ABSTRACT
Journalism around the globe is in the middle of a major paradigm shift as new media technologies rapidly force changes in the day-to-day practice of journalism, as well as the economic model that has sustained the profession for decades. Recent surveys have found that the culture of newsrooms is changing. “New job demands are drawing a generation of young, versatile, tech-savvy, high-energy staff as fi nancial pressures drive out higher-salaried veteran reporters and editors” (Pew Research Center, 2009; see also chapter 8). According to the 2008 State of the News Media report, the majority of the journalists surveyed (57 percent) said the Internet is changing the fundamental values of journalism. The biggest changes reported were “a loosening of standards, more outside voices and an increased emphasis on speed” (State of the News Media, 2009). The most recent Annual Survey of Journalism and Mass Communications Graduates reported that more than half of 2007 graduates who gained employment in the fi eld of journalism and mass communications reported that their jobs involved writing and editing for the Web, an increase from 41 percent in 2006 and 22 percent in 2004. An even higher percentage of graduates surveyed said they use the Web for research (Cox Center, 2007).
