Education as the Impetus for Future News Media

Specifically in Leonard Downie Jr.’s speech, I am interested in the idea that education will be a motivating factor for what direction news media moves in. As he discusses in his speech, universities have a responsibility to educate and support student movements in news writing and reporting. The students learning there are the future of the industry, and the future of how we, as a nation, receive our news. More important than the funding for the news is the quality of the news, he describes, and I find it fascinating that the direction that news must take in this age of the information revolution will be determined by the consumers of that news. By educating young Americans and college students about how to thoroughly absorb news writing, they force the hand of the industry to report the news professionally. As far as the developments of new technology for news reporting goes, I feel that it is out of the reporting offices’ hands. The technology will come to them, and they must be receptive of it. No longer will competition be the focus of print media vs. online in the development of news reporting- there is no contest which way the public leans. But, the fact that the consumers indirectly decide is inspiring. Beginning with educational support and ending with compelling news reporting, the medium of this reporting will determine itself.