The Future of Journalism

Before taking a newswriting class, I would tell people, "I am a journalism major, but I don't want to write for newspapers or anything. I want to write books- newspapers are a dying breed." Recently, however, I learned just how untrue that was. After several weeks of finding stories and writing them, I have grown to love writing news stories and really hope to do this as a career. And last week when Steve Damish, a journalist who graduated from UNH, came to talk to my class, I realized how wrong I was when I said that newspapers are a dying breed.

Sure, more and more publications are going online or at least posting online content and videos. But why does this have to be a bad thing? If you ask me, this is a great thing, and does not mean that the original paper form of newspapers will soon be going out of style. So, to do my part to contribute to the field of journalism and the future of newspapers, I am making a few commitments.

I commit to becoming a journalist who always tells the truth. I commit to finding compelling stories that actually matter to my audience and will help to keep the public informed. I also commit to finding news stories that give people hope, since I personally come out of reading a newspaper or watching television news feeling like I have recently developed an ulcer. But most importantly, I commit to helping to evolve the field of journalism. People cannot expect that newspapers won't change at all, but I definitely no longer think that they will die out. Still, I think journalists of the future need to be open to change and not be afraid of the internet or videos or technology in general. Because when it comes down to it, things change. And I just hope that newspapers can keep up. Because I expect that in the year 2100, when people are being driven to work in their self-directing flying cars, they will be using that time to read a newspaper.