Journalism 4 Dummies
By Natalina Zieman
We have all heard that journalism is a dying industry, and that being a journalist makes you next to nothing.
But I’m here to save your journalistic butt. In order for journalism to survive this next decade, at least, journalists must create content that the people want. Whether it is juicy gossip about a Kardashian, or being the first to break a story about Donald Trump’s impeachment (we can only dream), there is always something that will catch an eye or two. This is a common sense concert, much like what businesses do: create a product they know their consumers will love (from Dipento’s week 13 lesson).
Journalists, in order to capture exactly what their consumers want, must ask the question “what do you want to know about, today?”. The five steps in the Stanford d. School Design Thinking Process are empathize, define, ideate, prototype and test. These five steps help journalists understand their audience and come up with ideas for stories and pitches. Using this process, journalists can work out their own unique strategies when creating stories.
Newspaper and magazine sales have plummeted since the introduction of the radio and television. And radio and television statistics have also decreased since the introduction of social media and smart-devices.
Most people these days get their news online, not from the radio or a newspaper. Journalists have realized this by now, and have most likely created their own social media pages to promote and/or release their stories on the internet to reach a broader audience. This strategy, publishing on the internet, is the smartest and most efficient way for journalists to release their stories. The age of social media is consuming anyone and everyone because it is quick and is easy access. Using social media for journalists will keep their career alive for at least the next decade.
