Can Young Entrepreneurs Save Journalism?

There's a debate underway, in newsrooms, boardrooms, and classrooms about how to save journalism. That's right: save journalism. Here's why, according to a recent article in the New York Times:
The American Journalism Review estimates that 15 percent of the nation’s newspaper newsroom jobs were lost in 2008 as news consumers continued to gravitate to online sources and as traditional revenue streams dried up; so far this year, major newspapers in Denver and Seattle have folded altogether.At the same time, the shift from a print-based, scheduled world of media to a digital, on-demand world of options is changing how journalists do their jobs...At stake is a generation of reporters, and the continued role of journalists as the eyes, ears and questioners for the public."

The full article can be found at:

http://www.nytimes.com/2009/04/19/education/edlife/journ-t.html?_r=2

Journalism's future depends on those who can come up with a new business model to support journalism; it may depend less upon those who create content and more upon those who devise new ways of getting the audience to pay for that content, in other words, those with both journalism and entrepreneurial skills.

After reading the whole article, what's your take on this? (by the way, note that it contains a good number of quotes from Chris Callahan, the dean of ASU's Walter Cronkite School of Journalism, who some of you met last week when he was here as the leader of our accreditation site team).

How do I find a job as a young journalist?

This week we discussed in class how perhaps the toughest job you'll ever get is the first one; this is especially true in journalism and media jobs, where the hires are few and the competition is increasingly fierce. We discussed how to focus upon the things you can control during the job search instead of those that are beyond your control. The website for our neighbors, the Poynter Institute for Media Studies, has a blog titled "Ask the Recruiter," giving advice to young people like yourself regarding the job hunt. A recent posting addresses the question that I've used as the title of this particular blog entry. Check out the link below:

http://www.poynter.org/column.asp?id=77&aid=176030

Here's what I think. It seems to me that some of the advice given is practical, logical, and maybe even intuitive. What do you think? How can you apply the suggestions to your own specific situation as you near graduation, even if you do not plan to get a job in journalism or media ?

Managing Change in Today's Media Workplace

A lot has changed in the media workplace since this photo was taken of a newsroom in the 1950's. Obviously, technology has played a significant role in bringing about that change. For one, it has redefined the job of "journalist" in today's society. How do you think your first job will be different from those who entered the journalism profession sixty years ago? What do you believe is the toughest challenge you will face in your career as a journalist?