New Media versus Traditional Journalism

Graphic credit: Matt Hamm

Jill Dickert
jd207206@ohio.edu

Today I attended the New Media vs Traditional Journalism panel. This panel was part of the Schuneman Symposium hosted by E.W. Scripps School of Journalism.

Bob Benz, Gary Moneysmith, Peter Shaplen, and Bernhard Debatin were the panelists that were featured. The panel primarily discussed the dramatic change of the media landscape and the dark times of journalism. Although many would expect the panel to be rather pessimistic, in turn, the panelists spoke of opportunities and successes despite the dismal times.

Bob Benz in particular spoke of the importance of branding yourself. This was perhaps the most interesting and valuable thing said during this panel. He emphasized building your personal brand and being enteprenurial.

Gary Moneysmith expanded on this point and detailed the importance of Twitter. Creating a virtual network is incredibly valuable during these times. Being connected to people is important but the sharing of information is even more so.

We certainly see this in Journalism 412. Voicing thoughts and opinions about media ethics has proved to be quite important and it is only week 2! The class is able to come together and communicate in different ways.

The panel went on to discuss that in order to be a truly successful journalist today, one must outlast the competition. To best do this, establish your personal brand. Do this by utilizing Facebook, Twitter, Linked In, Delicious, Blogger, etc... By creating a personal brand, you will stand out from others.

Utilizing social media to advance a career and identity is an intriguing idea and a challenge that I am personally willing to conquer to find success.