“Journalism is dead.” A statement that is continuously heard all around us. Those of us intending to go into journalism are constantly being questioned about what we will ever do with that degree. Because journalism is dying, right? Actually, that’s far from the truth.
Journalism is more alive than ever, and the question to be asked is, “Is journalism dead or are media just simply evolving?”
All of our editors agreed with the statement that journalism is not dead, but in fact is evolving. One of our editors believes that journalism is, “becoming something much bigger with technology at the forefront of our lives. Instead of print being the biggest outlet for news, online articles and broadcasts are definitely being consumed more.” People are consuming more news now than they ever have whether they are aware of it or not. Journalism is placed directly in front of us through different media; media we are accustomed to now. Digital media have largely outpaced the traditional media in the news production, but traditional media, like printed newspapers and magazines, or radio and television, are still around and they haven’t been fully replaced yet. Some people prefer traditional media over the digital platforms and there is still something to say about the media experience that traditional media offer.
However, when it comes to news distributed through different media, our editors all recognized that news has shifted primarily to digital forms, one of our editors even said, “People tend to associate journalists with newspapers, but physical newspapers are dying out. These newspapers have switched to online platforms and have many subscribers and readers.” Another editor discussed the impact of artificial intelligence (AI) on journalism and journalists. They stated, “Mostly everything you look up online will bring you to an online newspaper. When a breaking news story happens, journalists give you the facts, not AI.”
That raises the question, “Are journalists still needed when AI is so prevalent today?” One editor believes that without journalists, the people will be fed misinformation from AI that will cause them to lose the knowledge of what is happening around them. She expressed her view on this topic and how it pertains to what is going on currently, “This statement is especially sad to hear during an election year where knowing the truth about people is incredibly important.”
Another one of our editors shared, “People who say journalism isn’t needed anymore have no idea the value and impact journalists make every day. If you got rid of journalism, the public would be fed lies by the highest people in society; in other words, journalists are the voice of the general public and the voice for regular people. Without journalists that voice is silenced.”
Journalists will always be needed to keep news alive and to deliver truths to the public, giving them perspectives and stories they cannot get elsewhere. Journalists are responsible for giving information to the public, as editor explained, “Well, who else is going to get you your news, or whatever you read online? We relay the information, so who else is going to relay it?”
Most of our editors get their news from TikTok, Instagram, X, The New York Times, television, Deadline, Apple News, and newspapers. Each and every one of these media outlets are reporting news, developing stories that are coming from journalists and other news sources.
So while some think journalism is “dead,” an editor would respond with, “Definitely not, I mean, you will reading this editorial in The Outlook, a very strong and important campus paper that has been publishing for over 90 years.”
Wednesday, October 16, 2024
