Tomorrow’s journalism will be whatever you make it

I’m at Western Washington University this week as a visiting professor, speaking to a number of classes in the communications school on the concepts of Journalism 2.0. The core message I’m trying to deliver: tomorrow’s journalism will be whatever you make it.

Sure, jobs at traditional news organizations are disappearing. But opportunities to influence, inform and interact with an audience are exploding.

But you need skills. Digital skills. So I am encouraging students to start a blog on WordPress, experiment with Twitter, and think about starting a social network on Ning.

If you’re applying for a job, experience with these new tools (and many others) will separate you from the pack of resumes that list Myspace and Facebook as their cheif digital accomplishments.

And if you can’t find a good job to apply for, you’ll have a better understanding of the digital marketplace and, therefore, be closer to new ideas of how to serve an audience with information.

Start your own site? Why not? If you don’t want to fly solo, then look for new opportunities. The cost of entry couldn’t be lower. And that’s another reason why there’s never been a better time to be in journalism.

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