The SPJ chapter here at USC just got back from Gainesville for the regional conference. It was a nice respite from the daily grind of actually putting out a newspaper every day. So often the accompanying stress of gluing everything together precludes you from seeing the benefits of what you’re actually doing. It was nice to be able to take a step back and see why this is all worth it.
We got to hear from reporters and editors from the New York Times, the Miami Herald, the St. Petersburg Times and The Gainesville Sun, among others. It seems like the future of print journalism, at least in newspapers, is facing a rocky future. Although this was not the primary theme of the conference, this is one of the messages I came away with.
We are faced with so many important but not so easily answerable questions. How do we deal with the transition to online everything, especially with older readers resistant to change, advertising dollars draining out and so many other factors? How do we deal with readers wanting “infotainment” and not hard news? Is it our job to give them what they need to know or is it our job to give them what they want to know, even if that is the latest update on a woman who did next to nothing besides marry a famous rich man? Do we go by what gets the most hits on a Web site? Or do we tell them about the less sensational meat and potatoes stuff?
I would really like to know how everything turns out. I have full faith in the future of journalism, I am just having to adjust my perception of what that looks like. Hopefully in 15 to 20 years, I will be able to look back and see the successful transition to a bright and thriving present of journalism.
--Chelsea Hadaway
News editor
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