How does the journalist of the future look like? What will be his/her strong points: analytical skills or technical know- how? What kind of journalism will be the most usual in 10 years, the so-called quality journalism or will the style of the tabloid press finally dominate? In a 3-day workshop, we, 29 participants from 19 European countries, dealt with such questions. We were invited for the youth summit of the annual Sanssouci Colloquium.
We shared in common the idea that new technologies are going to play a bigger role. The most probable scenario is that it will not happen on an equal basis, the use of new media has as precondition: a digital literate public. Dealing with the new technology is not only at the technical level, but furthermore, it should be about making choices and selecting the information. Always prioritising which are the appropriate interests for the users.
In this point comes the question for the future journalist: if internet and mobile devices give to everyone the opportunity to become a journalist, why do we need professionals?
As mentioned above, we are risking getting lost in the information superhighway, so we are looking for orientation. This will be provided by some journalist ‘teachers‘ who will try to explain the readers a fast changing and more complex world in an understandable way.
Of course, the majority of them will have a basic education and be better technical skilled than today, able to produce media products completely, all by themselves. The dominating lifestyle will always influence their work and the information will be offered in an entertainment package as quickly as possible supporting the ‘fast-thinking‘ trend.
So it is to expect, the gap between the – already existing- groups, one providing deeper analysis behind the events, and another one choosing a more emotional way to describe the news, will grow bigger. Among the discussed trends, it is also possible to see in the recent future more amateur journalists, maybe even storytellers wanting their voice to be heard.
So far, experience tells us that personal spaces on the net are generally paid few attention – with few exceptions, which confirms this opinion. However in the future the access to information and further analysis will cost more and more money.
The good news? No one can imagine the future without journalists, as long as modern societies trust them a place in this world.
By: Christoforos Pavlakis (Greece)
