...But I thought I was a Journalist!

One of the first things I learnt when I started University was that there was a difference between ‘being’ a journalist, and ‘doing’ journalism. I was reminded of this when our tutor Christina did a presentation on ‘Who… Is a Journalist?’ And I have to say, after studying it for almost three whole years and starting to get into the industry myself, I’m still a little bit confused.

I’m not sure if I’m meant to aim to ‘be’ a journalist, or ‘do’ journalism. From my first-year perspective, I was meant to ‘do’ journalism, and the three-year slog through Shannon & Weaver, Zolberg, Thussu (and many other German theorists whose names I have trouble pronouncing during presentations) was meant to filter out the wannabes from the gonna-bes.

But new technology, media convergence, and a tech-savvy generation who know how to get their voices heard has meant an uprise in the amount of individuals participating in journalism, without even having a degree!

These days, University isn’t the only path to getting where you want to go. If you can use a computer, operate social media, post on Youtube and know how to edit along the way (which includes the latter half of Gen Y) you’re halfway there!

There are pros and cons to media convergence, like a lesser need for journalists, a greater need for current journalists to know how to do everything, and a more competitive market, but the plus side is that us Gen Y’ers may have a little head-start over the older crowd who’re used to writing in shorthand instead of recording interviews.

Which leaves me to wonder; perhaps I’m more drawn to the romantic journalist – getting out of the office to chase a story, writing in notebooks, ‘handing in’ stories to the editor, even reading the newspaper each morning!

The elusive journalist must look different to each person, and will continue to change as fast as Facebook replaced Myspace.