October 20, 2009 Special Issue

Journalism formula

New media needs new blood

by Mike Gasher

Reports about the death of newspapers, even the death of journalism itself, are greatly exaggerated. Whether their tone is upbeat—touting the democratizing features of citizen journalism—or gloomy—tolling the bell for brand-name news organizations—such reports are not very helpful to those of us who truly want to understand what is happening in this period of transition in journalism’s history.

Let’s face it; no one can predict the future, and those who have tried in the past have made some pretty silly pronouncements. It was the legendary Bill Gates, after all, who said in 1981 that “640k ought to be enough for anybody.” And he wasn’t referring to his salary.

If there is any reliable guide to the future, it’s not the crystal ball but the rear-view mirror. We’ve lived through almost 500 years of journalism, of news media, and, for that matter, the commercial organization of the news media. Newspapers and magazines didn’t disappear when radio emerged as a new medium in the 1920s and ‘30s. Radio didn’t die when television came along in the 1940s and ‘50s. Instead, history tells us that old media transform themselves, adopting new journalistic roles in the face of increased competition from newer media. The change is constant.

What we are witnessing now is old media—or “legacy” media—coming to terms with the Internet and all of the new
journalism forms emerging online. Newspapers, magazines, radio and television stations all have web sites, even if they’re not quite sure what to do with them, how to employ their dynamism and their interactivity, how to develop distinct missions for their conventional and their online forms, and—perhaps most important of all—how to make money. The media conglomerates, which have television and newspaper properties, are combining those elements online, even if most aren’t doing it particularly well.
As a journalism educator, I have mixed feelings about all of this. Like many people, I am excited by all the applications that new media forms enable, and I am thankful that I can watch it all from the privileged and protected perspective of the academy. I am mindful of journalism history and therefore confident that the old forms of journalism will adapt to—or combine with—the new forms and that the result will be a net gain in media platforms.

At the same time, I recognize that journalism is produced by people, not machines or software applications; shrinking the size of newspaper, radio and television newsrooms may keep the shareholders and bookkeepers happy (for a while) but it won’t help news organizations compete, differentiate or distinguish themselves in an age when mainstream journalism has more competitors and even more critics. The single most important advantage the conventional media have is their staff of professional journalists, which is an advantage to be pressed, not squandered.

I can appreciate the anxiety journalism students today must feel. The industry they are training to enter is in upheaval and seemingly in decline. And the new media world—where all the excitement is—has no viable business model.

Is it time to switch majors?

I don’t think so. In fact, it is the students studying journalism today who will be in the best position to navigate the journalism of the 21st century. They are the ones who have grown up with digital technologies and are not stuck in old ways of thinking about journalism. They are the ones who can combine the fundamental journalism skills of reporting and writing—which haven’t changed all that much—with the new ways of storytelling now available. Their thinking is in tune with the times.

What hasn’t changed in the 30-odd years I’ve been around journalism is the formula for finding a job. It is still to start small and work your way up. It worked for me and most of my generation, and it has worked for our most recent graduates. Move to the boonies and take a first job with the Weekly Bugle. Or freelance. Or do both at the same time. At least it’s journalism and at least it pays.

Keep your career aspirations in view, keep improving your skills and never stop learning. Journalism needs you now
more than ever.

Mike Gasher is the director of Concordia University’s journalism department. He has worked as a reporter for over 30 years.