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.
"Chris Nelson, 29 and a refugee from a DVD production job in Hollywood, told me Annenberg students aren't so naive that they've overlooked the sickly media job market. But they've embraced an axiom: Crisis=Opportunity."
And then it starts to make sense. Maybe veteran reporters are receiving the axe, and the current business model surely sucks, but WE are the future of journalism. We will be responsible for carrying out the tasks that will keep the business of journalism afloat. We can do it better than anybody else. We've grown up with the Internet, blogging, podcasts, and video, so we understand what is necessary to produce a quality product in the "new era" of journalism. I hope this isn't just me being naïve, of course.
After all, crisis = opportunity.
That is the journalism world we live in. The question is: Why in the heck would anyone our age want to join this poorly-structured, archaic and supposedly dead-in-the-water profession?
Good question.
I ponder this often. It seems rather insane sometimes to think about the amount of work that goes into and cost of an undergraduate or graduate education for a profession with a poor business model that doesn't pay very well. And yet I'm less than a week away from graduating with a master's degree in journalism.
Apparently, I am not alone.
I came across this article a couple of weeks ago, then found it again this morning when I Googled "Journalism convergence" and clicked on the News tab.
A couple of fun snippets include:
"For almost $100,000 (including room and board) over two years, USC's graduate journalism program will prepare you for a profession that features low pay, long hours and an uncertain future. You'll learn to produce video, to blog and to write a tight news lead."
And the best part:
Good question.
I ponder this often. It seems rather insane sometimes to think about the amount of work that goes into and cost of an undergraduate or graduate education for a profession with a poor business model that doesn't pay very well. And yet I'm less than a week away from graduating with a master's degree in journalism.
Apparently, I am not alone.
I came across this article a couple of weeks ago, then found it again this morning when I Googled "Journalism convergence" and clicked on the News tab.
A couple of fun snippets include:
"For almost $100,000 (including room and board) over two years, USC's graduate journalism program will prepare you for a profession that features low pay, long hours and an uncertain future. You'll learn to produce video, to blog and to write a tight news lead."
And the best part:
"Chris Nelson, 29 and a refugee from a DVD production job in Hollywood, told me Annenberg students aren't so naive that they've overlooked the sickly media job market. But they've embraced an axiom: Crisis=Opportunity."
And then it starts to make sense. Maybe veteran reporters are receiving the axe, and the current business model surely sucks, but WE are the future of journalism. We will be responsible for carrying out the tasks that will keep the business of journalism afloat. We can do it better than anybody else. We've grown up with the Internet, blogging, podcasts, and video, so we understand what is necessary to produce a quality product in the "new era" of journalism. I hope this isn't just me being naïve, of course.
After all, crisis = opportunity.
Like I wrote earlier, as a poor graduate student, I have a miserly phone. I can send and receive text messages, but can't do much more. Here are some popular desktop utilities for keeping track of the world via Twitter. 
