Chances are, during the past year or two, you’ve heard the word “change” once or twice. Like me, you might feel inclined to rip off your ears if you hear one more ad slogan or bright-eyed activist imparting to you the importance of this so-called “buzzword.” But if there’s one thing I’ve learned over the past four years, it’s that change, like shit, happens. Sometimes you’re ready for it, as Barack Obama proved the United States was in November. Sometimes you’re not, as the California Supreme Court proved it wasn’t two weeks ago. And sometimes, as the journalism industry has realized, change has been a long time coming.
I’ve never been good at change. I wouldn’t say I’m a creature of habit, but I’ve long been a believer in the adage, “If it’s not broke, don’t fix it.” But here I am, about to graduate from college and staring down the barrel of change’s shotgun. I’m still not sure what I’ll be doing in the coming months, let alone years. I don’t have the perfect job lined up, nor the perfect internship. I don’t even have a gig at Starbucks to fall back on. I’m terrified.
And still, just like the industry I’m about to enter, change I must.
In this way, journalism right now is a lot like a graduating college student. Like those of us who have been in school for almost two decades, it’s gotten used to doing things a certain way. It, like us, has developed habits and patterns that may or may not help its progress. Personally, I’ve become accustomed to procrastination – to putting the most important things in my life off until the last possible minute. I’m great at it, but the stress it brings has become nearly unbearable, and I think it’s time I admitted to myself that there is a better way. Newspapers, as a whole, are in the same position. Their decline has been on the horizon for decades, yet it seems only within the most recent one that they’ve come to terms with the predicament they’re in and attempted to find a solution. It’s not going to be easy: According to the American Society for Training & Development, nearly 7,000 newspaper jobs were lost in 2008, and this year we’ve already seen such large publications as the Rocky Mountain News and the Seattle Post-Intelligencer go under. But if the ongoing dialogue about the changing media is any indication, it seems the industry has finally made the same realization I did.
Today, for journalism – and for those of us graduating – it’s all about the future. Certainly, there is much trepidation about what that will hold. Media luddites and traditionalists worry when the print newspaper dies, real journalism will die with it. Sen. John Kerry called a Senate hearing last month because he sees the newspaper, a medium that has traditionally been the stronghold of investigative and watchdog reporting, as an “endangered species” that we can’t afford to lose. My graduating friends and I worry that our time going to parties and shirking responsibilities is endangered.
But, like journalism, we’re facing the reality that we have to grow up. We have to become more efficient, more flexible, and more in tune with the world around us or, like journalism, we will fail.
And yet, in the face of such uncertainty, I remain optimistic about what’s to come. For journalism, transitioning and adapting to the digital world means more access to more diverse forms of journalism worldwide. It means less environmental impact and more personalized and direct customer satisfaction. It means more ways to reach people, more transparency and simply, more news.
For me, transitioning from college into “the real world” means leaving a lot behind. I’ll miss the wine-fueled philosophical debates on the back porch and having my best friends only a walk down the hall away. I’ll miss the late-night study sessions and trips to Burrito Boy, and I’ll miss finding my name and mug shot on page 2 of the Emerald every Friday. But, if I play my cards right, the change will also mean more opportunity – more ability to explore and experience the world outside of Eugene, Oregon. Isn’t that why I went to college in the first place?
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