IUS faculty and students, along with journalists currently working in the field, discussed the current state of the economy and its effect on the media industry at “The Future of Journalism” panel forum held in University Center North, room 127, on April 2.
“The consensus was you need to be multifaceted media people,” Darienne Arcuri, journalism senior, said.
Jim St. Clair, journalism professor, said the purpose of the discussion was to address the anxiety some students have regarding the job market and what tools they will need to successfully find employment after graduating.
“We didn’t want to mislead anyone,” he said. “We wanted to give them something to hang on to.”
The forum began when Brad Dennison, IUS graduate and vice president of news operations at GateHouse Media, discussed the current state of media jobs and what students will need when applying for them.
“Newspaper jobs right now, they are definitely few and far between at the moment,” Dennison said. “But, there are jobs out there.”
He said students should seek opportunities around the local area to give them the experience in multimedia and reporting that prospective employers are looking for.
“Employers are looking for people who are bright and energetic and enthusiastic and embrace all the different things going on in this business right now,” Dennison said.
He also said while the media industry has been hard-hit by the recession, the IUS journalism program gives students the tools they need to succeed in the job market.
“You’re obtaining valuable skills at IUS,” he said. “If you can write, and write well, the sky is the limit.”
Ben Post, managing editor at The Courier-Journal, said students will face challenges when looking for a job, and being able to perform the different facets of multimedia is something students must prepare for.
“All of our staff can shoot video and photos,” he said.
Most print news publications require their reporters to shoot photos and video, as well as writing the stories, and maintain Web sites that supplement their print issues.
The newspaper industry has been slow to recognize the technological change the Internet has facilitated, he said.
Some publications realize the change too late.
The Seattle Post-Intelligencer, a 146-year-old newspaper, ran their last print issue on March 17 and is now an Internet-only news source.
Post said the nature of communicating has completely changed and making the transformation is like “trying to turn a battleship.”
He said print journalism is a long way from dying, but it is still important for students to acquire the multimedia skills that are already in use.
“Right now, print is still the goose that lays the golden egg,” Post said. “The trick is to find the niche for you if you want to be a journalist.”
He said online news publications must find a way to generate revenue before they become the dominant news source for most Americans, a goal that isn’t easily reached.
“The challenge in this business is having that online revenue model that can sustain the business,” Dennison said. “It’s a long way from 100 percent.”
In the meantime, students must develop their writing and multimedia skills to become invaluable candidates for employment.
“School is the opportunity to learn the art of the trade,” Post said. “Be imaginative, think … outside the box.”
Bryan Moss, journalism adjunct, said there are a multitude of ways to tell a story and students need to know how to do them all to be successful.
“What’s really important,” he said, “is that you need to be really good at one thing.”
Dennison said knowing alternative story formats is a must for anyone who wants to be a journalist.
Alternative story formats are a method of quickly informing the reader of the basic facts without using the traditional method of writing a detailed story.
“Think of how people ingest news now,” he said.
This trend is becoming more common in newsrooms because readers have voiced complaints they lack the time to read an entire story and would prefer to be given only the basic facts to expedite their reading time.
The main focus of the meeting was that students need a lot of talents and skills, preferably in multimedia, to assist them in finding a job and becoming successful journalists.
Arcuri said the requirements the panel said were important but was still concerned about finding a job after graduation.
“IUS doesn’t offer a lot of the classes they’re telling us we need,” she said.
Even if students are not able to find a journalism-related job after graduating, the skills and knowledge they obtain during their schooling are transferable to other fields.
“It makes you multidimensional,” Post said.
Dennison voiced his optimism for the future and challenged each student to continue working toward his goal.
“I think there are brighter times ahead,” he said. “If it’s a mission for your life, you’ll find a job.”
Moss reminded students that the Internet is visual which reinforces the need for journalists to shoot excellent pictures and video.
St. Clair said the faculty was here to help students achieve their goals and they would go out of their way to help anyone who needed guidance or advice.
Kalisha Bass, journalism junior, found the seminar informative.
She said she believes the knowledge she gained will help her get started in a career in journalism.
“I felt like they gave a lot of valuable information and it gave me hope with the career field,” she said.
By TRAVIS STURGILL
Staff Writer
trsturgi@ius.edu
