2008 Woodie Awards
Letter from the Editor
Most newspapers are suffering, but we're doing just fine here
Frankie Guros
Issue date: 5/9/08 Section: Opinion
"I'm majoring in journalism."
"Oh."
That's how many of my conversations go when people ask me what I'm doing with my education. They aren't really sure of what to tell me, or what kind of sympathy card they should send after they walk away.
There's no denying that newspapers are firing employees, consolidating, firing employees, merging and firing employees.
And the reason is also plainly visible: newspapers are old technology. In our instant-gratification age, spurred by the awesome power of the internet, less people consider a newspaper as their primary source of information.
Also, with our new sense of urgency to reduce global warming, it doesn't seem rational to cut down all those trees when any high school student can read stories from anywhere on the globe on their iPhone.
So that leaves me, the student who has spent his last seven years refining his skills of mashing several stories onto a page, with a big question: is what I'm doing worthwhile?
The answer, sadly, is that much of what journalism students have done that last five to ten years won't matter soon. The rate at which technology is improving and reporters are getting downsized is too staggering to ignore.
However, in my search to make sense of my field, I have found a bright star in a dim night: local news.
Reporters who cover national news at local papers are nonexistent because the large conglomerate can provide the paper with big stories, but there is no replacement for stories covering what happens in our own backyard.
No one gives the Pacific community what we provide in our slim 12-page production. We strive to find out what's happening on campus and let our mass audience know because there isn't anybody else who will do it.
Admittedly, some of our 'exclusive' stories are such because no one outside of the university would read them.
Still, I firmly believe that papers such as The Pacific Index hold the most hope in a bleak future for journalism in today's society. Community journalism is vital to keeping the closeness that makes small schools so darn endearing to everyone.
So the next time someone asks me what my major is, I'll still take a deep breath before giving my reluctant answer. But at least for now I have one more year at this paper.
Frankie Guros
Executive Editor
The Pacific Index
"Oh."
That's how many of my conversations go when people ask me what I'm doing with my education. They aren't really sure of what to tell me, or what kind of sympathy card they should send after they walk away.
There's no denying that newspapers are firing employees, consolidating, firing employees, merging and firing employees.
And the reason is also plainly visible: newspapers are old technology. In our instant-gratification age, spurred by the awesome power of the internet, less people consider a newspaper as their primary source of information.
Also, with our new sense of urgency to reduce global warming, it doesn't seem rational to cut down all those trees when any high school student can read stories from anywhere on the globe on their iPhone.
So that leaves me, the student who has spent his last seven years refining his skills of mashing several stories onto a page, with a big question: is what I'm doing worthwhile?
The answer, sadly, is that much of what journalism students have done that last five to ten years won't matter soon. The rate at which technology is improving and reporters are getting downsized is too staggering to ignore.
However, in my search to make sense of my field, I have found a bright star in a dim night: local news.
Reporters who cover national news at local papers are nonexistent because the large conglomerate can provide the paper with big stories, but there is no replacement for stories covering what happens in our own backyard.
No one gives the Pacific community what we provide in our slim 12-page production. We strive to find out what's happening on campus and let our mass audience know because there isn't anybody else who will do it.
Admittedly, some of our 'exclusive' stories are such because no one outside of the university would read them.
Still, I firmly believe that papers such as The Pacific Index hold the most hope in a bleak future for journalism in today's society. Community journalism is vital to keeping the closeness that makes small schools so darn endearing to everyone.
So the next time someone asks me what my major is, I'll still take a deep breath before giving my reluctant answer. But at least for now I have one more year at this paper.
Frankie Guros
Executive Editor
The Pacific Index
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