This past week has been a plethora of the new – new faces, new classes and questions, the most compelling of which seems to be the question with no answer. What is Journalism?
In the past, one would imagine a journalist to be a nosey, inquisitive gentleman wearing a tipped hat. He might interrogate his subject, noting everything on his notepad in shorthand, ink staining his fingers. He would then type it all out on his typewriter; keys clicking away while he chain smokes his way through to his deadline. Finally, he would hand in his article in - and all is well again, until his next deadline is due a week later.
60 years ago, this stereotype may have been accurate. But gone are the days of journalists resembling the optimistic, mystery solving comic book characters like Clark Kent and TinTin. Today, the public deems journalists to be unethical, untrustworthy and nosey people willing to destroy lives in order for the newest, hottest sound bite.
The role has also changed significantly – the Internet has revolutionised how we communicate with the world, and subsequently, how we receive our news. Defining the modern journalist is a complex task; however Mark Deuze from The University of Amsterdam gives it a good go. He offers a pragmatic contemporary definition of Multimedia Journalism to be “the integrated (although not necessarily simultaneous) presentation of a news story package through different media, such as (but not limited to) a website, a Usenet newsgroup, e-mail, SMS, MMS, radio, television, teletext, print newspapers and magazines”.
Deuze’s words suggest that today’s journalist needs to be a news all-rounder – able to change, adapt and constantly update for the sake of any story. Despite the ever changing face of media, and the various and flexible attributes required of the journalist of today, one thing is for certain – a journalist needs to be curious, inquisitive and persistent. They must be keen, ready for anything, to be constantly updating and pushing for the new story and the newsworthy truths. The tasks that befall a journalist is no easy undertaking, it requires all of one’s time and it is not a job that clocks off at 5pm on Friday.
I look forward to what this new path throws my way, and if I have learnt anything from our class discussions and attempts to define journalism on our own – this career choice will be a challenge in the face of ever-changing adversity… but Helen Keller is famously quoted as saying “Life is either a daring adventure or nothing at all” - and if she can learn to communicate successfully in this world, then so can I.
Sources:
What is Multimedia Journalism? - Mark Deuze (University of Amsterdam, The Netherlands)
The Open Door (1957) – Helen Keller
or http://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Helen_Keller
In the past, one would imagine a journalist to be a nosey, inquisitive gentleman wearing a tipped hat. He might interrogate his subject, noting everything on his notepad in shorthand, ink staining his fingers. He would then type it all out on his typewriter; keys clicking away while he chain smokes his way through to his deadline. Finally, he would hand in his article in - and all is well again, until his next deadline is due a week later.
60 years ago, this stereotype may have been accurate. But gone are the days of journalists resembling the optimistic, mystery solving comic book characters like Clark Kent and TinTin. Today, the public deems journalists to be unethical, untrustworthy and nosey people willing to destroy lives in order for the newest, hottest sound bite.
The role has also changed significantly – the Internet has revolutionised how we communicate with the world, and subsequently, how we receive our news. Defining the modern journalist is a complex task; however Mark Deuze from The University of Amsterdam gives it a good go. He offers a pragmatic contemporary definition of Multimedia Journalism to be “the integrated (although not necessarily simultaneous) presentation of a news story package through different media, such as (but not limited to) a website, a Usenet newsgroup, e-mail, SMS, MMS, radio, television, teletext, print newspapers and magazines”.
Deuze’s words suggest that today’s journalist needs to be a news all-rounder – able to change, adapt and constantly update for the sake of any story. Despite the ever changing face of media, and the various and flexible attributes required of the journalist of today, one thing is for certain – a journalist needs to be curious, inquisitive and persistent. They must be keen, ready for anything, to be constantly updating and pushing for the new story and the newsworthy truths. The tasks that befall a journalist is no easy undertaking, it requires all of one’s time and it is not a job that clocks off at 5pm on Friday.
I look forward to what this new path throws my way, and if I have learnt anything from our class discussions and attempts to define journalism on our own – this career choice will be a challenge in the face of ever-changing adversity… but Helen Keller is famously quoted as saying “Life is either a daring adventure or nothing at all” - and if she can learn to communicate successfully in this world, then so can I.
Sources:
What is Multimedia Journalism? - Mark Deuze (University of Amsterdam, The Netherlands)
The Open Door (1957) – Helen Keller
or http://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Helen_Keller
Interesting post Rachel.
ReplyDeleteLiked the "Deuze's words..." paragraph, where you sum up the attributes of the future journalist.
Chris