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Thread: Note to college students: reporter jobs are dying out.

  1. #1
    This is high school and college graduation season and here's a note to those who want to enter the field of journalism: a website report says that reporter jobs are dying. You can read the original report here:

    http://education.yahoo.net/articles/....htm?kid=1O0V0

    I believe it. And the reason I believe it is that everyone is a reporter today because we all have access to the Internet and to "news sharing" websites including Facebook and Twitter and LinkedIn and the biggest one of all -- YouTube. Even major TV stations and TV news networks make use of YouTube videos on their newscasts.

    And with the spread of smart phones that link their embedded video cameras to YouTube and to websites for still photos, we are becoming a nation of "news photographers." Anyone of us could take video that could be the lead story on the evening network news and we certainly saw plenty of that with the Boston Marathon bombing story coverage.

    But this is not new and it is not unexpected.

    When I first went to work at CBS News in 1976 my first position was that of Associated Producer in CBS News Syndication which was headed up by Bob Little who was formerly the CBS News Foreign Editor. Our Syndication Department at CBS News provided CBS New film and tape (video) to CBS News affiliates and to foreign networks, and we also obtained film and tape (video) from stations and from foreign networks for use by CBS. We were, in effect, "news brokers."

    But as part of our work, we spent a lot of time with foreign broadcasters. And one day after a meeting with executives of the Tokyo Broadcasting System, Bob Little came over to me and said "the Japanese have TV cameras the size of a pack of cigarettes." And this was in 1976. Now think about that for a moment and then pick up your cell phone with the camera, and the video card, and the software that can link your video to YouTube and the world. And yes, what Bob Little was talking about in 1976 all of us have today -- a TV camera the size of a pack of cigarettes.

    The future for news is clear: instead of news reporters, TV and Internet news operations will have news editors and news compilers who will take in the "newsfeeds" from consumers all over the work and create newscasts and news reports from consumers who are now the reporters.

    What will be missing in this new journalism is the journalistic safeguards and standards that trained reporters get before being dispatched to "the field" to do their reporting. In the new journalism, hopefully trained editors will be able to distinguish real news and unbiased content from events staged for the cameras and for YouTube and other sites.

    It is good that the world has eyes to share all that takes place. It is a danger when those eyes are not trained to focus properly on what is valid news.

  2. #2
    Good info... because It is good that the world has eyes to share all that takes place. It is a danger when those eyes are not trained to focus properly on what is valid news.

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