Who wants to be up at 3 a.m.?
If I had to choose one word that would describe what it will be like to work in online journalism in five years, it would be stressful. The reason that online information rates as more useful to the media consumer is that it is faster than any other medium. The information can be accessed more quickly and produced more quickly. The bad news: Information also becomes outdated more quickly.The task of constantly tweaking the news seems daunting, and it is. I have no doubt that there will be red-eyed journalists staring at their blog at 3 a.m. waiting for business hours to start so that they can get the perfect source. Likewise, online producers will drink a sixth cup of coffee with jittery hands, wondering what the latest post is missing. Journalism, however, has never been a career to coddle one's nerves, so let us move on.
It will be OK for advertisers.
The name of the game will be convergence. Currently, the online news sources are subsidiaries of their true, old media moneymakers. An online ad may appear in the classified section online, but the person paid for it at the newspaper. There may be an ad on the web page for the same product that was on a newscast, but it won't have the captive audience.I believe that the refinement of streaming, flash video and linking consumers directly to a site where they can purchase the product will lead to advanced online advertsing. Those advances will iron out advertiser's fears about the online medium as it becomes the preferred news source.
Those damn kids and their cell phones.
One area of online journalism that is often ignored is the overwhelming use of cell phones. I remember having a pager in junior high school, and thinking how cool it was that I could get the weather report or sports scores if I wanted to pay a little extra. Although the cell phone is not a primary source for direct media yet, I believe I will be within the next five years.
Who wants to be an online reporter?
Online journalism will be going on 24/7. There will be no end of the day. There may be an end for an individual journalist, but the site will need constant attention. News never stops happening, and people want to know what is going on, even if they don't have all the details. In turn, the reporting will become constant because the information can be updated so easily. A beneficial side effect will be that mistakes can always be corrected.
Who wants to be an online producer?
The job of the online producer in five years is unenviable in its infinite nature. The site/page can always be better, have more links, more art, video, sidebars, captions, mouse games and even product sales. Although the full integration of these extras seems maddening, it will be essential.
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