VCU Mass Comm Week

By Kalyn Salinsky




The days of waking up to the thud of a newspaper hitting your front door in the morning may be fading. Today, waking up and turning on your computer is the fastest and easiest way to get your news.

This online trend represents the future of most media outlets, including newspapers, television and wire service.

"People want news; there is a huge appetite for news." Said Jean McNair, news editor at the Associated Press. "What’s changing is how news is delivered."

As a part of VCU’s Mass Comm Week, a panel of speakers discussed the future of the media and the changes that may be occurring as graduates are looking for jobs. About 200 students came out to hear the panel, which was held in the Temple Building on VCU campus.

Wire Services

The Associated Press distributes its news primarily on the Web, where many media outlets are turning to. The Associated Press sends out wire notices to customers including Yahoo News and the U.S. government.

McNair said the Associated Press works well on the Internet because it enables breaking news to be brought to customers in seconds. She said it allows for a "deadline every minute."

The future goals of the Associated Press include expanding ways to get the news you want, in the region you are in. The Associated Press is also striving for more in-depth reporting and analysis in the newsroom, said McNair.

Newspapers and Television

Daniel Finnegan, senior editor at the Richmond Times-Dispatch, discussed the potential for an online-only newspaper in the future. Finnegan said that 1,000 hours per week is put into Internet projects alone at the Richmond Times- Dispatch. Finnegan explained the importance of news and compares it to a form of "checks and balances."

The goal of the Richmond Times-Dispatch is to bring credible news to the community in a trustworthy fashion. However, this credible news may be brought to you differently in the future.

Finnegan said the newspaper has already compacted its self to be smaller both physically and content wise. Finnegan said the Richmond Times-Dispatch will start distributing premium on-demand products by sending out top news on specific days and any other section, such as the sport section, sent only by request. All other content will be on the Web.

The general sales manager from NBC 12, Kym Grinnage, discussed how news is changing on television. Grinnage said that the news on television gives a visual to the audience, but only recaps a story in about two minutes.

"TV is a tease to get your attention," and reading the news is still a necessity, he said. However, with the switch to digital television, news stations will now be able to provide multi-casting and stay as local as possible.

Revenue

So why not make the switch to Internet only? One word: advertising.

All three media outlets discussed the revenue made by advertisers and how it is much higher in print than online. Advertisers will put more money into print news because customers pay more attention to those ads rather than those online. The panelists said many people ignore the advertisements online and many people get the print form for the advertisements. These factors make it extremely hard for media outlets to fully switch over to Internet only news while still making revenue.

Janna Eubank, a sophomore at VCU and aspiring journalism major, said that she preferred the hard copy of the news rather than online news. She attended this event with hopes to decide whether she wants to declare print or broadcasting journalism, however, it seems as though both will be primarily on the Web in the future.