the future of print journalism

There is something beautiful about the written word. The idea of painting a picture in the mind of a reader using nothing but squiggly letters inscribed on a piece of paper amazes me. I love how a good writer can make words dance across a page. I love how a good writer can make sentences leap with joy or cry with sorrow.

When it comes to journalism, I feel as though there is an art to being able to bring a reader into a story through text. To me, it is an art to be able to recreate scenes, images and situations through words alone. However, journalism is not about the art of writing. If I were to consider journalism to be the art of anything, it would be the art of telling a story. Journalism is about getting the news out to the world. It is about connecting the world and bringing the people the information that we all deserve. We all have a story and good journalism gets our stories heard. Today, I can see how doing so through multimedia may be more beneficial than simply using the written word. Actually being able to hear the emotion in a person's voice through an audio clip is a very powerful thing. It is almost as though they become more than words on a page. It is almost as though they become real. Seeing a picture that shows the pain, sorrow or joy on someone's face can really connect a viewer/reader with the person in the picture. Using text, video, audio and pictures together can really bring the reader into the story. However, as a writer there is something that amazes me when those emotions are created through words alone. When a reader can see the sorrow in someone's face or hear the joy in someone's voice without actually hearing or seeing the person, the writer has just accomplished the same thing that all those audio clips and photos accomplished.

Nonetheless, whether you are a print journalist or a multimedia journalist, you still have to go out and get the facts; you still have to ask the right people the right questions; you still have to find the best angle that will connect your story with the majority of your readers; and you still have to present all the material effectively.

Good multimedia is a very beautiful art of story telling as well. For example, the mediastorm website. It tells compelling and moving stories through video, pictures, sound clips and text. I really love how it gets the reader involved. In the story, Rape of a Nation, there is a link to the Human Rights Watch website that informs readers what they can do to help people in need. The Concord Monitor multimedia story, Remember Me, is a story that brought tears to my eyes. Actually, I accumulated enough tears that they began rolling down my cheeks. Okay, to be completely honest I was crying like a two-year old girl who was just told that Santa Claus is not real. The journalists were able to really connect me with the subjects. The interviews are amazing. The way the audio, video and pictures are put together is beautiful. It is obvious that multimedia journalism can do things that print journalism can not. However, writing is just something that I find especially beautiful. I have been touched, inspired, informed and entertained from reading words on paper. I have read books that have changed my life. I have also read print journalism stories that have had an amazing effect on me.

However, while I love the art of language and writing especially, both print journalism and multimedia journalism allow the reporter to create a story. If there is one thing that pictures, videos, audio clips and print all have in common, it is that they are all forms of expression. Some of us may be better at expressing ourselves or our story through text, while others of us may be able to do so better through other forms of expression. As long as you say what you need to say, and the people of the world get the true information that they deserve, it is all alright with me.