While I may not have a chosen field or a chosen career just yet, I do have a strong interest and passion for the field and makings of journalism and all that surrounds it. Though journalism has changed greatly over the past few years, not to mention decades, I feel that it is still years away from its highest potential. One of the biggest things I believe in for the year 2013 is what Aron Pilhofer, editor of interactive news at the New York Times, and what Steve Herrmann, editor of BBC News online, state in the piece “10 things every journalist should know in 2013” is that “it’s all about skills, skills, skills.” They both admit that this industry is ever changing and that with the market and way this industry is run, if you can’t keep up you will get left behind. The ability to do a wide variety of things, like photographs, videos, graphics, audio, etc., are basic functions that are becoming more common for all journalists to know how to do, and if you can’t do one of them, I’m sure they can find someone else that can.
Another important impact of 2013 is what Callie Schweitzer, director of marketing and special projects for Vox Media, mentions is that the change in focus over the years has greatly improved. While we used to rely on the faces and the certain people of broadcast news like Katie Couric and Matt Lauer, it is now on whom YOU are and what YOU have built. While those broadcast anchors we still rely on are great people, they had to make a name for themselves somehow.
So, why can’t you or I?
Wilson Fulk 