« Earlier this week it was 99 degrees in D.C. and I decided work should be pants optional
What if back in 1998 newspapers invested in the Web? »

It’s not the medium — it’s the news, silly

One of the most insightful quotes I have seen in awhile came from journalism student Jessica DaSilva:

You know, throughout the day, the most advice I received was, “Change your major while you still can. It’s a bad time for journalism.” Personally, I think that comes from people who are more dedicated to their medium than the news.

It’s a great time for journalism. It’s a bad time for newspapers. Newspapers do not equal journalism.

Let’s not forget that newspapers are just a medium. Journalism is such much bigger and more powerful than a collection of printed pages.

People love online journalism. It’s more immediate. It’s more diverse. It’s more portable.

Our mission is to find ways to give people what they want. People want journalism. Never doubt that for a second.

And maybe journalism would better off if it had more wide-eyed and enthusiastic people like DaSilva, instead of people discouraging her from doing what she loves. Heck, why are those people still working in journalism?

This entry was posted on Saturday, June 14th, 2008 at 8:42 pm and is filed under off topic. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.

5 Responses to “It’s not the medium — it’s the news, silly”

  1. Meranda Says:
    June 14th, 2008 at 9:27 pm

    I totally agree the world - especially the world of journalism - needs more believers. This IS a tough time to be in newspapers but it’s also a great time to enter journalism. Precisely because the uncertainty of the future. That’s the only reason my bosses let me do as much as I do and ask me for feedback. They get that and get that I get it AND care.

  2. Jessica DaSilva Says:
    June 15th, 2008 at 12:55 am

    It’s so true! You’re not called into journalism because you like to write; you feel called to it because you have a passion for news.

    Thanks for noticing my site!

    Jessie

  3. Where are all the college bloggers? | By Daniel Victor Says:
    June 18th, 2008 at 11:41 am

    [...] “75″, “http://bydanielvictor.com”); I was delighted to find Jessica DaSilva’s blog (via Pat Thornton). Jessica, a journalism student at the University of Florida, had a recent entry about her [...]

  4. Where are all the college bloggers? | blogHarrisburg Says:
    June 18th, 2008 at 4:37 pm

    [...] on 18 June 2008 I was delighted to find Jessica DaSilva’s blog (via Pat Thornton). Jessica, a journalism student at the University of Florida, had a recent entry about her [...]

  5. Wenalway Says:
    July 3rd, 2008 at 6:42 pm

    Pat:

    Yes, you’re right. We should turn our focus to discouraging people like you, who try to sound smart but then prove they aren’t.

Leave a Reply