Front Rest

What does the future hold for journalists?

The growth of the Internet is changing the role of journalists. The boundary between journalists and some bloggers seems very blurred. Will there still be a role for professional journalists in future and if so, how will the job change?

Public Comments

1. Good question! The problem with journalism is that, at least in the US, politics and big business ownership has caused a great blurring between "true" journalism; that is, reporting events objectively, and editorialism and propaganda, like the Fox Network is known for. However, I believe that as long as jouirnalistic freedom is permited, it will thrive and support democracy and truth. We can't survive without it.
2. I may not know very much, (because I am still in high school) but I have taken a class on journalism. There are factors that threaten journalism, but nothing can truly replace it. Journalists still work for newspapers and magazines. These people go to the source to find reliable information, and the true story. They don't always put stuff on the Internet. If I were you, to find the story, I wouldn't look on the Internet (where there is false information). Instead, look to the newspapers, and make your own decision. Hope this has helped!
3. As far as I can see, most bloggers just give opinions. Journalists, on the other hand are supposed to report facts. This is not as easy as it sounds. You have deadlines, you need to verify sources, and you need to write in a way that people will want to read. As far as columnists go, most seem to be rather self indulgent. So I wouldn't be concerned if most of them went out of business. Scary, isn't it? FREE THE WRITTEN WORD!
4. Journalists should be objective in their writing. I think that as long as there are current events, reliable, unbiased journalists will be needed to report. On a side note, I do think that journalism will become more and more dangerous and the wars in the middle east continue, as well as the crisis in Darfur and North Korea. Citizens abroad will still need to be informed on the situations. I can only hope that journalists are chosen carefully and know what they are getting into when traveling internationally for a story. But as for your questions, journalists will be needed regardless of the number of bloggers and people putting videos online. Hopefully the world will continue to be leery of someone's rant on youtube, and instead turn to the news or their local paper to get the facts.