“I am certainly not one of those who need to be prodded. In fact, if anything, I am the prod.” -Winston Churchill
What will journalism look like in five years? That’s the multi-billion dollar question. And luckily for journalists, they still have time to shape that answer. But if the higher-ups in the journalism world sit back and watch the next five years sprint past them the way the last five years have, it will be too late.
By that time, journalism will already be in the hands of businessmen, entertainers, amateurs. Anyone but journalists.
So it is absolutely essential that starting yesterday, journalists are proactive in shaping the future of their industry. Take hold of citizen journalism. Don’t let it evolve into a massive adversary, but cultivate it into a valuable ally. Charge for your content! Don’t keep trying to figure out creative ways to turn your business into little more than an information gathering, article writing, fund-raiser. That’s not what’s going to keep journalism alive. Fund-raising is great for smaller, more locally based news organizations, but national news authorities must figure out ways to charge a fee and make a profit.
And while the integrity of good journalism should never be sacrificed, there’s no reason why journalists need to shy away from working with businesspeople and entertainers to create an enjoyable, profitable product. In fact, if journalism is to survive, they won’t have a choice.
But I truly believe that journalism will be alive and well in five years time. Journalism needs to adapt. If it doesn’t, it will die. And there’s just too much money at stake for anyone to let that happen.
