Crossing over: A journalistic battle

Back in the day, if you went to school for a certain major, you did that major. There really wasn't that much cross over. Science people did their science thing and English majors did their writing thing. Most never thought about them having to learn about the other; well, times are changing. With a lot of professions overlapping in the workforce, it should come as no surprise that the media profession is also converging.

So, the discussion question (2) at the end of Chapter 2 in "Converging Media" by Pavlik and McIntosh asks, "If online news websites merged into combined newspaper/radio/television news stations or channels, which group do you think would be better prepared to learn new skills-- print journalists learning broadcast skills or broadcast journalists learning print skills? Why do you think so?" As time goes on, the once separate fields are now converging, but I don't think the answer is as simple as it might appear.

There are a lot of factors that go into both print and broadcasting. In order to succeed at each you have to be sharp and keep up with what us going on in the world. Print journalists go out and do interviews, they sit down, write out their article, review it, etc. Broadcasting journalists (depending who they are) also do interviews, but probably aren't as used to having a lot of time to prepare. For example, if you're doing an interview live on air you really have to think on your feet, but if it's just you and the interviewee there's not as much pressure and you can back to notes or the recording to get the information.

Also, I would have to say that although looking professional is part of any job, not many people are prepared to be on camera. Broadcast journalists know what it takes on and off the screen, so they know how to get the story and how to tell it while looking professional. Print journalists are able to put the story in writing, but might not be that great at conveying it to the public on camera. However, being on camera, although some of it might come naturally, is just like any other skill and can be learned, but it depends on the person.

Both fields have a lot to learn from the other field, however, I think that broadcasting journalists have kept more up with the times and therefore know more about the technology out there and would be of better use. That is not to say that a broadcasting journalists is always going to be better equipped than a print journalist. It's not the career title that makes a person better at learning a new field, it's the person. So I would say if you're looking strictly at the careers, I think, on average, it would be easier for a broadcasting journalist to cross over to print than print to broadcasting.