Thursday, February 21, 2008

Is print journalism a waste of time?

With reporters packing up plastic crates and boxes with desk reminants around you, is there a way to keep your confidence in the shifty world of print journalism?
It seems today online is prevailing in more rapidly as print media, newspapers and magazines, keep down-sizing.
I have heard of at least three or four big-time magazine and newspaper editors who have been cut back from their jobs due to down-sizing. I was actually talking to one of my old internship editors as, he was getting the boot from his job, due to the issue.
When the money isn't coming in because everyone can find your content on the web, who's job is safe?
The Director of Poynter Career Center, Colleen Eddy thinks so there is hope, judging by her column entitled "Face an Uncertain News Industry with Confidence."
I think it's easy for Eddy to say "there may be a new opportunity outside the walls of your office," but everyones initial reaction is disbelief and disdain.
Does that mean that as a journalism student with a various experiences and qualifications, I may still lose my job even after working my preverbail buns off?
I agree, lay offs, if your the one replacing someone, is a sure fire way to gain more experience and become more marketable. But knowing that I may be the editor of Rolling Stone magazine one day and scaling the unemployment line the next, seems to not sit too well with me.
One thing to remember, is that the down-size of print has been an ongoing thing since the internet gained the reins. By checking out journalismjobs.com you can see reports back as far as 2001.
Here is the evidence what's the solution?

1 comment:

Sue Burzynski Bullard said...

You are right. The industry is in transition, and the transition isn't pretty. At the same time, I think eventually more opportunities will open up for journalists who are willing to broaden their skills and learn new ways of telling stories online and in print. Your generation is likely to change careers much more often than mine did. The key, for you, is to be open to learning new ways of doing things including telling stories.