The Future of News

I think the Simpsons got it right- the medium of print journalism is indeed dying. The documentary Stop the Press, discusses the downward spiral that print journalism has taken in the last few years. That's not to say that the quality of writing has decreased, but rather the number of people who read the newspaper on a day to day basis has diminished drastically. The documentary stated that this lack of public interest in newspapers has ultimately led to numerous cut backs in newspaper employment and has even caused several newspapers to go under. According to one of the documentary's sources, newspaper employment is down 20%. One of the reasons for all the cutbacks is because of the introduction of new media in the journalism world. Many people find it easier to get their news from online sources. This creates a severe problem for newspapers who charge money for their papers and also make it available online for no cost. I feel that print journalism needs to make drastic changes to its operations if it wishes to thrive in our technologically advanced society. One source from the documentary predicted that the last paper will be recycled in the year 2040. This prediction, while harsh comes from observing the beating that print journalism has taken in the last few years. Newspapers have fewer and fewer dedicated followers, and this is simply because people like news that is fast, easy, and convenient....

what is journalism

Based on the assigned reading material as well as the information that we were given in class, I feel that journalism is a form of writing that tells people about things that really happened. That being said, since these news worthy events actually happened, I feel that journalists have the responsibility to inform the public about the truth.
I agree with the material that we learned in class that stated that the most important characteristic of a journalist is curiosity. This however, does not mean that anyone with a bit of curiosity would make a good journalist. Journalists must have a love of reading and writing, a desire to contribute to society, a desire to be independent, a love for being on the inside, and the challenges of going deeper.