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?