The Death of an Industry

Have you heard about the impending demise of the journalism industry?

So have I. The only problem is it is somewhat of a myth.

Of course it is true that readers are moving online for their news. Consequently, it is also true that fewer people are reading print newspapers. What that means for print news is change and the welcoming of a new and beneficial companion --- the world wide web.

Journalism is changing and print news is lagging behind. Print news will only see an untimely death if it continues to slowly but surely adjust to something that is occurring at full speed.

So what does the web mean for print journalism?

1) Blogs - Blogs can be funny, satirical, personal and written with a specific audience in mind. Newspapers offer none of the above. With the exception of a few alternative newspapers, the news found in most daily newspapers is presented matter-of-factly. The same news story presented on the front page of The Anytown Daily is being presented on blogs around the world, but it's being presented in a way that is interesting to that blog reader.

2) Blogs again - Not only do blogs offer an alternative way for readers to gather news, they present news from different perspectives. For years, newsrooms have been in a scramble to put together a newsroom that resembles and represents the ethnic and racial makeup of this country. Unfortunately, every year ASNE reports that newspapers are still falling short of this goal. Not only does such a predicament leave newsrooms in a scramble, it leaves minorities looking for an outlet that represents them. Blogs such as Black Agenda and Hispanic Pundit help fill the gap that a lack of diversity in news can help create.

And far too many newspapers offer no compensation for internships. To add to it, labor laws require unpaid internships to be taken for academic credit. This leaves students who cannot afford to work a 40+ hour week for free while paying tuition to do so out of the running. So the journalism industry is actually helping to widen a gap it intends to close.

3) Multi-Skilled Interns - Many aspiring journalists in my generation know a thing or two about technology. Even those who do not actively try to be tech savvy may have inadvertently wandered into the land of codes and style sheets by styling a MySpace page using CSS, putting together a picture slideshow, or even editing a video for YouTube. Journalism students are eager to learn and are the perfect answer to newsrooms looking tell stories interactively.

The web is no enemy to print news. In fact, the web wants to be print news' best friend.