R.I.P. Journalism?

Molly Glaze

mg671817@ohio.edu

Is journalism dying? Are journalists killing journalism? It's no surprise that journalism is different today than it was decades ago. Journalists have changed their own values and have shown that through their writing and the content they produce. In today's time, journalists aren't only required to provide facts and information anymore, they are required to tell a story. Journalists not only have to do their research and gather strong material but they also have to make their story alluring and stand out amongst the hundred other stories. So to answer the worlds question, no journalism is not dying, but journalism is changing.

Journalism is changing. Constantly. It's changing with society's norms, it's changing with the growth of technology, it's changing and will continue to change. Never again will journalism embody the same characteristics or same beliefs that it once did. Now, this isn't saying journalism is completely different now than it was 15 years ago, and that the future holds an ultimately new concept of journalism. Journalism still holds the same values that it's held decades ago, but it is changing for the better. 

Cartoon courtesy of John Francis Borra

In the past, journalism was known for creating content that gives their audience facts and information. Unfortunately, that isn't enough to set you apart from the numerous other journalists doing the same thing. In society today, technology has reached such growth that the public is able to search for answers in seconds, right at their finger tips. They are able to get their answers anywhere, whether it's a few types away or even an "Alexa, look this up for me", the public already has all the resources they need to find their answers. 

So then comes the question: How can I entice my audience to read my content, regardless of the other options they have to find their information? Chris Cillizza, recently wrote an article with the Washington Post on the changing of journalism, "we need to understand that the best way to get people addicted to our content may be to spend more time and energy on the "so what" and "now what" sides of the journalistic equation." (Cillizza, 2016). As stated in Mr. Cillizza's statement, the public can receive the "what" of any story from anywhere, a journalists job now is to further that. We are required to provide the public with more than just the facts, the public needs the why does this matter? They need the what happens now? They need a story.

The changing of journalism also comes with the fact that anyone can be a journalist. The competition in the journalism field is only increasing. With the public having unlimited access to creating their own posts and statements on social media accounts or have multiple free options to create their very on blog posts. The competition is high when it comes to getting your article the attention it deserves. 

Along with changes in journalism, we see the speed at which the public expects their content to be delivered has increased substantially. A story that is produced 24 hours past the time the story occurred is already drawn out as too late. They now expect their content to be available as soon as the event is launched. I mean, the public could google search any event that occurred within the last hour and receive 20 plus results, why should they expect anything less of journalists?

Journalism is changing. To be good journalists we must change with society's norms and accept the new ways of our content being created and delivered. Journalism is no longer about providing the public with facts and information, it's about creating a story, it's about having your content stand out from the rest, and giving the public a reason to listen to your voice. It's a competitive field now and information needs to be interesting and presented efficiently and accurately.