The radio story
Employees of magazines and newspapers are not alone in their fear of management showing veteran reporters the door in favor of thicker bottom lines. The owners of many small-market radio stations have replaced experienced - or eager-to-learn - individuals with computerized broadcasts emanating from a centralized source, says Joe Mathieu, an XM Satellite Radio host who previously worked as managing editor and anchor for CBS MarketWatch.
In addition, many radio hosts are expected to produce witty, opinionated blog posts throughout their shifts. Booth video of radio shows is becoming more common, as well. Podcasts are another opportunity for hosts to place full interviews, which are often cut down in length to go on-air, within the reach of diehard fans, he says.
However, the lack of small-town radio stations leaves large-market channels without the "minor leagues" where they once recruited younger talent, adds Mathieu.
"I'm a fairly young guy, but it was just long enough ago when [a station] had to have a big reel-to-reel [tape recorder]," he recalls. "Then came the so-called 'jack in the box' [automation technology] that allowed radio stations to completely automate talk for 12 hours or more and do radio. It eliminated the small-to-midsize market radio stations that used to be the training grounds for radio. If I were getting into the business now, I wouldn't even know where to begin because all of those small stations that were incubators for talent are automating out of a computer."
Learning new skills
As the media landscape is changing, so are the tools journalists use to do their jobs. Not surprisingly, the Internet has had the biggest effect. When asked how they acquire information about a company, journalists cite company Web sites (89%), Google (73.8%), e-mailed press releases (72.7%), and conversation/personalized e-mail from a PR person (70.9%). Nearly half (49.5%) use newswires, while only 13.9% report that they use RSS feeds.
Journalists are also turning to social networking sites and blogs to supplement their news coverage or find sources. Of those surveyed, 25.5% say they have a profile on MySpace, 29% are on Facebook, and 32.3% are on LinkedIn. While only 8.4% say they "always" use blogs for research, more than 36.5% say they use them "sometimes." In addition, 57.7% report using blogs to measure sentiment, 38.7% for finding subjects, and 29.5% for searching industry experts.
The LA Daily News' Hernandez, who says he caught the blogging bug earlier than many colleagues, is blunt when assessing the chances of getting - or keeping - a job for those without Web skills in today's dog-eat-dog environment.
"If you can't do that, just get out," he asserts. "Really, I mean in terms of the Web and being able to do your own research, you have to be really savvy on the Internet - and you should be, if you're a reporter, for God's sake."
As for how journalists prefer to receive information, e-mail is clearly the medium of choice (93.5%), according to the survey. Journalists rate getting information from newswires (24%) higher than a phone call (16.6%) or a fax (9%).
Today's journalists should be able to use blogging platforms quickly and accurately, know how to record and post podcasts to the Web, and familiarize themselves with video-blogging technology and the intricacies of reporting for a technically savvy audience.
"My whole life has changed in terms of how I do things," says Rachel Sklar, columnist for The Huffington Post. "You used to write the words and e-mail them in a story. Now it's writing it, hyperlinking it, picking an image, framing it, designing it within the parameters of the program you have, and determining if it looks OK. I'm also an editor - it's a self-generating thing where I decide what I cover."
Journalism schools are so aware of the move to the Web that many programs teach students to pick up a digital camera or video recorder in the same ways they used to teach tight news writing. David Domke, journalism professor at the University of Washington, says that his students sometimes have a few things to teach him during online journalism classes.
"I guess I had some skepticism that they had the ability to function across technical platforms, and that they had the ability to write, record, and do audio/video with any kind of speed and accuracy. In the traditional journalism world, most people 40 [years old] or [more], can't do that," he says.
"For [the younger generation]," adds Domke, "reporting is not just a pen, pencil, and a laptop. For them, reporting is a digital camera, an audio recorder, a cell-phone camera, and maybe a laptop. And that's where I wasn't going to be able to help them because I don't have that knowledge."
However, some things don't change. According to the survey, 86.2% cite personal contacts as "extremely" or "very" important in finding experts for stories; 66.9% choose news articles; 55.1% tap company Web sites, while 52.2% pick readers who contact them and 49.6% pick press releases.
The survey also indicates that journalists have mixed feelings about dealing with PR pros. When asked what percentage of pitches they receive is related to the subject they cover, the highest number (48.7%) say zero to 25%. More than one-quarter (26.1%) say 26%-50% of pitches are relevant and 16.9% say 51%-75% of pitches are useful. Only 7% of respondents say 76%-100% of pitches are relevant.