The Future of the News Industry = ???

According to the American Society of News Editors (ASNE), over 34,800 journalists, editors, columnists, and other newspaper-related professionals have been laid off since the height of the recession in 2008.  More and more Americans believe that print news is a less important source of information than the internet and television, and thousands of people are discontinuing their pricey subscriptions to newspapers and magazines by the day.  Now that the news industry is migrating to the web, it is no longer ludicrous to claim that a majority of print journalism will be obsolete by the end of the next decade.  This should be great news (no pun intended), shouldn't it?  After all, getting your news online is cheaper, greener, and more accessible than those flimsy newspapers that can never fold the way you want them to.  However, at second glance, there are some significant societal problems that can emerge if we don't pay attention to the evolution of the news and fail to adhere to the facets of responsible journalism.

As a Communications major, understanding the culture of media and the news is an extremely interesting theme for me.  Isn't it fascinating that journalists have such an important role in society--after all, they tell us what is going on in the world around us--but they are not held to as high a standard as other professions?  Why can a doctor have his MD revoked, or a lawyer his license disbanded if they conduct malpractice, but a journalist is only accountable to the vague ethics of objectivity?  How can right- and left-wing news sources claim they are committing to responsible journalism when they are owned by very partisan conglomerates, and thus, gatekeepers of information?  Although these questions draw very complex answers, the emergence of social media and the blogosphere in the news just makes things a lot more confusing.  By examining the major trends in social media and understanding the effects they have on the news (and democracy as a whole), I'm hoping to several predictions about the future of the news and what we need to do to preserve the values of the industry.

Check out my presentation, which I created through this amazing online software called Prezi, and I look forward to talking about this with you all on Wednesday!