Graduates, think twice before studying journalism

Media entrepreneur Eric Beecher. Pic by: Michael Potter

Newspaper journalism is dead. At least that's the view of a number of media experts who spoke at the recent conference, The Future of Journalism, and had the industry buzzing.

International guest Roy Greenslade was perhaps the most outspoken speaker. A blogger and media columnist for UK newspaper The Guardian, Greenslade predicted: "The mass/popular newspapers are dying and will die.

"Many journalists think I'm doom-mongering, but I'm just reporting what's going on," Greenslade told an audience of print, online, radio and TV journalists as well as union representatives from the MEAA (Media, Entertainment and Arts Alliance) and journalism students.

"Advertising is fleeing from newspapers, which means they're not sustainable, so the internet is the next (journalistic) medium," Greenslade said.

Eric Beecher, who is the publisher of the subscription and advertising-funded independent online magazine Crikey.com, explained that while decreasing newspaper circulation and cheaper online advertising were the main reasons behind the demise of newspapers, reduced advertising revenue, both online and in print, would also have a serious impact on the established newsroom set up.

"I can't see a funding model for large-scale journalism in the future, like the big newspapers, with journalists doing different rounds, foreign correspondents and their bureaus. You just can't attract enough advertising to pay for these set ups," he said.

But online journalism was moving in the wrong direction, Beecher warned, "towards free content," meaning there would be even less editorial funding in the future.

ABC broadcaster and journalist Quentin Dempster said reduced funding was already having a serious impact on working journalists.

"Newspapers are employing less and less journalists and the online media outlets aren't taking that many on either - there are now lots more freelancers who are being paid the same as they were five years ago."

Dr John Cokley, who is a journalism lecturer at the University of Queensland, asked how journalists could make a successful transition from newspapers to online journalism and avoid ending up on "the scrapheap".

Beecher and Greenslade both predicted that journalists would need to find a specific niche to work in and have the right web skills to multi-task including making videos, pod and mobile-casting and blogging.

"There will be specialist sites for each different newspaper section," Greenslade explained.

"Style, food, finance, etc, will all become fragmented and "journos" will need to know how to do everything (involving multimedia)."

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