Even though newspapers are struggling right now, they will always be an important part of society. There will also always be an important place for the media online and on television. As is discussed in “The Reconstruction of American Journalism” in the November/December 2009 issue of the Columbia Journalism Review, media reporting is a much more open medium than it was in the past. Now, with all of the access to the internet and television, reporting can be done not only by professional journalists, but ordinary people as well. It is easy to post on a website or a blog in order to report the news.
I believe that newspapers will continue to struggle because there are easier, quicker, and more convenient ways to get the news. There are so many devices that can connect online and get the current news immediately, whereas a newspaper will be slightly old news by the time you get it in the morning.
The article states: “Reporting is becoming more participatory and collaborative. The ranks of news gatherers now include not only newsroom staffers, but freelancers, university faculty members, students, and citizens.” Online news sites include comment sections, so that supports the statement that news is becoming collaborative. Reporting is becoming more participatory as well because of blogs. The problem with blogs is obvious because they are unfiltered and may provide false information, so the filtering must be done by each individual person who is reading a blog. In the past, only professional media had the opportunity to quickly relay the news to a mass audience, but now, anyone can do it by going online.
We also read an article about the Texas Tribune and their type of journalism, which is focused on one particular area of the news. That type of journalism may be difficult if a lot of people aren’t interested in what they are reporting. On a news website or a newspaper, there are reports on all types of news, so even if you aren’t interested in something like government, you can browse another section which will be important in adding traffic and money for a news organization. But only people who are interested in the subject will visit or read a website or newspaper that focuses on one subject, and if someone isn’t interested in it, they will not visit the site or buy the paper at all and will not add money to the company. It is a big risk to focus on one area of journalism, so I believe that unless those types of organizations have an owner or donors with a lot of money to burn, those types of organizations will continue to be a niche market in journalism. I don’t believe that journalism will ever become a group of organizations or people that are only focused on one topic of media.
My vision of the future of journalism is not much different than it is today. I agree with the article in the Columbia Journalism Review when they say that they don’t see newspapers and television news vanishing in the foreseeable future, because they are still a factor in how people get their news. There are still so many people who enjoy getting their news in the morning from a newspaper as much or more than getting it online or through other sources. Even if newspapers continue to struggle as much as they are now, I still see them remaining an option as a way to get news. Online news and blogs will continue to grow as more and more people gain access to the internet. Journalism as a whole will continue to grow as a more open process than it was in the past.