As journalists, it’s our job to cover the goings on of the world around us, but what happens when we are the news? In the middle of this semester, the journalism department announced to its students that the staff for the college's two publications, The Defender and the Echo would be merging next semester.
As difficult as change is, it’s an essential part of life. Even the field of journalism is changing. Everyday, we hear about how newspapers are becoming a dying medium as more and more publications are going online. In October, the 100-year-old Christian Science Monitor announced that it would be online-only. The Burlington Free Press recently cut 17 jobs to increase its already in-the-black profits and decline advertising. The L.A. Times and the Chicago Tribune just declared bankcruptcy!
| Contrary to popular belief, my career dreams don’t include being a reporter for The Burlington Free Press; I’d actually call that a nightmare. |
Being a senior and the Executive Editor of the Echo, I have a fairly good understanding of how this journalism department works. One of my biggest frustrations is that print journalism dominates the department. One of the first classes we take in this major is Intro to Writing. Then, sophomore year we write for both the Echo and the Defender. New Media I is the only multimedia class students take before deciding which publication to work on as editors.
Naturally, there’s an understanding among the majority of journalism majors that print is more important than online. Before our first issue of the Echo this semester, most of my staff voiced concerns about having to use the multimedia software necessary to our publication.
This isn’t just the case at St. Michael’s. When I tell someone that I’m a journalism major, it’s assumed that the only job available for me at graduation is a job at a print newspaper. Contrary to popular belief, my career dreams don’t include being a reporter for The Burlington Free Press; I’d actually call that a nightmare.
In this field the way we tell stories is changing. More and more, journalists are expected to not only write articles, but also put together multimedia pieces. This requires a working knowledge of editing sound, recording quality interviews, and taking photography. The stereotypical image of the reporter scribbling furiously on a pad of paper is quickly becoming obsolete.
Thus, the decision to merge both publications gives all journalism majors experience with online media before they graduate.
Aside from the academic advantages of this merger, the fact that such a small campus has two publications is ridiculous. As much as I love the rivalry between the two, it’s become counterproductive. We both work in the smallest academic building on campus, just one classroom down from each other. We guard our story ideas from one another as if they were top secret information, only to find out that we’ve covered exactly the same stories.
At such a small college, two publications are excessive; colleges bigger than us function with only one. With only one staff working on the two publications, there will only be one reporter going after a story. We won’t exhaust our sources who usually have to answer the same questions twice.
In a world where print and online are converging, this merger is an absolute necessity. St. Michael's needs to reflect this change. Without emphasizing online and media skills, this major too, will become obsolete.
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