Journalist Hopeful Looking For Advice

I'm not trying to pick a fight. I would like you or others to inform me where I am wrong? My take: Some loud mouth consultants tell newspaper editors the print business is dying, must invest in Internet. These loud mouths (not many actually; few making lot of money) convince everybody to go big-time web and give away the product. Publishers and general managers see a way to cut newsprint/ink costs, go along. Along comes Gannett with the citizen journalist plan. Along come layoffs because everybody knows papers won't need many employees when we go all web. Culprits to Fredrick: Publishers, general managers, managing editors. And the 10 a.m. meeting sellouts who refused to speak up.
Where am I off base? I am passionate not trying to fight.

 

fred, an honest apology if i mistook passion for picking a fight.

and my simple point is: cars replaced the horse. i'm sorry, but there aren't many people we can blame for that fact.

 

Yeah. I should probably just shut up and leave but currently my passion rages about the state of our industry. Thanks.

 

fred - the consensus at this site has long been that newspapers must give their product away if they're going to succeed on the internet ... although i'm not one of those people.

the arguments were huge, but the "free approach" always won out by a large margin.

i doubt many folks here are publishers.

 

That's exactly how I feel. Early 40s, been in the business since university almost 20 years ago. Emotionally, I hate to throw all of that away.

Other than a couple of "just to pay the bills between jobs", I haven't done anything other than media. No one seems to have an answer as to why I draw the short straw when it's layoff time.

 

Print was dying 15 years ago before the Web. Even if newspapers charged for Web site access back then, I doubt it would have mattered.

 

Fact is that if newspapers charge for the same thing that people can get on college web sites, ESPN, and other national news sites, and I'm talking sports here, they'll lose. There's a niche for magazines because they're feature-oriented. I still think the national papers will suffer more and greater before community newspapers do.

How long do you guys truly think this industry has, or will it eliminate the print product entirely and go to web-based everything?

 

The best schools to attend would actually be:
1-Practical Work College.
2-Hard Knocks University.
3-Write and Write College.

Okay, this is partially in jest, but I think most of us will agree that the best "school" to attend in this business, when all is said and done, is the real world and practical, hands-on work. write until you can't write any more. practice, practice, practice. and write, write, write. and read other good writers.
I took 30-plus hours of journalism and minored in English. as much as I enjoyed the classes and all, I got my best experience simply going out and covering things, people, events. I got kicked around, cussed at, rewritten, fussed at, etc., etc. But trust me, it was the way I learned to survive. My ol' journalism professor told me it's all about getting your hands "dirty" and doing the practical stuff. Oh, how true it is.
Add that to your educational pursuits and you should do just fine.

 

Do all that and with about 10 jobs on most major newspaper company websites last week, you'll get nowhere.

 

If you wanna pursue it, then do so.

But, if you wind up as a Tampa Bay beat writer, you can't stand and cheer in the pressbox when the Bucs score a TD

 

We'll never know. What was your take on the time magazine article? It said more people than ever are reading the fishrags and wanting the information. We've been sold a bill of goods I tell you.

 

i don't think the circulation folks at my last five papers have been sandbagging, fred.