Journalism's Obituary

2009-06-12T17:57:00.001-07:00

Ducking out of the rain and drenched to the bone, I walked into the auditorium of the “building with the flags” across the street from Capstone. I took my seat grudgingly as this was my 4^th year here at Carolina Journalism Institute and I knew quite well what an opening ceremony included. Unlike years prior, I was now shivering from the storm and wringing out my long black hair. Concerned with my appearance as any seventeen year old caught in the rain would have been, I missed the first few words of Ms. Flowers. After I was content that the combination of my hair and face would not send any other student running for cover, I sank lower into my seat and pulled out my cell phone to respond to a text. I looked up just in time to see Ms. Flowers introduce Dean Charles Bierbauer. I groaned inwardly, fully expecting this to be another lecture. His opening words caught my attention, however, and I put away my phone and sat up, fully engrossed.

Obituaries. The dean was talking about obituaries. How could an account of a person’s death be relevant to journalism? My question was soon answered. The dean was talking about the public’s assumption that journalism was dying. His words sent my mind spinning as I began to ponder the concept of journalism becoming extinct.

Journalism and the methods by which the public receive news have both expanded and are ever changing. News can be found on various new websites such as twitter, facebook, youtube, etc. These websites, along with the other forms of news, such as an audio slideshow, have caused a decline in print journalism. The media has been forced to adapt to a rapidly advancing technological world thus causing the news to be available online and causing a decline in print journalism. Newspaper reporters may now find themselves having to incorporate their stories into an interactive website and having to use an audio slideshow.

Is journalism dead? The answer is a resounding no. Journalism is merely adapting to an ever-changing world. As Dean Bierbauer said, we can’t write journalism’s obituary before it is dead.

Story By: Priyanka Juneja

Aspiring Journalists

Journalism's Obituary