AJC

The local newspaper in Atlanta, The Atlanta Journal Constitution (AJC) has recently undergone some significant changes. In an attempt to stay relevant, they've rolled out a new look and format, which is good. It needed an update. Unfortunately, part of these efforts has included several rounds of layoffs, which has eliminated a good portion of the staff. Good, veteran reporters and editors. Many of whom are my contacts and friends. Being unemployed myself, I feel their pain and the worst part is, there's no where for them to go.

When I lost my job in November, I talked to my husband about becoming a writer- a real journalist. After all, that's what I went to school for. My husband, gifted with foresight, warned against those hopes. "A dying industry," he said. He was right. Newspapers are on their way out. It's the natural progression. Technology has given us a new way to get our news. It's inevitable, but that doesn't make those of us who love journalism and believe in it's virtues any less sad to see the era of print journalism ushered out in favor of blogs and video clips.

Don't get me wrong. I admire the power that the Internet has given citizen journalists and I believe that many of them have much to offer in terms of insight and perspective, but I'm also wary. My friend, CB Hackworth, who is a much better media analyst than me, has, ironically, posted an excellent piece about why we should be wary on his blog, Certain Speculation.

As a new generation comes along, raised on the Internet, they bring a sort of sophisticated skepticism with them that previous generations have lacked. Thanks to the Internet, my mom is convinced that Barack Obama is the Antichrist and she's terrified to heat water in the microwave. My 17-year-old niece is wiser in the ways of media, but she's unable to distinguish the new urban mythology from hard hitting news. Where do we go for truth? Who is still bound by the long-enduring ethical codes of journalism?

Certain Speculation: Why we still need newspapers . . .#links