More thoughts about journalism today

TT thread

"Because journalism, as we know it may POSSIBLY disappear."

If you are referring to articles that need to meet a deadline in order to be printed in the next day's paper, then yes, that paradigm will disappear, and in my opinion, it should have disappeared already.

Journalism, however, will not disappear. 15 years ago, the newspaper industry was slow to innovate, and it got burned. Today, old media companies are trying to innovate, and new media startups have formed. Some ideas have failed, but that's to be expected. It may take another 5 to 10 years before the industry learns what works in a sustainable manner, especially at the local level.

But in my opinion, it's an exciting time to be a journalist whether it be a student in high school or college or a journalist with 30-plus years experience. The current and future hardware and software technologies make this a fascinating time to be a writer.

Journalists of all ages, but especially the youngsters with their overactive brains, should be thinking of new project ideas every week if not every day. Attempt and fail often, but keep thinking and trying.

Far too much negativity exists among the newspaper industry. Even in 2013, some media people were still blaming the web for the newspaper industry's decline.

Journalists are still crafting great stories. They're professional writers for a reason because they can write well. But it's up to the industry to figure out

Journalists who fail to embrace the mobile digital landscape need to be weeded out of a company. Continuing with a printed paper product wastes money and slows innovation.

If an old newspaper company feels the need to produce a printed product to "serve" the public, then that company should spin-off a small group of writers, designers, and other tech people with its own name and its own budget and be allowed to operate like a startup, creating new products for sharing journalism. If successful, then eventually, the old wing of the company transitions completely to the new.