The Daily Roundup: Journalism is Dead, Long Live Journism

By Zack on December 15, 2008

Welcome to the Daily Roundup. Each day at the ThinkTalk Blog we will post some links that we find informative, interesting, or just plain funny. The goal is to let you know what else is going on out there, and ultimately help you with the development of your career.

I studied journalism in college and some of my internships were with news organizations. So while what we do at ThinkTalk is not news and we by no means consider ourselves journalists, I do have an interest in the field and tend to keep tabs on the industry. It may not surprise many of you that media is at a crossroads of sorts, with substantial growth in the online medium coupled with a substantial decline in the print medium.

Some have gone so far as to declare print media – newspapers, weekly magazines, etc - dead. And they may be right. Journalist, author, and blogger Andrew Sullivan dug up some pretty depressing numbers.

Between March and September the 500 biggest newspapers in America reported an average circulation decline of 4.6%. In six months. That’s close to a 10% decline per year. No newspapers showed any but fractional gains. It is therefore a near-certainty that many towns and cities in America will no longer have a newspaper after the down-turn. And that may apply not just to small names but to some big ones as well. The Los Angeles Times, for example, has gone from a circulation of 1.1m to 739,000 since the turn of the millennium.

This article came just days before America’s largest employee-owned media company - the Tribune Company - filed for bankruptcy protection. Tribune – which counts the aforementioned Los Angeles Times and Chicago Tribune among its empire – listed $13 billion in debt to just $7.6 billion in assets. Downsizing, layoffs, and the eventual folding of a number of papers is no doubt imminent.

So what does this have to do with ThinkTalk, and, perhaps more importantly, your career? Well, it might stand to reason that now would not be the best time to pursue journalism as a career. The print arena is too unsteady, and the online medium, while there has clearly been growth, has not seen the rise in advertising dollars to justify any sort of massive expansion. Many career counselors, and perhaps journalists themselves, would advise students to pursue other areas of study until the future of journalism becomes more clear.

So why, then, did I come across an article in today’s Albany Times Union reporting the increasing popularity of the journalism major? This is truly baffling to me.

"It's cool that you can get paid to want to know what's going on," said Arias, 19, of the Bronx. Her enthusiasm is reflected in the growth of new programs in New York and the record number of students pursuing degrees in journalism and mass communication nationally: nearly 200,000 undergraduates as of 2007, up from 130,000 in 1995.

However, this may be misleading. The piece adds that many students have turned to Journalism as a type of liberal arts major. After graduating these students apply the skills and knowledge they learn to law school, public relations, or advertising. Which may be a smart move given a recent survey by University of Georgia professor Lee Becker on the market conditions for actual journalists. The survey "found a flat job market hovering well below the 2000 high point, with the 2007 crop of grads getting an average of 1.6 job offers on graduation. The median starting salary: $30,000. That compares with $50,507 for economics grads."

Now, I argue that this is actually a good thing. A large number of these journalism students will have a passion and determination for this field. Perhaps the poor job market and lack of opportunity will force the students to pursue other avenues to practice their skills. As the Internet becomes more important and solidifies as the mainstream source for knowledge and information, this generation of students could be responsible for leading the charge.

Ideas like the independent, non-profit news organizations Voice of San Diego are proving that there is room for web-based platforms for the gathering and distribution of news. And when young professionals find an obstacle in their path to pursuing journalism they will have no choice but to adapt and innovate. If necessity is the mother of invention, the need for gainful employment and an outlet for reporting the news just might lead to the new future of journalism. (HT Romenesko for the Times Union piece.)

Some other links to start off your week. Speaking of Journalism . . .

One Day One Internship Profiles: Internships at Atlantic Media Company. Atlantic Media, among other ventures, publishes magazines The Atlantic and The National Journal. Print isn’t dead yet, so I say get in there and get the experience while you still can.

U.S. News and World Report Released: Their 2009 report on the Best Careers. The report includes the perennially popular Ahead of the Curve Careers and Overrated Careers, to accompany the Best Careers section. I’m sure we will address this later in the week, but for now jump on over and take a look. You know, just in case that whole journalism thing doesn’t work out.

The Career Doctor Advises: A journalism student who is considering heading back to school. Maybe my whole future of journalism rant was a bit premature. I’m sure we’ll find out soon enough. If you are interested in a career in Journalism, I would also recommend checking out some of our previous The Blank Page guests. In particular I would point to Jackie Spinner, Michael Weisskopf and Dan Schulman.