By OLIVIA SMEDLEY
STAFF WRITER
Rutgers University professor Loren Fisher recently gave a lecture to journalism students on how the decline of newspapers does not mean journalism is dead.
Fisher discussed how being able to do many different jobs in one is the key to multimedia reporting. As a photojournalist, he must also know how to put presentations together, write and take video and audio recording for his job.
He said that many news sites have started to incorporate video and other multimedia as a way to keep interest, and of course, gain profits.
“It comes down to what’s the best way to tell a story,” Fisher said.
While working for The Courier News, Fisher and his team created a slideshow of pictures along with audio to cover the funeral of a Watchung police officer. He displayed the project to the class of journalism students.
“People are reading more than ever” he said, “but they want their news in a different way.”
This coverage was simple yet effective, he said. It was very well received and set a standard for how stories need to be told, he said.
Fisher explained how it told a story in a way that touched people personally as opposed to reading the hard details in a newspaper.
“Being able to repurpose your content is key” Fisher said.
You should be able to write same story in three or four formats. It is necessary for journalists to be able to adapt to the changing expectations of readers, he said.
Fisher’s signature advice for the aspiring journalists was “don’t suck.”
One way to not “suck,” according to Fisher, is to be a “mojo,” short for mobile journalist. These are the people that are out there making moves and getting the information in innovative ways.
It is important to know how to use the technology needed for multimedia, and how to present it in an effective way that will also benefit your company, Fisher told students.
The purpose of news is to make money, so it is important to reach the maximum amount of people in the best way, he said. Making a profit is the single reason that newspapers and news sites exist.
Students were very engaged by Fisher’s witty side comments and his knowledge of new age journalism.
“I loved him” said Rebecca Cheng, a sophomore in the journalism and media studies program. “He represents real modern journalism, snappy and continuously updating himself on the complexities of our generation. He was very inspiring.”
He gave hope to the students that felt that the decline of newspaper was a decline of the whole industry. “There will always be a need for journalists” Fisher said.
Step one of having a job in the industry is to have a dream, he said. |
