BRATTLEBORO — Many people claim that “journalism is dead.”
They argue that nobody reads newspapers anymore, and that YouTube bloggers and people on Twitter are the new sources for news updates. They say there are no jobs left for journalism students, that there is no hope for the press.
Well, the inescapable flood of digitized living might snuff out some forms of journalism, but that only means that other forms will thrive in their place.
The jobs that once defined what a “journalist” was might not be the same as in the past, but that doesn't mean there is a shortage of work. In fact, there are more jobs than ever.
With the platform for journalism being so freely accessible, almost anyone can be a journalist. Taking photographs, shooting video footage, blogging and, of course, writing articles are all high-demand positions in this new, high-speed world.
Ross Momaney, a senior at Brattleboro Union High School, admitted that when he thinks “journalist” he thinks of “those people with those hats that say 'press' on them.”
So perhaps the skeptics and naysayers are right about a few things. Maybe nobody does read print journalism anymore, but that doesn't mean that news stops being reported. As long as this world exists, there will always be news. Life doesn't stop happening when a newspaper stops printing.
In fact, when newspapers stop printing, a whole different world opens up. As a senior, I cannot avoid the daily hail-storm of “Where are you going to college?” and “What do you want to major in?” In response, I often simply state that I want to study journalism, but that I'm not sure yet as to where.
I want to become a broadcast news analyst (more commonly referred to as a news anchor). A close family friend stared back at me with a dazed, uncomprehending look when I mentioned broadcast journalism as my major of choice. I had to spell out for her that I wanted to work in the television industry as a reporter.
This new world that I plan to venture into is less travelled and less known about. But it exists.
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The avalanche of blogs, vlogs, websites, and other digital media that have recently become viral and popular force us to shift the way we think of news. The next generation might not understand the classic joke “What's black and white and read all over?” The word “newspaper” may not once cross their minds.
Maybe in middle school, kids will be taught of the old ways of reporting and pull out decrepit issues of The New York Times, ogling the fine print and faded photographs. Copies of print articles will be stored and studied like ancient tablets. Then, after school, these kids will go home to check their Twitter feeds and Facebook pages, and maybe even update their blogs.
“In school we're always asked about current events, and how the lesson relates to the greater world. We get that by typing something into our phone, and using a variety of journalistic sources, may they be alternative or mainstream,” Momaney commented.
“I think [journalism] is headed into a realm of more minute-by-minute topics that constantly change, a here-today-gone-tomorrow type of thing.”
A student studying to become a journalist should not abandon all hope, but instead, should abandon all preconceived notions of what this profession entails. We need to prepare ourselves for a demanding, fast-paced, real-time world of news and look forward to its exciting future.