Any Hamilton fans out there?! Regardless of how you came to be at http://paigewester.blogspot.com/, I thought I would start off by introducing myself and my credentials so I don't end up "throwing away my shot"...to make a great first impression! (I hope everyone likes cheesy quotes and puns because otherwise this is going to be a long 9 weeks folks!)
I feel like I have worked in communications for most of my working career. I started out communicating to kids my age about how cool they would look in overpriced jeans and t shirts from a traditional mall chain store at the tender age of 18 and now I work in higher education, helping recruit, improve and retain enrollment numbers for a state university. I also network constantly with other business leaders and professionals about how higher education can benefit themselves and their workforce. I communicate in so many ways every day sometimes it gets hard to remember how I originally spoke to someone. A prospective student may have filled out an application via our website, sent me an email, but then texted me later that day with a question, and then followed up with a Facebook Message to make sure I got the text. So many different forms of communication exist today but I'm still a big fan of the good old fashioned phone call to get things done. It makes me a traitor to my fellow 20-somethings to like making a phone call. I am currently enrolled in my fourth class for my Masters in Strategic Communications program and have been loving the experience. After being out of college for 5 years, it has been so rewarding to get back in the swing of things and I am really looking forward to writing this weekly blog post! (If you would like more information about me, check out the Meet Paige section of the blog!)
In case it's not obvious, I am a member of that unlucky generation that everyone likes to blame for everything...the Millennials. That's right, we killed everything! The grocery store, diamonds, newspapers, public libraries...we're a busy bunch. I can remember when having a desktop computer with dial up internet was the height of cool as was having access to AOL. Now you say dial up to a tween and they're likely to respond by giving you a withering look and saying "Did you mean to say 'turn up'?" No I didn't, youths. But I digress. I grew up in that weird in-between stage in terms of traditional mass media and the new emerging media quickly replacing it. The 24 hour news cycle had only really just begun but by the time I entered my early teens it was already outdated by things like MySpace and LiveJournal. These were places on the internet where we could do surveys and "subtweet" people we didn't like before "subtweet" was even a thing. We were the guinea pigs for the social media world we all live in now. And we're the ones with the proverbial blood on our hands for the death of traditional media. But is it really dying or is it just failing to change with the times fast enough? By the time hometown newspapers like my own local read The Dothan Eagle get a Facebook and Twitter, those are already outdated ways of getting news. We've all moved on to Instagram Stories (which is way better than Snapchat and we all know it!)
There is an abundance of research to suggest that I'm completely wrong and we are witnessing the first truly great industry death caused by the digital age. It's common knowledge that news sources are competing with social media every day to attract readers. According to a 2012 study published by Poynter more people use sites like Facebook than get news from all other available news sources combined. Another factor to consider in this supposed death march for the industry is my generation - the so-called Digital Natives. In a 2013 presentation by Mary Meeker, she noted the mindset of this generation, which is to be "asset-light." This simply means that we like to travel light and have flexibility in all aspects of our lives meaning we aren't too thrilled about carrying around 10 newspapers and magazines when we can have all of that and more from the App Store. While social media and the Millennial generation who invented it has certainly been cause for concern and disruption to the industry I don't think it means its demise - in fact I think it should give them hope.
There are bright spots happening right now. Pew Research Center's State of the News Media report for 2014 found that there are new opportunities in journalism in regards to new demographic targets and types of coverage (global coverage for instance.) It's certainly a good sign to me that big-time moguls such as Warren Buffet and Jeff Bezos are buying into the business. It means there is a game plan again for the industry. There are opportunities out there for newspapers and magazines to survive and thrive they just need to find their footing first...and that footing could begin on social media. Think about 2016 and the recent election cycle. Twitter was such a vital component to Donald Trump's campaign and will more than likely continue to play a major role in his presidency. There is a huge problem with clearly fake news sites on social media influencing how people think and speak with each other. While it's true that most of my generation use social media to check on news stories, we are highly critical of what is being posted. This is a huge opportunity for growth! If credible news sources can re-establish themselves as the true authorities they are they can win back some of that coveted ground. Let's face it...we are going to need true journalists now more than ever. It is my hope that the industry can get back the quality they once had before the cutbacks and decline in staff that occurred over the past decade and a half. There have been upticks in smaller newspapers across the country, ones that are serving local, niche populations. It's possible for the industry to thrive again, not just merely survive, and I am looking forward to watching how it unfolds.
This is just a taste of what I hope you will enjoy reading over these next few weeks. I hope you come back next week to see what topic I tackle next!
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