What is journalism today and how did we get here?

The question of what is journalism today and how we got here is not an easy one to answer at all. Though the downfall of print journalism and loss of jobs beginning around 2000, journalism students have been in a state of shock and confusion for years. Personally, I have chosen to try to stay positive and embrace the room for growth and innovation in the field. Honestly, it’s not always easy, but I see it as my only option. I look forward to jumping into this field of exploration and storytelling. However, it is not a new concept that the industry is largely shaped by advertising. After all, they do provide the biggest contribution of funds to news organizations. Last week, The Onion ran a story headlined “Let Me Explain Why Miley Cyrus’ VMA Performance Was Our Top Story This Morning”. The story goes on to discuss that the site simply needed traffic. The more people look at the page, the more money The Onion makes from advertisers. The quality or content of the story is not what really mattered. The writer, Meredith Artley, managing editor of CNN.com, even calls the reader out on falling into the trap that news websites set up for their readers. This was a bit bothersome to me. Funds have caused such a struggle that irrelevant stories take prescient over more important ones just so more people will visit a certain site. There has to be another way to make relevant news a big part of people’s daily lives again. It really is up to us to young journalists to figure it out. No one’s holding our hands on this one.