Journalism has always been a way for the public to know what is going on in the world around them. The journalism today though is vastly different than the journalism of the past. Not only has the writing style changed, but how the news is produced and delivered has changed. This begs the questions, how is journalism changing, and why is journalism changing? Journalism seems to be in the middle of a transition, from print journalism to digital journalism. Print journalism deals with newspapers and magazines, and digital journalism deals with any form of electronic means of communication, whether that be broadcast, podcast, or online articles. While digital journalism seems to be thriving, it is print journalism that seems as though it is here to stay. Print journalism has always had the edge in reaching more audiences, but it is the speed at which it can reach those audiences is where digital journalism wins. The rise of digital journalism isn’t just a coincidence. With more people on electronic devices than ever before, newsrooms had to adapt and change the way their news is seen. Journalism is changing because people want news faster. The transition to digital is evident due to the public’s demand for faster news and more choices in news sources. Journalism is about writing stories that connect with people. Journalists for centuries have been the trusted source for credible information, even in todays world where it seems as though everyone can write stories. Social media has been a key factor in the rise of digital journalism, where the traditional newsroom gatekeeper is a thing of the past. Why is journalism changing? Because digital journalism is simply better in most ways. Digital journalism is cheaper (most digital sources don’t even require a paywall, a fee to read online news), faster (can reach mobile devices within seconds and is constantly updated), and more interactive (people are able to voice what stories they want to hear). How is journalism changing? Journalism is changing from ink to internet, where it seems there are advantages and disadvantages to the rise of digital journalism. One of the most important factors of journalism is timeliness, and digital journalism is better suited to reach audiences more quickly than print journalism. Where digital journalism lacks is in reliability. Print journalism has been around since the birth of the printing press, where people were  able to produce newspapers faster than they had ever done before. Print newspapers have been reliable for hundreds of years, something that digital journalism lacks. People are changing their mind on how they view a news source should be. People are starting to prefer faster news than news that has been continuously reviewed and edited, making sure that the news that is being delivered is as accurate as possible. The idea of fast news isn’t new, but the idea of the non-degree journalist is quite fresh in the world of journalism. Because of the ease of digital journalism, people are able to start their own blogs or sources of news stories where people can access on their electronic devices. Some people like the idea of anyone becoming a journalist. After all, it does increase the amount of competition among news companies and individual sources. Digital journalism also helps to create new jobs where there weren’t before.

In “How journalism is changing for the better, in 1 chart” by Chris Cellizza, the author describes how news companies are changing the way they present their news to the public. He suggests that readers demand news quickly. The “what, so what, and now what” (Cellizza) components of the article express how journalists sort the material in their stories. The “what happened, so what do we do now, and the now what,” describes the keys to good journalistic work. To know all these means that the journalist was able to cover all parts of the story.  This explains why news looks the way it is, and why journalists order them in their articles the way they do. In Cellizza’s other article “Journalism isn’t dying. But it’s changing WAY faster than most people understand,” he explains how journalism is becoming much more public. News organizations used to be the “gatekeepers of news” where they decided the subjects of the news they were going to show to mass audiences. The way of the gatekeeper seems to be diminishing, and the public is now the decider of what stories are written, not the journalists. “New York Times Study Calls for Rapid Change in Newsroom” by Sydney Ember, describes how news organizations are changing the way they write and deliver the news. In this case, The New York Times is trying to reduce the amount of print journalism, but still allows it to be available to those who prefer it or do not have access to its content digitally. While digital journalism thrives on immediacy, where it lacks is in its completeness. (Ember) An example from the New York Times states that the company is trying to focus more on visual journalism to adapt with consumers, all while still producing print newspapers to communicate usually with older audiences. The New York Times even went as far as to change their newsrooms by creating a 2020 plan that explains the process of the company to change the culture of their newsrooms. This plan would implement digital journalism practices as well as promote new ideas for the future of news at the newspaper company. News sources are starting to become exclusively online, trying to cut down on costs and compete with other news sources. Consequently, news sources must compete with an increasingly amount of companies. In a good way, competition means that newspapers can’t solely rely on their base of subscribers anymore, but would have to reach out to new people. (Allen)

In addition to newspaper articles, scholarly articles help to further question how journalism is changing and why. In the Columbia University Press article, “Engaged Journalism: Connecting With Digitally Empowered News Audiences” by Jake Batsell, the author writes how news organizations and journalists have tried to reach towards their audiences by delivering news that allows people to interact with newsrooms. By connecting better with audiences, news companies can deepen audience loyalty, improve journalism, and generate revenue. (Batsell) The problem with engaged journalism, mostly digital journalism, is that journalists must be able to balance gathering news and reporting on it, to providing digital sources to reach an ever-changing journalistic landscape. For traditional journalists, adapting to digital journalism has been more difficult than for modern journalists. In order to keep up with other news companies, journalists must now focus on creating journalism that coincides with the preferences of their audiences or subscribers to their newspaper. According to most journalists, “audience engagement [is] not only a necessity, but also an opportunity to reinvigorate their careers and bring more relevance to their work.” (Batsell) Digital journalism is both challenging and rewarding. Keeping up with social media such as Twitter and Facebook is now the norm, and journalists must use these sources to communicate their stories to mass audiences. Though easy to communicate, it is the hard work of journalists to inform the public of breaking stories. Journalism has always been how the public has known about the events going on around them. Even the founding fathers of the United States Constitution tried to protect the rights of the press as to promote free thinking.

When people invented the printing press, they wouldn’t have thought that digital devices would soon take over journalism. According to Roger Fidler, a forefather of digital journalism, came up with the idea of a tablet that would be able to read electronic newspapers. (Rosenwald) Digital news is becoming the norm now, with many companies abandoning their print forms altogether. This is very troubling for print journalists because they will have to adapt to become digital journalists, not an easy task to do when they have been in the print sphere their whole careers. There are some problems to digital journalism though, and that is advertising and attention span. Digital readers tend to read online for a short period of time. (Rosenwald) This is a problem for news companies because they sell advertising space according to how many clicks they receive on a website. The fact is that no strategy has helped keep journalism alive in the digital sphere as well as it once did in the print sphere, “The (supposedly dying) print edition still outperforms the (supposedly hopeful) digital product by almost every standard, be it readership, engagement, advertising revenue, and especially willingness to actually pay for the product. (Rosenwald) Print journalism will always be better for journalists because print journalism relies on experienced journalists, rather than the public. Newspapers went through an era called yellow journalism, where journalists would exaggerate news stories, or even make up news to increase their audiences. Though print journalists seem to be those who are more trustworthy, there have been incidences when credible journalists have lied to the public.

According to “Print Journalism” by Jonathon Alter, print journalism is still an important part of news. Print journalism is better able to reach more audiences, since there are still many who do not have access to digital news, whether that be on a smartphone or laptop. Digital journalism consists of multiple media outlets, which sometimes can mean that some sources are untrustworthy. Digital journalism, though, is far superior in connecting with audiences and is better in gathering and producing news. People even praise how electronic devices, such as smartphones, have contributed to a whole new world of journalism. The idea that journalism should be something that everyone should be able to partake in is relevant in Bruno Torturra’s TED Talk “Got A Smartphone? Start Broadcasting” Torturra explains how he first started becoming a journalist when he was broadcasting a riot in Brazil. This led him to believe that anyone could be a journalist. With just something to record, anyone has the power to become a journalist and tell stories right as they happen. (Torturra) Though anyone could be a journalist, it takes hard work, and usually a degree, to become a credible journalist that people can count on for trustworthy news. The role of journalists is to not just tell stories, but explain the who, what, where, why, and how that comes from good journalism. Journalism can change for the better by becoming easier to access for everyone to access. Most believe that digital journalism is better than print, but why? Is print better in some ways where digital journalism isn’t? Print journalism is sometimes better than digital because it can be accessed anywhere at any time. Print journalism never needs a wireless connection, unlike digital journalism where some type of connection is required. People should start becoming aware of their news sources, and whether they are changing completely to digital news or not. Becoming a subscriber to digital newspapers such as The Washington Post helps promote digital journalism and the journalists that write the stories. If a person’s plan is to read print journalism, then subscribing to print newspapers is a must, for print newspapers are dwindling in popularity, especially among the youth. Though the youth seem to read their news digitally, most still read the news in print, although not a frequently compared to older generations. The culture of news is to get the best news, edited and reviewed, as fast as possible, from the most credible journalists. (Deuze) With the rise of digital journalism, not all of these desired traits are possible. News companies must find ways to fill as many of these news traits as possible. Digital journalism might not always be the best way to connect with mass audiences, but it is the direction that most, if not all, newspapers are going towards. (Harley) 

In conclusion, print journalism isn’t doing as well as digital journalism, and for good reason. In the modern digital age, social media plays a big role in communicating stories. Print journalists have had to find different ways of competing with digital journalists. News companies and journalists have had to adapt to digital journalism, even when they prefer not to, because it would increase the number of subscribers to their news and increase revenue. Digital journalists don’t have it easy though. Creating and producing news in a timely manner while juggling social media sources is a tall task. Journalism is changing rapidly due to technological advances. Smartphones are allowing basically anyone the ability to become a journalist and tell stories. Although this seems like a good thing for journalism, this is making it more difficult for professional journalists to stand out. The idea of the professional journalist is slowly declining due to the affects of digital journalism. So while digital journalism might seem like a good thing for everyone, its impact on print journalists as well as digital journalists isn’t. It is journalists that can write the course of history. From documenting the Vietnam War both at home and abroad, to the stories capturing the truth in the Pentagon Papers, journalists have always been there for people to help record history. The fact that journalism is changing is very important to our society. The change from print to digital journalism changes worldwide politics, economics, and social aspects of everyday life. Every person should care about the future of journalism, for journalism is there to tell history. Now is the time to know that journalism is changing, and whether one prefers it or not, it is changing to digital. People should start to recognize the importance of journalism in their lives. Journalism is something that most people take for granted. It is the responsibility of the people to help continually fund newspapers and journalists if they want credible news information. It is the job of journalists to keep the public informed and to provide stories that the people can rely on. 
