Print Response

On Monday, the print group discussed the history, technicality, and future of print journalism. To be quite honest, I have always been turned off by the idea of print journalism, but the presentation pleasantly surprised me. 


One topic I found particularly interesting was the "newsworthy" concept of stories. The group illustrated each component for the class: impact, timeliness, prominence, proximity, conflict, bizarre, and currency. While some aspects, such as, conflict, are quite obvious, I found myself thinking back to recent articles I have read and how they fit into these categories. These ideas made print journalism to be more strategic than I had originally thought.


I also found the discussion of demographics to be very interesting and informative. Once again, the points made by the group proved that print journalism is very strategic. I recently wrote a paper for JMC200, where I had to describe the average reader of a very specific audience-geared magazine. Being the girl that I am, I chose to read Seventeen. I completely dissected the magazine and questioned every motive of the creators. I actually went through the trouble of counting the advertisements and categorized them by product. Out of the forty-seven ads, over twenty were strictly promoting face washes for acne. While I found this amusing, I also realized that it made perfect sense. That being said, I thoroughly enjoyed the group's analysis of demographics and advertisements. I also think that their points and examples brought about ideas that some of the class had never thought about. 


While the group did present a lot of valid information, I wish they had done more research on the future of print.  I enjoyed the Katie Couric video, which I found to be very interesting and noteworthy; however, I feel like the subject was some what overlooked. The decline of print journalism is all we really hear as journalism students in today's economy. I just wish more information was presented on exactly why the industry is dying and how journalists are trying to compensate. I also would of liked to of seen more optimistic opinions with reasons explaining their stance. This topic is very trivial in today's culture, so I think it would have been appropriate to spend more time on it, along with some class discussion to help the audience form their own opinions. 


However, I am glad the group emphasized the importance of being well-rounded in order to succeed in this field. Numerous times throughout this semester I have been told that to make in today's media-related careers, you have to know "stuff," and being a good writer is a necessity. The group also highlighted the fact that in order to do so, you must be tech-savvy. I appreciated hearing the truth instead of brushing the negativity under the rug.