As touched on in my previous blog, it cannot be denied that journalism as a profession has undergone many changes to date and is experiencing some of its biggest changes at present.
The future of journalism is uncertain, as outlined recently at the Future of Journalism Summit. Roy Greenslade, speaker at the summit, emphasised what we have been hearing for some time now, that the newspaper will soon be dead.
We are already seeing a great deal of convergence with the internet playing a pivotal role. If the newspaper 'dies' we can only assume this will be as a result of the move from print to online. But has this resulted in a loss of 'quality' journalism, and if so, will anybody continue to pay for 'quality' journalism into the future?
As Greenslade says, "All of us here believe in quality journalism, wish to see it sustained, wish to see it improve or whatever, but the truth is, can we fund it? That's the essential question."
How do we draw the line between what is quality and what is not? Campbell Reid proposes that quality journalism is journalism that meets the needs of what the particular audience on that platform wants. But does this necessarily make it good journalism? That is, in my opinion, journalism that's free from any kind of outside influence, bias, misrepresentation etc.
This is why the idea of increased advertising to keep the traditional news platforms alive is concerning, as it is often a compromise to quality editorial content.
However, it seems inevitable. Why would the modern day consumer choose to pay extra for a newspaper that they can so easily view online?
It is safe to say that traditional forms of media will continue to change. As discussed at the summit, newspaper companies such as News Limited are changing with the times and adopting means such as video for their online counterparts.
Whether the traditional means will survive is hard to say, but what's certain is that upon entering the journalism profession, my fellow University students and I will be faced with a much different landscape than generations before us and the importance of adopting new skills such as the ability to write for online is high.
The future of journalism is uncertain, as outlined recently at the Future of Journalism Summit. Roy Greenslade, speaker at the summit, emphasised what we have been hearing for some time now, that the newspaper will soon be dead.
We are already seeing a great deal of convergence with the internet playing a pivotal role. If the newspaper 'dies' we can only assume this will be as a result of the move from print to online. But has this resulted in a loss of 'quality' journalism, and if so, will anybody continue to pay for 'quality' journalism into the future?
As Greenslade says, "All of us here believe in quality journalism, wish to see it sustained, wish to see it improve or whatever, but the truth is, can we fund it? That's the essential question."
How do we draw the line between what is quality and what is not? Campbell Reid proposes that quality journalism is journalism that meets the needs of what the particular audience on that platform wants. But does this necessarily make it good journalism? That is, in my opinion, journalism that's free from any kind of outside influence, bias, misrepresentation etc.
This is why the idea of increased advertising to keep the traditional news platforms alive is concerning, as it is often a compromise to quality editorial content.
However, it seems inevitable. Why would the modern day consumer choose to pay extra for a newspaper that they can so easily view online?
It is safe to say that traditional forms of media will continue to change. As discussed at the summit, newspaper companies such as News Limited are changing with the times and adopting means such as video for their online counterparts.
Whether the traditional means will survive is hard to say, but what's certain is that upon entering the journalism profession, my fellow University students and I will be faced with a much different landscape than generations before us and the importance of adopting new skills such as the ability to write for online is high.
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