Don't deny it: Newspapers are dying, and the state of journalism is in flux.
Major newspapers in California are cutting their newsroom staffs. The San Jose Mercury News recently laid off 31 employees from its newsroom, severely cutting its number of staff members. The same goes for the Los Angeles Times, which in April cut 150 jobs; 70 positions were newsroom jobs, according to the International Business Times.
The boom of the digital age has put newspapers at a disadvantage by posing as a serious competitor for news distribution. Instead of relying on unbiased, trained journalists, people are turning to bloggers, the ultimate everyman.
Newspaper journalism as a career option also looks bleak. High school newspapers, staffed by the journalists of tomorrow, suffer from a lack of trained teachers, funds and student interest.
Still, many say this is not the slow spiral to the end, rather a transition period during which newspapers find a means to balance the changing technology with the respected tradition of print journalism.
"I think in two years the newsroom will be online first and print second," said Richard Koci Hernandez, a photographer at the Mercury News.
Despite the declining rigor of journalism curricula at high schools, a multitude of students still enter various journalistic programs and camps, showing a persisting interest in the profession.
For that sake, pros, scholars and students insist that newspapers are worth saving.
Newspapers vs. Technology
For a number of journalists, the fight for newspaper industry survival becomes more difficult every day as the digital age flourishes and leaves print news to catch up.
"We've gotten very comfortable," said Kim Vo, a religion reporter for the Mercury News. "Journalists are not the hippest people around. We love newspapers. We love digging into rosebushes to get newspapers. And we got too comfortable."
Although newspapers have traditionally stayed close to pen and paper, the Internet has been able to change the face of journalism through the exchange of information it so readily allows.
However, even with knowledgeable journalists, it's difficult for any newspaper to keep afloat without funds.
Selling ads has become more challenging in the wake of such sites as Craigslist and Yahoo. Those sites offer free ad postings to large audiences, which have caused a sizable lapse in revenue for many newspapers. The Mercury News has lost 36 percent of its total revenue since 2000.
For the Google and MySpace generation, using the Internet is second nature. Web sites, blogs, and online encyclopedias alike are all gaining readers and advertisers
However, for a majority of print newspapers, online revenue is not enough.
"Newspapers haven't figured out a way to capitalize advertising on the Internet," said Shahin Nasirpour, a reporter for ESPN. Traditionally, advertisers pay much more for a print ad than an online one.
"I don't think online advertising will ever see those kinds of profits," Hernandez said.
However, the industry is changing. Yahoo's "Smartads" system links customers to advertisers based on their interests and search requests. Subscription fees are another feasible way for newspaper Web sites to gain revenue.
However, when some of the most prestigious newspapers, such as the New York Times, are online for free, many readers are unwilling to pay for other news Web sites.
"Newspapers need to band together to charge essentially the same fees" Nasirpour said.
While newspapers adapt to the possibilities of Web advertising, newsrooms are trying to adjust to growing technological changes. Journalists in the digital age must learn new skills.
"The days of one-trick journalists are over," said Hernandez of the Mercury News. "Right now there's a huge appetite for multitalented journalists. You have to bring something else to the table."
With technical skills highly valued in the industry, journalists must strive to learn more than how to write or take pictures (or both) – they must learn to work with a wide range of equipment such as audio and video recorders, all of which play a vital role in pushing journalism into the digital age.
"I was a photographer for 13 years," said Hernandez, before he points to a colorful Flash video on his eMac. "I'm not just a photographer anymore. I'm a reporter, I'm a photographer, I'm a producer. I have to know Flash, I have to know Final Cut Pro."
Hernandez said he has a grasp on every type of cutting edge media possible. He simultaneously handles photography, online videos, Web design and editing sound.
It can get overwhelming at times, but for him, using all the latest technology in journalism is fun and exciting. Hernandez, along with many others, believes that journalism is going through a transitional phase.
Although the world of print journalism may be enduring hard times, online news seems to be a promising hope for reviving the industry.
"There is so much more freedom online than in print," Nasirpour said. With the use of video clips, digital photographs and sound, journalists like Nasirpour can tell their stories in new ways.
Having studied traditional journalistic methods, recent graduates have none of the technical advantages that journalism schools n
"There are excellent reporters, but most don't know multimedia," said Cynthia McCune, a journalism lecturer at San Jose State University. "If you know Web and multimedia and you know journalism, I think there's a future for you out there."
The rate at which people obtain news has also dramatically increased since the Internet came into its own.
"People get news a lot faster," Vo said. "You can get constant updates every single day, all throughout the day. You don't have to wait till 6 a.m."
The Internet, unlike newspapers, has an infinite amount of choices and features for readers, with many sites offering customizable news pages for those who only need to know a sliver of what happens in the world.
"There are people who must have serious, analytical news, whereas other people want it quick and fast," Vo said. "They don't see why they should spend 30 minutes over breakfast."
High School Programs
After 15 years without a school newspaper, Independence High School in San Jose started its journalism club producing The Independent Voice three years ago. However, with administrative changes and budget cuts, there is still no journalism class.
"I wish our students could get special training — specifically in various kinds of news writing. This is where a true journalism class would be helpful," said Marty Brandt, a journalism club adviser at the school.
High schools that want to save journalism are on their own. District budget cuts, a decrease in student and staff interests, and the lack of formal training for journalism advisers have led to a reduction in elective classes like journalism.
Although The Independent Voice is published every month, the staff struggles to draw enough writers and photographers in the school population of 4,000 students. It's symbolic of the state of professional newspapers, but on a smaller scale.
As a club, it's difficult to raise money to publish newspapers, obtain equipment and a computer lab, and train reporters.
Journalism also competes with remedial classes offered in schools. With the No Child Left Behind Act passed in 2001, schools with students falling behind in statewide tests need to offer remedial classes to help get students to grade level.
With less funding for newspaper classes, the quality of the work published has weakened.
"A pre-[requisite] class would help grow the [journalism] program, but that got cut out five years ago for budgetary reasons," said Johanna McCormick, a retired Homestead High School adviser.
The decline in high school journalism is also a result of advisers' lack of training.
"In California, if you major in journalism in college, you can't be credentialed to teach in high school. Most teachers that end up teaching journalism never had a journalism course," said Steve O'Donoghue, director of the California Scholastic Journalism Initiative.
And most advisers teach other subjects.
"I was only a part-time teacher and my other class was English Language Development, so I don't think I could court students into the program the way a more mainstream teacher might be able to do," McCormick said.
Not all high school journalism programs in the Bay Area are suffering. At Saratoga High School in Saratoga and Mission San Jose in Fremont, the schools need more than one class period to house all their prospective journalists.
Mission San Jose offers two class periods of mixed Journalism I and Journalism II, offered to approximately 50 students altogether. Last year, the school paper, The Smoke Signal, had more than 70 applicants for only 20 open positions.
That leaves room for optimism for struggling programs.
"If I were to judge on the basis of the other school newspapers I receive in my mailbox, I would say that journalism programs are thriving elsewhere," Brandt said.
A Better Tomorrow?
While newspapers are struggling, journalism in general is here to stay — at least that's what the experts predict.
Many students are still choosing to enter journalism programs. According to Ernie Sotomayor, careers director at Columbia Universitygraduate school of journalism, the number of students applying to journalism schools is actually increasing.
Adi Sambamurthy, an intern at the Mercury News and graduate student at University of California-Berkeley, is optimistic.
"There is still going to be opportunity (for jobs) since content still needs to be provided," Sambamurthy said.
Students all around are still interested in journalism because of the possibility to write articles for online agencies, which have a bigger distribution newspapers.
Robert Hernandez, the senior producer for local news at the Seattle Times, thinks journalism definitely has a bright future.
"The medium is always going to be around in one form or another. … It's got to branch out from more than just print. Its product — edited information — is still quite valuable. It just needs to find better ways to stay relevant in people's busy lives."
Vo offered advice to students afraid of layoffs in the journalism world. "It might not be the best time, but it's the time you got," Vo said. "If you really want to do it, then do it."