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Introducing Reporter and Editor 2.0

The Internet is changing journalism. It has completely revolutionised the way people access their news, shifting much of the world from a broadcast system to an “on-demand” one. It has already given rise to new institutions of journalism, namely blogs and social media.

All of this after just over a decade of becoming widespread.

But with the changes that the Internet has brought to how people access news, it is inevitable that it will prompt some changes in how the largest news outlets operate.

However, to date, that change has been very slow coming. Most magazines, newspapers and television stations work much the same as they did 25 years ago. While many have been cutting back and others have been expanding their web efforts, the general structure and job titles of these companies have remained largely unchanged.

Most likely though, in 25 years, the role of reporter and editor will have changed drastically in many locations. As journalism moves into the “Me” era, employees of media outlets will likely have different functions than they do today and will need completely different skills.

Here are just some of the changes that are possible.

Editor 2.0

The role of the editor has traditionally been one of a gatekeeper, someone who sits between the reporters and the readers. Their duties, depending on the organisation and the field, have traditionally involved deciding which stories to use, correcting reporters work and representing the company publicly among many other tasks.

For many editors, this means spending a lot of time with individual reporters, including handing out assignments and enforcing deadlines. Unfortunately, it is exactly that kind of hands on work that may be becoming of lesser importance. With newsrooms being slashed in size, the need for editors to lead large teams of reporters is dwindling.

However, the need for a filter is more important than ever. So much information is being thrown at consumers. They need help sorting through the noise. Editors can help by selecting high-quality, relevant stories and featuring them, thus building a reputation for having the best information.

Over the next decade or so, the position of an editor will look less and less like it does today and will involve more story selection, possibly selecting one best story out of many contenders, arranging licensing deals to use content they find, and working with the material they obtain to fit into the needed formats.

Many editors already have some experience with this in working with wire stories or other syndicated content. However, the difference is that, in the future, the sources of information will be heavily decentralised and the ability to locate worthwhile material will be just as important as the ability to actually edit it.

As such, editors need to hone their search skills, learn how to locate desirable information. Also, unfortunately, many of the tasks that traditionally fell on the reporter will begin to fall on the editor, including fact-checking and source verification.

Editors are going to have to be more tech-savvy than ever before, will have to be comfortable with finding material on the Internet and good at working with reporters that they will never meet.

This will be a radical change for many in the industry, but one that they may have to make.

Reporter 2.0

It is no secret that newsrooms all over the world are going through very severe cutbacks. As circulation and viewership fall as the audience thins, reporters are among the first to lose their jobs.

But the demand for news and journalism has not decreased nor has the demand for quality reporting. The need for people to research, fact check and report the news is as important as ever. As such, the actual job of the reporter will likely change very little. What will instead change is where and how it is done.

The days in which a reporter works fulltime for a single publication or station are likely dwindling. Some will always be able to find such work, but their ranks will diminish and those entering the field already find it almost impossible to get stable fulltime reporting work.

Journalists, who have traditionally avoided freelance work due to a lack of stability, may soon find themselves pushed onto that route. However, instead of creating content for a newspaper, magazine or television station, they will be publishing their content to the web, likely using sites such as Associated Content that let them make their work available for reuse and sale.

Successful journalists will likely sign on to non-exclusive deals to create content for different providers, both online and traditional, creating a few items each week for the publications. This is something graphic designers have been doing for some time.

Reporters, rather than being relatively faceless authors behind their company’s work, will be placed front and centre. They will be their own brand, promoting themselves on the Internet via blogs, social media, online networks and more. Journalists will have to learn both how to promote themselves successfully and how to balance working with many different clients.

Another interesting change for reporters will be that they will no longer work in one medium. Video journalists will be required to write their own copy, print journalists will have to learn how to work in audio and so forth. The Internet is a multi-media platform. Anyone who can only work in one or two types of media will struggle more than those who can branch out.

The bottom line is that the reporter of the not-too-distant future will be in business for him or herself, thus making it crucial that both their work and their promotion are able to stand on their own.

Conclusions

This is not to say that all editor or reporter jobs will look like this in the near future. There will always be roles for traditional editors and fulltime reporters, especially at wire services and other very large companies. However, for many, if not most, their jobs will soon start to take on some of these characteristics.

The best thing to do right now is to be prepared. Now is a great time to start learning about the new technologies and opportunities. It’s the time to start watching what others are doing along these lines and learning any lessons that you can.

Even if your position doesn’t undergo a radical change in the near future, being aware of what is going on will make you a better journalist and better able to serve your company in the shifting landscape.

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Flickr photo from user RebeccaMacK

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