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.
[...] to college students, Mark Briggs asserts there’s never been a better time to be in journalism, but a serious upgrade in digital skills is [...]
Mark – I completely agree with you and am hopeful that the students you’re working with this week will hear what you are saying and act on it. I have been reviewing resumes for an intern position and am finding slim to none in the web/social media skills.
I’d add that if they have links to their published work, to use a professional site to promote themselves (… shameless promo, but want to note we have profiles at publish2.com; and LinkedIn has the online resumes covered, but not much promo space for one to highlight their stories), even if it is their own blog – being on the web is essential.
As you mentioned, this is a time of great opportunity and I’m excited to see the next generation of writers and producers making an impact in this industry.
Mark – Do you have examples of students who mixed their own recruitment efforts with journalism 2.0? I’m really curious to see some examples. What has helped them to make a difference compaired to Facebook and Myspace?
Great question, Leon.
I know several journalists who have successfully used “Journalism 2.0″ skills to land plum gigs at ESPN.com, MSNBC.com, Politco.com, etc.
I know students who found cool jobs at niche content web sites – not mainstream news sites – upon graduation because they had digital skills PLUS a journalism education.
Their calling card was digital skills and an aptitude for new media without any of the constraints that traditional media might carry.