News mediums need to find a new stride

In class on Wednesday, we watched a PBS special called, "News War: What's happening to the news?" This documentary focused on the challenges faced by both broadcast and print journalists; since the development of cable and the internet, people now have a variety of mediums to choose from considering that they can dial through hundreds of television channels and surf the internet using a key word search. With these technological advancements, people are now tuning into the news that focuses on what they want to hear. This means mainly finding the news they enjoy over the internet. The PBS special said that part of being a journalist now requires that reporters, "Give the public what it wants." Not only does satisfying the reader become the only priority, but the segment suggests that hard news is being put second next to soft news.
In order to survive the shifting society cased by the technological advancements, newspapers will need to learn to use the technology to lead readers to the hard copy newspaper. Today there are websites developed that are giving a quick feed on stories or one sentence updates on what news is happening, such as Twitter. If newspapers can learn to post news headlines as the news happens and tell the public to look for more details in the following days newspaper, then they will be able to compete in the live news industry where stories are posted online or headlines cross the television screen immediately upon learning news. These quick headlines shared on websites such as Twitter will direct the curiosity of the public to read the following days paper, which would hopefully increase circulation.
Another shift the news industry will have to make in order to survive the changing times is making the news the community's news. Newspapers will need to save more spots in their layout for pubic columns, broadcasts will need to show more pictures shot by the public, and community members names will need to be shown frequently in the paper. The community has a voice and they will find a way to be heard even if it isn't through the news mediums provided. In order to share the important news, journalists first need to address the public's desires; these desires could be learned through allowing readers to give suggestions on Twitter.
Although the destruction of the news industry as we know it seems inevitable, I do not see the world not needing the news. The news is what connects a community and keeps it together in trying times. Yes, times are changing, but the both print and broadcast journalism will stay alive as long as they find a way to use what is changing to improve their news.