RMIT Research_Online media and Journalism?: Research Report on Journalism: CONCLUSION

FUTURE TRENDS

Media companies will most likely adjust to this changing climate through focusing on their online media sites and their applications for iPhones and iPads. In the future, it would be expected that any surviving news companies would all have applications for these portable devices or they will be left behind, as some of them already have with the mis-management and weak adoption of online media opportunities. Some print media companies will adjust to the changing needs of their remaining readers and develop smaller, less frequent and more magazine style formatted newspapers. More departments will be out-sourced and more effective use of social media tools should be evident in the next 12 months. More independent media sources, such as Crikey will be given a voice in the Australian media circles, as the focus on online media rather than expensive print media businesses will enable a more dynamic and diverse set of news sources to be accessed by the public at large.

SOCIAL MEDIA

It is clear that an online presence is vital in today’s media world, if you want to market yourself and create an online portfolio for your writings, video, photography and audio files. It also offers extensive research gateways and enhances your networking capabilities enormously, in relation to employment, interview possibilities and leads for stories. But of course, like all your work in the media industry, your published material can be brought up at any time and may be used against you, used as a reason to not give you a job or lead to public embarrassment if you have made comments that you cannot stand by at a later stage. So as Jason Whittaker states, “don’t be afraid of it”, but be diligent and consider the consequences and benefits involved with your social media presence.

TIPS AND TRICKS

The most important tips that were shared with us from prominent industry heads were the need for an online presence and multi-media skills. Of course, the ability to write and effectively tell stories is still a must in being a journalist but the industry is changing and you need to be multi-skilled, flexible, resilient and energetic to cope with the new continuous news cycles. To gain employment, you need to prepare thoroughly and reading newspapers every day will be a definite advantage in job interviews and in your writing skills and knowledge. And you need to write every day, whether this is published on your blog (preferable) or simply filed away somewhere. You need to follow journalists that you admire and examine their writing styles. If you want it to happen, it is possible, so read our full Tips and Tricks section and take advantage of the extensive information that has been gathered for this report.

The major benefits of conducting this research report was to gain the enormous amount of insider information that was gathered through online research and interviews with leading professionals in journalism. It was also an excellent opportunity to network with industry heads on a professional basis and the personal emails and phone numbers that I have now collected will undoubtedly prove useful upon my graduation and subsequent search for employment in this very competitive industry. The tips and tricks that were collected will be followed closely and the knowledge gained, which I have now shared with you, will benefit all of us in our future goals of becoming journalists! I will now present my report to various organizations that I spoke to through the research process such as the Media Entertainment and Arts Alliance and the Walkley Foundation http://www.walkleys.com/media-pass-student-days or organisations that I found along my travels, such as Upstart http://www.upstart.net.au/ to see if they may want to publish my report on their respective websites.

So good luck to all of you out there that are seeking a career in Journalism and if my tips were helpful in you gaining employment in the industry, or you are an industry professional reading this, remember me when I ask you for a job!

Clare Peterson

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