Journalism: Defining the new age

Do you think you have it bad? Become a journalism major. The College of Journalism is considering changing the curriculum to better reflect the changes in the industry. It is always nice to be prepared in school for what may come in the workforce, but the changes remind us we are required to know more than ever  and finding a place in this competitive job market is contingent on that knowledge.

Every day, our professors remind us we will probably have to uproot our lives to an undesirable region of the country and then not be able to afford living there. Print students have to hear from everyone that newspapers are dying. Broadcast students are told to know how to do every single position at a news station or move aside for someone who does. Online students just don't exist, which means their problems don't exist either.

And no matter which major you are, having a niche is strongly recommended because just reporting does not suffice anymore — at least not for a profit. One of the new ways to get a decent paycheck in the field is to know the most intimate details about one subject and be your own reporter. Dr. Sanjay Gupta serves as a prime and successful example of that, but we're even warned that his luck is rare and unlikely to happen to us. 

The truth is though the industry may not be as booming as it once was, it doesn't mean it's dead. The rumors of death mainly target print and broadcast, but online is set to flourish because of its media capabilities, employment flexibility and timeliness. Some forget online journalism has its own issues with accuracy and conventional journalistic guidelines, which is why people still heavily rely upon TV and newspapers. 

Our professors look at the economical side of the industry and seem to forget that the basics can never be replaced. A mélange of these different forms can work together to better deliver news.  Once this viable combination is discovered, we can begin to look at the economic opportunities it will present. Journalism is reinventing itself and adapting to technology better. That shouldn't be mistaken for the idea that it will grow independent of old media and, furthermore, of journalists.  

Newspapers and TV news are still important because the entire world is not wired to the Internet. In Third World countries especially, Internet cafés are not everywhere and many lack speed and certain programs for media viewing. This means the majority of the market is going elsewhere for their media — old media to be specific.

So to our professors who incessantly promote a bleak outlook, hear this: Just because your days in "the biz" are finished doesn't mean ours are. People will always need the news in its three basic current forms for as long as my generation will be in "the biz."

Coming to the realization of that fact mixed with a little encouragement would be nice.

Fenan Solomon is a senior journalism and pre-pharmacy major. She can be reached at solomon at umdbk dot com.