Results tagged “Convergence” from eHub

I have a unique vantage point from which to view the transitions facing our industry. This semester I've worked as a graduate research assistant for Knight Chair in News, Leadership and Community, Pam Fine. This spring we conducted a time-use study with some of the top newspaper editors in the country.

The goal is to gain a better understanding of how these editors budget their time. Data is still coming in, but an incidental finding appears to be that many participants are spending increasing amounts of time dealing with organizational change--things like restructuring, finances, new technology, and staff training--and less time focusing on the production of news.

It certainly is an interesting time to conduct such a study: furloughs, layoffs, buyouts, belly-up. 
 
How are newspapers to survive? Two words: horizontal integration.
 
In order to survive, newspapers must recast themselves not as print outlets, but as media outlets. The method(s) by which a news outlet chooses to disseminate information becomes a strategic business decision, based on the needs of the target audience. Not just print, broadcast or online, a true multi-platform approach to provide readers information on their terms--in their preferred media formats.

It's an even more interesting time to be fresh out of college, looking to land that first job as a journalist. So, moving forward, what skills are required to be a successful journalist?

I interviewed CNN's Political Director and Senior Executive Producer of Political Programming, Sam Feist, to get his take on what skills journalists need to be competitive in today's media marketplace.

CNN's Sam Feist on skills journalists need from Josh Patterson on Vimeo.

And for those who can't adapt...

During my J500 Media and the Environment class  we learned a lot about urban farming.

We each were assigned a farmer to create a blog about and we also had to help on a podcast.

Talking with Ericka Wright about her farm, the Troostwood Youth Garden showed me that urban farming was all about adaptation. Her neighborhood has very little fresh food around and a lot of youth. She decided to start a garden in her own yard to feed her community and help educate the kids.

This is what journalism needs to do.

Adapt. Find new ways to present information. Become better at everything.

For a while I just considered myself a photographer. Then after working at the Kansan I considered myself a photojournalist. Now after learning about blogging, copy editing, video editing, dreamweaver, fireworks and podcasts I have the confidence to say that I am a journalist and I am proud.

I am the future of journalism. Adaptation and learning a little bit of everything

I was going to write a blog on the importance of convergence as we enter a new age of journalism. You know, that's supposed to be the business of journalism these days. Breaking news. Post updates to the Web. Incorporate video into your story packages. Accomplish more work, yet do it all in the same number of hours as before you had all the work. Oh yeah, and for the same pay. Sometimes, even for less pay. And with fewer staffers.