Rewriting journalism. What does the future hold?
As I looked out across a sea of eager faces at Oxford Brookes University yesterday, I felt a surge of hope.
This week I have lectured journalism students from two of the UK’s leading universities: Oxford and the University of Northampton.
The question on everyone’s lips: what do we need to do to succeed in this constantly changing industry?
This is a question I have been forced to ask myself since I took redundancy last year, as the axe fell across the BBC’s local services and the newsroom I had dedicated the last decade of my working life to, Oxford TV, was shut down.
At the time I was asked if I wanted to sidestep to work on the website editing other people’s stories. I did not. So, I left.
Here is the next generation of news-makers I thought as I stood at the podium. The next generation of story-tellers. These are the people who will be holding power to account. How can they succeed when local papers have all but disappeared? When local radio and TV services are a husk of their former selves, and when “local” now means people in Oxford are served by a TV programme based in Southampton more than 65 miles away?
Freelancers in all the online groups I am a member of are lamenting the stagnation of wages and the shortage of work. Across the board, from magazines to broadcasters, wages are the same as 10 years ago. Look at any journalist job advert and they don’t even bother putting the salary on. You have to question why.
Journalists are being asked to edit articles pumped out by AI instead of being commissioned to write. Seasoned writers are taking in lodgers and renting rooms out on AirBNB to makes ends meet because the money they’re earning simply isn’t enough to keep a roof over their heads and food on the table.
So what can I tell these fresh-faced, undergrads when they ask what they need to do to get a job as a journalist?
Diversification, dedication and motivation.
It’s not enough to film a report or write an article. You need to also be able to reversion it for Instagram, TikTok and LinkedIn. You need to adapt and move with changing tides or else you’ll be dragged under. Write an article and record an interview to accompany it. Record a podcast. Clip up shorts and reels for social media. Add more value. But keep it tight. It will disappear in the swipe of finger.
For me, I’m splitting my time between my social justice podcast Angela Walker in Conversation, producing and presenting business podcasts and teaching. The seas of the past year have been choppy, but I’ve managed to keep my head above water and I’m excited about where the currents will take me next.
