Dear Blog...

I am sitting on my couch, watching When Harry Met Sally and studying for finals. Some things never change. I have had this same method for studying since my freshman year. But now I am a senior and these are my last finals ever. So it feels bitter sweet.

I would be lying if I didn’t say this term kicked my ass. If I hadn’t absolutely needed a breadth course, I probably would have dropped Power Journalism after the first day – and the first math test. But I stuck to my guns, sometimes more successful than others, and I am glad I did. While I haven’t always had time to update my blog regularly, the flame has been lit and I plan to continue to let it burn. Now that school is over, it will be my goal to update my blog every day – ok, maybe not on the weekends but as often as I can.

I have learned to love blogging for several reasons. For one, it is a style of writing I used to love and have long since forgotten about. Picking it up again has been like discovering a long lost friend. For two, it has helped me keep up to date on the news and what is going on in the world of journalism. Actually seeking out topics to blog about is a fun pastime and helps me feel connected to the world in a way I haven’t felt before. There were definitely weeks that went by that I played around with my blog more than I checked my facebook.

The best part for me is embracing the new age of journalism, and liking it a lot more than I thought I would. Now, looking back on my last four years of school, if anyone were to ask me what classes I recommend, the list would consist of Media Ethics, Communication Law, and Power Journalism. Each offers its own invaluable lessons. Scott Maier manages to humanize the world of journalism, even though he is teaching about technological advances in the field. He teaches journalism in a way no one else does and reassured me, as a writer, that journalism isn’t dying; it is being reborn. I will manage to get a job, it just might be different than what I thought it would be. For that, I thank him and I also will continue to blog and generate new skills. Like Stephen Doig said, you don’t have to be an expert in every thing, but having a general understanding of various skills makes you a more valuable journalist.

The Most exciting time in Journalism

I had more than one family member tell me four years ago that newspapers were dying – why enter a field that is on its way out? My one uncle on my dad’s side was particularly worried about me. How was I going to make a living?

Well, I wish he could hear (or read) Laura Frank’s graduation speech for the School of Journalism and Mass Communication at the University of Colorado at Boulder. Frank has nearly 20 years of experience in newspapers, radio and public television. She has won awards in print and broadcast, and helped release innocent people from prison. A journalism student herself, and executive director of I-News, Frank has kept herself busy in a field that is supposedly dying. But most importantly of all, she claims it is the most exciting time in journalism.

“Never have we had the ability to both gather information as quickly, precisely and reliably – or disseminate it as rapidly or widely – as we do today,” she said. “Some of you – perhaps especially some of you parents – might be saying: Well yes, Laura, but the business models for journalism and advertising are collapsing. True. But at the same time, they are rebuilding. Many different models are evolving. We are witnessing creative destruction and we are witnessing the re-structuring, too.”

That being said, she doesn’t have any illusions that pursuing such a career is hard and sometimes thankless. “If you don’t have a fire in the belly to devote yourself to this field, you might want to quickly change your course of study,” she said. “Because as of this week, you’re competing for a job with me – and hundreds of other veteran journalists.”

After taking my first class as a declared journalism major, I had a conversation with a fellow classmate where we confessed maybe we weren’t competitive enough for this field. How can we compete with people like Frank, who have been in the business almost as long as I have been alive? After awhile, I found my answer: to learn from everyone around me. And at the University of Oregon, I have learned from some of the very best. They have given me confidence and authority in my writing. They have also given me powerful tools and skills to be successful in my journey. I can’t wait to go back to that same uncle and tell him how exciting my line of work is; it is always changing and evolving.

“This is the era of journalism and communication that you are entering today,” Frank said. “It is very powerful and very exciting. Yes, it’s also very volatile. And at times it will feel very uncertain… You will help reshape what this field becomes. Very few generations get that kind of opportunity. And it will be worth the struggles you’ll face in the coming years to have the honor of participating in it. I hope you seize it.”

But in all its uncertainty, this is where I feel at home and as Frank said, I am honored to be a part of this noble field.