The future of journalism is a very ambiguous topic, something that can’t be well defined. I think it won’t differ much from the transformation of many other things, in that journalists will need to continually learn, to constantly be trained to keep up with what works to keep the art of journalism alive. Just as teachers have workshops and medics have conferences, journalists will need to transform their skills.
I believe the most successful publications will maintain a balance in writing about what readers want to hear about, entertaining them in a sense and objectively covering those issues that are most important, the world news that should be covered despite what everyone wants to hear because it is the bigger picture; something that might affect readers well after the desired topic is gone.
Search Engine Optimization is, in a sense, defining a part of the news process today, but I could see its popularity going downhill as well. If publications can effectively hook readers into longer stories, those readers might eventually tire of profound articles with too-obvious titles, even if it makes finding them easier.
Reporters can optimize their readership through a number of tactics, many of which entertain the reader. The millenials’ generation places a large emphasis on entertainment, so it is only natural for them to enjoy things more and remember things more easily if they are entertained. For example, high school students may enjoy a particular class because an occasional video is shown. It gets a portion of the job done, informs them, but maybe in a more entertaining way than a lecture would. A college student might choose a church because of the musicians that play during the worship service or the lax rules on dress code and behavior, each of which could be arguably entertaining. The problem might be the expectation of entertainment after so many accommodations.
Student newspapers, such as the Traveler, have an opportunity to hook student readers with entertainment: more graphics, more color, more feature-style articles, but the invisible line separates the newspaper from the next magazine or mindless Web site. The survival of a student newspaper might depend on entertainment, but the reputation of the student newspaper depends on the balance maintained with clear, concise, relevant news.
I hope that my future in journalism lies in writing, primarily. I’m sure that most current journalist positions would entail a lot more than the reporting and writing, so I feel that a large part of the career would be a learning process; something that won’t stop, even after a wide-spread transition of one-function journalists or "writers and reporters only" is made to journalists that produce the entire piece (video, photos, writing, reporting, graphics).
At first, I would be learning a lot more about the video and photography process, possibly creating graphics as well. I’ve had little experience in design and layout, so all these would be new things for me. Part of the allure I found in a print journalist’s job is the constant learning process, whether it is from the technology or from the people I interview.
