The Decline of Journalism as a Profession

Clay Shirky who wrote Newspapers and Thinking the Unthinkable (1993) argues that society doesn’t need newspapers society needs journalism to save society. Shirky supports this argument by giving a historical background to the problems newspapers face and how the problems have developed over time and the solutions society has came up with. The blogger concludes that in order for journalism to go farther new models must be created in place of past molds. Shirky directs this blog toward the current and future generations in attempt to motivate new models and methods of journalism.

Newspapers and other forms of news are very vital communication methods in the world today. The goal of news is to sell us their ideas by being biased and talking about how their idea is best. News can give us biased information although, the viewer could do further research on the

Have you picked up a newspaper or magazine in the last few weeks? Then you have been enjoying one of the first amendment rights. Journalism in the United States has changed over time. These changes have affected society.

In Australia, the media both reports and interprets events that occur worldwide. Reporting in the media provides a direct factual account of the events that take place. While, interpreting events demonstrates that the media can instil meaning and value, therefore, providing beliefs and opinions towards the public. As society keeps changing so do new ways of providing and delivering news. There is an ever-growing change from traditional media to new media. With these two media platforms playing a major role in our society, especially the way they influence government and political participation. However, progressively there in todays community there becomes many challenges faced with the old aspects of media. The phenomenon of 24-hour news has

After researching the issue and the future of the journalism field it becomes apparent that, as privately owned businesses, most publications have the primary goal of making a profit, and subsequently produce the content that people desire to achieve this goal. With the exception of government-owned publications like the ABC, news outlets have no ethical responsibility to produce the hard news content that the audience ‘need’ to know, as they are businesses with an objective of producing a profitable source of entertainment for their specific target audience. Despite the different media diets of each individual consumer, media executives have the technology to understand and therefore satisfy the desires of their target audience. Thus concluding that while publications may not satisfy the supposed needs of their readers, they are able to recognize what they want to consume and produce this to retain their following and therefore achieve their primary goal of making a

There have been some controversies among the citizens of the United States as we enter the technological age and throw away some of our old stuff. One of these old things are newspapers. In today’s age, someone’s stance on newspapers may be completely different than someone else’s. Someone who grew up around newspapers may say they are completely relevant and need to be protected. Rather than, someone who grew up around the decline of newspapers may say that they are only killing the trees and mean nothing anymore; they are useless.

Newspapers have traditionally been an important part of civil society, providing information to citizens, convening groups around events and issues, and serving as a watchdog against abuses by those in power. Going back to the Revolutionary War, newspapers have served to connect their community and relay information to those unconnected otherwise. Through the atrocities of the Vietnam War, surprise and indignation of Watergate, and the disgust of the Iran Contra investigation, newspaper reporters consistently broke stories that had national impact. Even the recent Clinton e-mail scandal was discovered by a reporter for the New York Times. (Huffington Post 2015) Circulation has declined throughout the last decade with the rise of the twenty-four hour cable news as well as the internet. Cable news outlets (as seen with both Fox and CNN) do not report impartially, however, and the internet is open to whoever can write a post. The journalism standards set by newspapers have been set aside and replaced by biased reporters and the random individual spreading their version of the news. Although traditional print newspapers seem to be on the way out, the role of journalism has never been more important. Newspapers provide an important role as journalists continue to be our truth tellers and truth seekers and, according to Plato, “…without them, humanity would lose its way in the dark.”

This research has been conducted due to the fact that some researchers have claimed that “journalism is dying” whilst others have argued that “journalism is not dying but is simply evolving” (Blatchford: 2014). This has been a much contested debate triggered by the decline of news circulation from traditional news sources i.e. newspapers, television and radio together with the technological advances of the internet and social media (Cub Reporters: 2010). This has raised many questions and firstly, this dissertation will assess whether the rise of social media has led to the decline of news circulation from traditional news sources. Secondly, this paper will look at what the advantages and disadvantages of using social media as a news distributor are for professional journalists and the general public. Lastly, this study aims to investigate

The media and the public have had a relationship that has existed for centuries. Through the media, people become aware of events and issues occurring around them. As a result, they make educated decisions. Therefore, the media serve as witnesses of the events happening within our societies and then report them to us. That said, could journalism have a significant political impact in our societies? It is through the media that governments and their citizens communicate. For instance, people communicate by protesting and voting, governments respond by amending the issues affecting the public. It is also through the media that potential political leaders gain recognition. Therefore, the answer is yes, because, journalism causes the spread

I intend to conduct research into the widespread fall of newspaper sales, and how the Internet is causing this, if it is even. Furthermore I will branch out into whether the journalists themselves are to blame, or simply because of citizens’ lack of interest in news, whether it is in the newspaper or the

In this article, Bourdieu proposes that the television has impacted the journalistic field in a wider and strong way that other cultural transformations did before within the cultural field. Doing so, says Bourdieu, television and journalistic field have also triggered transformations in other fields upon which journalism has an impact. As it is performed, the journalistic field tends to reinforce the economic (commercial) field instead of the pure one. Following Bourdieu, the journalistic field was settled during the 19th Century through the opposition between the sensationalist newspapers and the analytical or serious newspapers (p. 4). Additionally, the article is helpful for my final project because it sketches ways to measure the autonomy of the journalistic field (p. 4).

In the free society of the United States of America, journalism is freely expressed in all measures to inform the public and criticize policies. Besides the fact that media journalism keeps the public up to date with current events, more importantly, it provides checks and balances on the government. Keeping a close eye on the government limits the possibility of corruption and other scandals such as the Watergate Scandal. Throughout the history of journalism, there have been a variety of ways to get messages out to the public. The main components of journalism that are still used today include newspaper, radio, television, and the internet.

Words can be powerful and heavy and most of all complicated. On the other hand, dictionaries cut everything short. The Merriam-Webster definition of journalism, for example, is especially simple and direct—the job of collecting, writing, and editing news stories for newspapers, magazines, television, or radio. This definition fails to recognize though that just because something is written and published in a newspaper or on a news site does not mean that article falls into the realm of journalism.

In a globalized world, the acquisition of reliable information, with the ability to use it and share it is critical for a fair, efficient and prosperous social contest. Qualitative information to all is essential for the promotion of democracy and freedom. The widespread assumption is that the main cause of journalism decline is attributable to the corporate control of the media. Mega corporations, invested of concentrated economic power represent a threat to the public good and to democracy.

Society often refers to journalism as the fourth estate, in conjunction with the executive, judicial, and legislative branches of government. As a profession that is regarded with such an influential nickname, it is essential that the field of journalism be well equipped with professionals who possess the necessary knowledge and skills to provide society with valid and objective reporting. The skills that make up a strong journalist are thoroughly introduced and taught throughout an individual’s undergraduate studies in the department of journalism. However, the skills possessed can become better refined through furthering education and experiences. A journalist who desires to obtain a higher set of skills and more in-depth knowledge can