In amongst all the anguish and conflict and title closures and redundancies that are going on right now, aside from the newsroom battles and competing claims to be the defenders of true journalism, hidden in the battle between free and paywalled, there's something to look forward to, a germ of hope to cherish.
Whatever the business model proves to be, however hard the dark times are between the collapse of the old business models and the emergence of the new, journalism will survive and it will thrive. The tools to produce journalism are available to most people now. We're liberated from the tyranny of our desks by the laptop and the mobile phone, so can be out there, working our beats, finding our stories. We have new social tools that allow us to keep close to our contacts and interact with our audiences in new ways. And we're part of a new, diverse and growing eco-system of publishing.
Change is hard. Moving from one life to another is traumatic. But there are exciting things on the horizon and, once in a while, it pays to step back from the drama of the now and enjoy the possibilities that lie in the future.
Whatever the business model proves to be, however hard the dark times are between the collapse of the old business models and the emergence of the new, journalism will survive and it will thrive. The tools to produce journalism are available to most people now. We're liberated from the tyranny of our desks by the laptop and the mobile phone, so can be out there, working our beats, finding our stories. We have new social tools that allow us to keep close to our contacts and interact with our audiences in new ways. And we're part of a new, diverse and growing eco-system of publishing.
Change is hard. Moving from one life to another is traumatic. But there are exciting things on the horizon and, once in a while, it pays to step back from the drama of the now and enjoy the possibilities that lie in the future.
I agree. I think there is a lot to be excited about. There are lots of potentials out there - especially for the more entrepreneurial minded. Rather than making a million I think journalists could make a sustainable living from more niche ventures. The (cheap and free) tools are there to try things out.
I agree too - and that was beautifully put.