The Unemployed Factory

A good way to start a blog is to put together some very nice pictures, a video with an amazing experiment that shows future is bright and shiny and that we are the ones to build it. Fantastic!

Journalism students are required to start a weblog in order to practice their skills and what they have learnt in class and to participate in some way in the network of what is now called “citizen” or “participatory” journalism. That is the way to get involved bit by bit in their future profession. Even better!

Now, how about a darker perspective?

I’ve recently visited two conferences that offered an interesting insight on the future of journalism. In the beginning, what experts say is that they are positive about it, regardless to the general public’s claims that the digital era draws aside traditional journalism techniques and professionals.

"El futuro del Periodismo" was a huge bustle, because of the presence of five famous directors. I liked being there, but I cannot say it deserves praising.

Nevertheless, those great people said some things that are worthy of being remembered. For people like us, how want to be journalists.

The development of digital devices is one thing that beyond all question affects the future of journalistic profession, but what really measures the progress of this field is the growth of democracy. This relationship between press and democracy has started long ago and will continue shaping the future understanding of these concepts. The wider the expansion of the borders of democracy, the greater number of people gets to participate in the news making, news reporting and news sharing, an activity that used to be reserved for the professionals in communication. Every time public opinion gets formed further from traditional media sources. Journalists lose power. As simple as that.

The second conference was a part of APM's Laboratorio de Periodismo. It was devastating.

Along with my friend we were probably the only students that assisted this event. The rest of the people were either media and communications professionals, or professors in universities. Their conclusion – it is no use preparing students in universities to be journalists. This profession has no future and the crisis it is experiencing now is far more profound and threatening than the financial crisis we are living in. There are no perspectives for journalism, as we know it. There has to be a new business invented for the new devices, but what is more important, the Faculties of Journalism not only in Spain, but all over the world have to be reduced to the minimum. There is no work in the future for those students and they are ought to have no illusions about becoming journalists or at least to have a work in this field that they will be paid for.

Is this supposed to cheer us up or to give us some motivation?

Are we supposed just to cease our education and go learn how to win money for real?

Personally, I am not a big fan of business and management, so I’m going to go on with my News reporting homework for next week.

How about you?