Journalisms future

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Journalisms future

• Thomas Abraham

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What has changed in the news business

• People have 24 hour news needs, and access news
  through the day. They do not wait for it to be
  delivered the next morning in a newspaper.
• People search for the news they want- they do not
  wait for it to be selected for them by newspaper
  editors.
• People do not always go to professional
  journalists for their news

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What has not changed

• The demand for the skills of journalism will
  always remain
• -Gathering and assessing facts
• -Researching/Verifying
• -Story telling
• -Editing
• -Packaging

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The kind of journalists who will be needed

• We need the bulletins and the brains. The
  bulletins are the first 150 words of a story,
  getting the news out fast, in conversational
  radio fashion. The brains are the people who can
  add real value through perspective, deeper
  reporting or great writing. In short, we need
  talent, a lot of it Tom Curley, head of AP

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Breaking news will have a market

• But the real demand will be for journalists who
  can add value to the news
• -Explain what events mean
• -Put the news in context
• -See things that other people cannot
• - Do all of this in a way that is independent,
  intelligent, well informed and truthful

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If you can explain events, and provide context,
you will never be short of a job

• All too often, we delude ourselves into
  believing that by simply focusing a live camera
  on an event, and dropping in the occasional ad
  lib, we are committing journalism. We're not.
  Journalism requires context and prioritizing. It
  entails separating the wheat from the chaff..
  Events don't happen in a vacuum. That's why we
  provide context Ted Koppel

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Summing up

• It is important to specialise
• What does specialisation involve? Studying and
  understanding and gaining knowledge in whatever
  area it is that you write about
• The most respected journalists are those who have
  a depth of knowledge in the areas they write about

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A few areas

• Business and finance
• Politics
• Health/Medicine/Education
• Environmental issues
• Technology
• Arts/Leisure/Entertainment/Sport

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New business models

• News organisations that depend on print
  advertising revenues will face increasing
  problems as advertising migrates to the world
  wide web.
• The exceptions will be places where internet
  penetration is relatively low, where traditional
  media will continue to enjoy advertising
  revenues- India and China

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What will emerge in its place?

• Journalism that is increasingly delivered over
  the internet to computers and hand held devices
• Journalists who will work increasingly
  independently both inside and outside traditional
  news organisations- stand alone journalists

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Old forms will not disappear-they will change

• Newspapers will increasingly become weekly
  publications, with explanatory, analytical
  articles
• Magazines will continue to be an important for
  the public to access life style related
  journalism sports, culture, art, health and
  other special interests
• Television news broadcasts at fixed times?

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The challenge facing the industry restoring
credibility

• Independence from government and special
  interests, and the freedom to question any one
• A belief that your job is to serve citizens and
  not governments and corporations
• Intellectual honesty
• Be aware of your own prejudices seeing yourself
  clearly will help you see the world clearly
• Beware of being an empty flask- all form and no
  content

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There will always be a demand for journalism

• Our pictures of the world around us are formed
  almost entirely by the media- news, entertainment
  and other forms of media