Yes, it is in fact unchanged. Journalists still do their best to produce objective stories and to get information out to people. Journalists still work to inform their target audiences of what is going on in the world. The job itself has not changed. But the area where the job is located? That has changed greatly. Every day there are more ways of getting information out to people. Gone are the days of printing a newspaper and hoping it gets to everyone in town. Now, journalists are focused on getting their stories posted on mediums like Facebook and Twitter, and hoping that little girl across the globe got to see it. Now, the definition of being a journalist has changed dramatically. Before, a journalist was that guy with the notepad and glasses that tried to think of a hard hitting question to ask a public official at a press conference. And today? My little brother could technically be considered a journalist depending on what definition you chose to use. Anyone that has access to the internet, and has something they want to say, could be considered up for journalistic merit. And, some would argue (as I often do), that it is up to the reader to decide if the author is a journalist or not. If I’m reading a blog post about bad lunchmeat in Susie’s lunchbox, then I’m not going to think this was a real journalist—just a pissed off housewife.
The key part of that quote is “At its core”. That’s the entire lynchpin in the changing world of journalism. Everything has changed, and maybe the true journalists are the ones that can adapt and stay afloat amid all the newness that is the internet and social media. Most people seem to be content complaining about new things, like Twitter and Facebook, and blogging. Well, I’m not. I’ve fully embraced the idea of going viral. I update my twitter, I check my facebook account daily, and, well, here I am blogging. Who knows, I could be the next Perez Hilton! He started out as just another guy who was bored and decided to blog about his life and celebrity gossip. And at first, no one really tuned in to him. They didn’t get him. But then…he started getting first dibs on “hot gossip”. And the world paid attention. Now, I’m not saying Perez is a “credible” journalist by any means. The day he writes an objective story for the New York Times will be the day that pigs fly. But, he’s known all over the world. And it’s because he made the decision to embrace the world of the web and make the best of it.
At its core, the job of the journalist is unchanged. The job is to report and inform your audience about what is going on out there. What has been changed is how you do that job. Your audience changed, your means of communications have changed; the world changed the channel. And now the job is all about how well you can handle a new remote.
~AvK~
*Over My Head (Cable Car)--The Fray
1 comments:
"Now, I’m not saying Perez is a “credible” journalist by any means. The day he writes an objective story for the New York Times will be the day that pigs fly."
Nice. That comment made me chuckle. Anyway, good job on this post. I definitely agree with you that journalism is heading to the blogosphere in many different ways. Adaptation is vital for the survival of the awesome journalists. I enjoyed reading your post.
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