.1 hourly 1 By: Whitney http://talkincblog.com/2009/06/journalism-is-changing/comment-page-1/#comment-397 Whitney Thu, 11 Jun 2009 17:09:05 +0000 http://talkincblog.com/?p=2534#comment-397 Journalism is struggling to navigate change because it refused to even acknowledge, much less participate in, broader media and technology changes for so long. The traditional print journalism model – particularly with regard to newspapers – made a lot of people very rich and powerful in the last century. In fact, the profit margin for print media remained one of the largest of any industry for decades. As late as the ‘90s, newspapers were maintaining 10 to 30 percent margins. (Turns out, I did retain something other than text messages in JOUR 3310. Who knew?) So management balked at changing the highly successful model of daily newspapers – where people absorbed the news for an hour every morning over coffee or every evening after supper – when people began to drift away from their kitchen tables and toward their laptops and cell phones. Owners simply said no. And they had enough capital and clout to get away with it. Furthermore, as they refused to adjust their business models to advancing technology, the actual journalists reporting and writing remained stagnant in their practices as well. As a result, the very same sources responsible for keeping us informed and prepared have spent the last several years straining to keep themselves up to date, much less produce quality products for their audiences. <br><br>With readership plummeting, publishers are, in fact, catering to the drama, gossip and bias that seem to consume our society, and the shift is, indeed, done almost solely for profit – an attempt to recreate the outrageous margins ownership became so accustomed to. <br><br>But journalism can be better, and I think it will be. Like the rest of the field, even the best journalism schools and teachers are behind. Did my professors understand Twitter? Could they stand Facebook? Do they blog? Mostly, no. But they transformed my lifelong love of writing into an actual ability. They taught me how to report, write and edit anything. (Ever glanced at a friend’s biology text book and pointed out grammatical errors and style inconsistencies? I have.)They showed me how to handle ethical dilemmas and to never let a source dictate a story. So while journalism is definitely sliding, it will recover. The next generation of journalists – my friends and fellow recent graduates – understands the lapses in journalism right now and is frustrated by it. These future journalists know the current model is broken and they will be responsible for reinvigorating it. They may not have journalism jobs at the moment, but they’re smart and itching to use the tools they gained in journalism school and the imaginations that have blossomed outside of it to re-inspire this field.<br><br>Because here’s the thing: Journalism, behind all the other flashing nonsense, has two foundations – truth and words. Journalism is the unperfectable craft of rearranging letters, thoughts and notions into coherent, meaningful and honest messages. Whether through tweets, texts, tabloids or computer screens, people will always crave those messages, and as even the old journalism model knows, where there’s demand, there will be supply. Journalism is struggling to navigate change because it refused to even acknowledge, much less participate in, broader media and technology changes for so long. The traditional print journalism model – particularly with regard to newspapers – made a lot of people very rich and powerful in the last century. In fact, the profit margin for print media remained one of the largest of any industry for decades. As late as the ‘90s, newspapers were maintaining 10 to 30 percent margins. (Turns out, I did retain something other than text messages in JOUR 3310. Who knew?) So management balked at changing the highly successful model of daily newspapers – where people absorbed the news for an hour every morning over coffee or every evening after supper – when people began to drift away from their kitchen tables and toward their laptops and cell phones. Owners simply said no. And they had enough capital and clout to get away with it. Furthermore, as they refused to adjust their business models to advancing technology, the actual journalists reporting and writing remained stagnant in their practices as well. As a result, the very same sources responsible for keeping us informed and prepared have spent the last several years straining to keep themselves up to date, much less produce quality products for their audiences.

With readership plummeting, publishers are, in fact, catering to the drama, gossip and bias that seem to consume our society, and the shift is, indeed, done almost solely for profit – an attempt to recreate the outrageous margins ownership became so accustomed to.

But journalism can be better, and I think it will be. Like the rest of the field, even the best journalism schools and teachers are behind. Did my professors understand Twitter? Could they stand Facebook? Do they blog? Mostly, no. But they transformed my lifelong love of writing into an actual ability. They taught me how to report, write and edit anything. (Ever glanced at a friend’s biology text book and pointed out grammatical errors and style inconsistencies? I have.)They showed me how to handle ethical dilemmas and to never let a source dictate a story. So while journalism is definitely sliding, it will recover. The next generation of journalists – my friends and fellow recent graduates – understands the lapses in journalism right now and is frustrated by it. These future journalists know the current model is broken and they will be responsible for reinvigorating it. They may not have journalism jobs at the moment, but they’re smart and itching to use the tools they gained in journalism school and the imaginations that have blossomed outside of it to re-inspire this field.

Because here’s the thing: Journalism, behind all the other flashing nonsense, has two foundations – truth and words. Journalism is the unperfectable craft of rearranging letters, thoughts and notions into coherent, meaningful and honest messages. Whether through tweets, texts, tabloids or computer screens, people will always crave those messages, and as even the old journalism model knows, where there’s demand, there will be supply.

]]> By: Whitney http://talkincblog.com/2009/06/journalism-is-changing/comment-page-1/#comment-144 Whitney Thu, 11 Jun 2009 14:09:05 +0000 http://talkincblog.com/?p=2534#comment-144 Journalism is struggling to navigate change because it refused to even acknowledge, much less participate in, broader media and technology changes for so long. The traditional print journalism model – particularly with regard to newspapers – made a lot of people very rich and powerful in the last century. In fact, the profit margin for print media remained one of the largest of any industry for decades. As late as the ‘90s, newspapers were maintaining 10 to 30 percent margins. (Turns out, I did retain something other than text messages in JOUR 3310. Who knew?) So management balked at changing the highly successful model of daily newspapers – where people absorbed the news for an hour every morning over coffee or every evening after supper – when people began to drift away from their kitchen tables and toward their laptops and cell phones. Owners simply said no. And they had enough capital and clout to get away with it. Furthermore, as they refused to adjust their business models to advancing technology, the actual journalists reporting and writing remained stagnant in their practices as well. As a result, the very same sources responsible for keeping us informed and prepared have spent the last several years straining to keep themselves up to date, much less produce quality products for their audiences. <br><br>With readership plummeting, publishers are, in fact, catering to the drama, gossip and bias that seem to consume our society, and the shift is, indeed, done almost solely for profit – an attempt to recreate the outrageous margins ownership became so accustomed to. <br><br>But journalism can be better, and I think it will be. Like the rest of the field, even the best journalism schools and teachers are behind. Did my professors understand Twitter? Could they stand Facebook? Do they blog? Mostly, no. But they transformed my lifelong love of writing into an actual ability. They taught me how to report, write and edit anything. (Ever glanced at a friend’s biology text book and pointed out grammatical errors and style inconsistencies? I have.)They showed me how to handle ethical dilemmas and to never let a source dictate a story. So while journalism is definitely sliding, it will recover. The next generation of journalists – my friends and fellow recent graduates – understands the lapses in journalism right now and is frustrated by it. These future journalists know the current model is broken and they will be responsible for reinvigorating it. They may not have journalism jobs at the moment, but they’re smart and itching to use the tools they gained in journalism school and the imaginations that have blossomed outside of it to re-inspire this field.<br><br>Because here’s the thing: Journalism, behind all the other flashing nonsense, has two foundations – truth and words. Journalism is the unperfectable craft of rearranging letters, thoughts and notions into coherent, meaningful and honest messages. Whether through tweets, texts, tabloids or computer screens, people will always crave those messages, and as even the old journalism model knows, where there’s demand, there will be supply. Journalism is struggling to navigate change because it refused to even acknowledge, much less participate in, broader media and technology changes for so long. The traditional print journalism model – particularly with regard to newspapers – made a lot of people very rich and powerful in the last century. In fact, the profit margin for print media remained one of the largest of any industry for decades. As late as the ‘90s, newspapers were maintaining 10 to 30 percent margins. (Turns out, I did retain something other than text messages in JOUR 3310. Who knew?) So management balked at changing the highly successful model of daily newspapers – where people absorbed the news for an hour every morning over coffee or every evening after supper – when people began to drift away from their kitchen tables and toward their laptops and cell phones. Owners simply said no. And they had enough capital and clout to get away with it. Furthermore, as they refused to adjust their business models to advancing technology, the actual journalists reporting and writing remained stagnant in their practices as well. As a result, the very same sources responsible for keeping us informed and prepared have spent the last several years straining to keep themselves up to date, much less produce quality products for their audiences.

With readership plummeting, publishers are, in fact, catering to the drama, gossip and bias that seem to consume our society, and the shift is, indeed, done almost solely for profit – an attempt to recreate the outrageous margins ownership became so accustomed to.

But journalism can be better, and I think it will be. Like the rest of the field, even the best journalism schools and teachers are behind. Did my professors understand Twitter? Could they stand Facebook? Do they blog? Mostly, no. But they transformed my lifelong love of writing into an actual ability. They taught me how to report, write and edit anything. (Ever glanced at a friend’s biology text book and pointed out grammatical errors and style inconsistencies? I have.)They showed me how to handle ethical dilemmas and to never let a source dictate a story. So while journalism is definitely sliding, it will recover. The next generation of journalists – my friends and fellow recent graduates – understands the lapses in journalism right now and is frustrated by it. These future journalists know the current model is broken and they will be responsible for reinvigorating it. They may not have journalism jobs at the moment, but they’re smart and itching to use the tools they gained in journalism school and the imaginations that have blossomed outside of it to re-inspire this field.

Because here’s the thing: Journalism, behind all the other flashing nonsense, has two foundations – truth and words. Journalism is the unperfectable craft of rearranging letters, thoughts and notions into coherent, meaningful and honest messages. Whether through tweets, texts, tabloids or computer screens, people will always crave those messages, and as even the old journalism model knows, where there’s demand, there will be supply.

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