Stop making wagon wheels – start making cars, journos are told

Regardless of the impact of online on newspaper economics, the new discipline is offering journalists new opportunities, a debate on the future of the industry was told.  

Colin James, a 20 year print media veteran before becoming afternoon editor of News Ltd’s Adelaide Now, told the Future of Journalism debate in Adelaide: “I’ve found it the best 12 months of my life. So far I’ve loved it. There are no deadlines – the deadline is now. I’ve had stressful jobs before but this is the most stressful.”

The event – organised by the Media, Entertainment & Arts Alliance – focused on the changing economics of newspapers, with MEAA federal secretary Christopher Warren saying that around 500 journalism jobs have already been lost in Australia.

However, the debate was told that the impact of the changing market has been felt less keenly by television journalists, although that would come as news sites run more video. Graham Archer, a producer for Seven’s Today Tonight, said: “We’ve not been standing on the edge of the Rubicon in the same way. In television things have changed less dramatically. In terms of our core business it’s largely remained the same. But in the long run we will be challenged in our core business and that’s audio visual.