OK that was mildly dramatic.
Anyway, do I really believe the music and journalism industry are dead? Not entirely. They are merely morphing into something different.
The music industry is online, and while you will never stop illegal downloading, just like you can't stop people from watching illegal torrents of movies and TV shows, it carries on. Bands will make money, just as movies still do. People who really enjoy bands do still go out and buy albums, and most importantly take the opportunity to see the band in concert. At least I still do.
Journalism is online, and while I doubt I'll get a job in a print newspaper office, I have faith that I will find a job somewhere. There will always be media jobs available, you just have to be creative in looking into other options. Hell I could be the person who writes the scroll that runs on the bottom of CNN. Who knows? Then again I could just be saying this to help me sleep at night.
You're right the music industry and the news business are not DEAD but they are changing in fairly revolutionary ways. And, you're right, most journalism students like yourself will never work for a daily newspaper. But there is a HUGE need in the media (new and otherwise) for people with the skills that newspaper reporters have in spades: the ability to gather information, write it up clearly and edit it efficiently; ability to lay out and design publications; the ability to work under deadline pressures; the ability to get up to speed very quickly on a particular issue.
ReplyDeleteI really liked this post. I do feel the industry is changing and I think that they need to stop fighting it. Change is sometimes good, and as you said they are still making money. There are so many other things that the industry can do to earn a profit.
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