By Emmanuel Udom
Take
it or leave it, our world has gone past the age of writing for writing sake. It
is no longer an analogue, but a digital world and speed is now the name of the
game.
Yes, our
world is now a global family. Away from what it was in the past-a global
village.
Therefore,
journalism is an ever evolving profession. Or is it a vocation? Please tell me. But, basically, it is about educating,
informing and entertaining members of the public.
Let’s
tell ourselves the truth. With the coming into existence of the social media,
everyone is therefore a reporter, one way or the other.
Therefore,
any event or incident that occurs in any part of the world could be spread
through the social media within seconds through tips, pictures and videos.
And
these events may be the lead for trained journalists working for conventional
media houses.
The
journalists could get the tips, process them in accordance with the journalism
ethics and then sell the information back to the same members of the public.
You
may or may not agree with me here. Hard copies of newspapers, magazines and
other periodicals are dying by the minutes. The hard-copies are giving way to
digital journalism.
Internet
and the social media are the in-thing now. It is a global library, where all
sorts of people from all walks of life visit every second of the day to get
specific information on what they are searching for.
In today’s journalism, what the world need are
specific information that could add value, give insights, increase pleasures or
reduce pains for the estimated 7 billion people in the world.
For
instance, “soldiers flee as Boko Haram terrorists overrun Sambisa forest” is a
fantastic copy for any editor worth his or her salt. After all in journalism, bed news of good
news.
It
only adds negative values to humanity and help online researchers with their
jobs. I am a Nigerian and a practicing journalist and I know from current
trends that our world in dare need of peace, unity and progress.
From my findings, I have discovered that
journalists who write to add value to humanity are likely to remain relevant in
this ever changing world. The relevancy could translate to money or other
benefits eventually.
So,
how will your write-up solve a problem, reduce pains, increase pleasures or
give an insight into an existing challenge or challenges?
It is
in answering this question that some of us will begin to think as entrepreneur
in the journalism profession. God bless you all.
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