Journalism Evolution

It's safe to say that my passion has always been to write. It was in the sixth grade when I decided that journalism was going to fulfill my passion. I joined the newspaper in my middle school and loved it.

Fast forward to 2013: I am months away from graduation with a degree in journalism. Here's the thing, the dreamer hasn't changed, but the dream has. 

When I learned about journalism, it was through print newspaper and magazine. I hoped to end up writing for a major newspaper and have my story front page at people's doorstep. During high school, I was part of staff for a literary magazine, an annual publication. Print journalism looked like an ideal path for me, if I was going to become a recognized reporter. 

I chose the University of Texas at Austin for its journalism programs. The curriculum has changed, but at the time students could pick a sequence to work on: Print Newspaper, Print Magazine, Broadcast, Sports, Photojournalism, and Multimedia. I wanted to choose a 'print' sequence; I believed that's what a journalist really was. 

Let me tell you, it's all different now. 

I'm on my way out of this university with a degree in multimedia journalism. I consider this a jack-of-all-trades, a skill set that helps me move on at the pace of technology. 

I hear everywhere now how journalism is changing and soon, newspapers could be irrelevant. Well, it's a good thing that sequences are gone! 

This scares me a lot, you know... the idea that people won't need newspapers anymore and that all they need to know will be available at the palm of their hands - anything in the Internet's grasp. 

BUT... something my professors have said, besides admitting that yes, print journalism could stop, is:

It doesn't matter the platform, journalists are still needed to tell the stories. 

These are the words I live by now.
More specifically, it's social media that's becoming a major contribution to journalism. It's amazing how journalism is changing and I'm all about learning how to be a social media journalist. 

These days, spreading the news is a lot easier and what better way than to use mass networking sites. 

Social networks have become great sources for stories, crowdsourcing and feeding a mass audience news. 

My passion is still writing, but the platforms I want to use are never going to be constant. It's all going to depend on what works better and fast enough to report. 

As I mentioned, I'm graduating and I don't know where I'll end up reporting as long as I'm reaching global audiences.

Info graphic source: Scoop It