Years ago, the word “journalist” evoked the image of a newspaper writer. Maybe they worked for the New York Times or the Washington Post. But today, we have a field of new mediums for journalism, including an ever-changing class of rising journalists.
Part of the challenges that journalists face is the need to be multifaceted. With the invention of social media, like Twitter or Facebook, and the addition of online publications, such as the Washington Post online, a competing journalist must understand and utilize these open spaces for information.
Simply a pencil and paper will not suffice in the current market. A journalist has to become a photographer, videographer, and a radio personality at any given time. It is imperative that they can perform these functions by themselves, as employers look for journalists who can work on their own.
One of the bigger challenges that I think journalists face is the increasing competition between amateur journalists and professional journalists. Amateur journalists are the ordinary people who use social media as a way to disseminate news. With today’s technology, nearly everyone has access to the same media tools, however it is harder to tell if these amateur abide by the same principals of professionals, such as the obligation to tell the truth.
This means that journalists are constantly in a race to provide not only the fastest, but the most accurate information to their readers or viewers.
Journalists may face a changing industry, but it also an exciting one!
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