Journalism is a volatile market across the different sectors of the media industry. This is influenced by a fluctuating consumer, producer and ownership interdependent relationship. The exponential advancement of technology has created a niche that is nascent in its development, but is predicted to soon take over the market entirely.
This new media stems from the increasing demand and accessibility of the Internet coupled with the proliferation of social networks such as Facebook, Twitter and blogging sites. Through these avenues the 'audience' has the power to disseminate information globally. This communication process is instant and devices such as mobile phones, laptops and tablets are used, which have simple software that has been made easy to use by anyone.
This has changed not only the practice of journalism but also what capabilities a journalist should have. A journalist should be multi-skilled in the various fields of journalism and trained in using the latest technology to achieve the best performance.
The future for South African journalism is not as clear given the many political, economic and social struggles we have to overcome before we can claim a free market at the highest possible standard of performance- competitive on a global platform.
Although this is a herculean task, I think the Future Journalism Programme is tackling this hydra-headed problem effectively and I'm happy to be a part of this venture. I'm learning to adapt and evolve with the high-pressured demands, because of this opportunity my future is looking very bright.
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