Events

SPJ conference confronts the future of journalism



By James Pusey
Greenlee School of Journalism and Communication

Journalism students and professionals discussed changes in the news industry at the Society of Professional Journalists’ Region VII Conference at the Scheman Building on April 5.

Michael Bugeja, director of the Greenlee School of Journalism and Communication, opened the conference with a lecture about ethical issues that arise with the growing importance of technology in our society.

“In my day, technology regulated the assembly line,” Bugeja said. “In your day, it’s regulating jobs.”

Bugeja said that the Internet and cell phones are bringing people of the world closer than they have ever been, creating “a place without space.” He said that the formation of communities has previously been based on people’s physical location, but now communities are beginning to be based on ideas.

The problem for journalists, Bugeja said, is that each step forward in technology takes them one step farther from their sources. He said that journalists started out interviewing their sources in person, then came phone interviews and today people can simply converse via e-mail.

“The computer has dulled up everything,” Bugeja said.
Kevin Cooney, news anchor for KCCI, the CBS affiliate in Des Moines, agreed that personal contact with sources was crucial to successful journalism.

“You can’t convey any emotion through an e-mail,” Cooney said. “You lose the personal touch.”

Cooney said that he has no idea what the broadcast journalism industry will look like in 20 years, and that right now broadcasters are doing their best to keep up with the rapid changes in technology.

“We are in a huge state of transition right now, and none of us know how to deal with it,” Cooney said.

Print journalism is also making a lot of changes to keep up with changing technology.

Carolyn Washburn, editor of the Des Moines Register, said that their Web site has added videos, blogs, and supplements that can only be found online.

Cavan Reagan Reichmann, online editor for Juice, said that his magazine tries to reach young adults between the ages of 25 and 34, and is continually trying new methods of drawing its target audience.

“Newspapers need to find ways to interact with readers that they could not or did not do in the past,” Reichmann said.

Steffen Schmitt, university professor of political science at Iowa State, provided the keynote lecture for the conference.

His lecture was followed by the Region VII Mark of Excellence Awards. Employees of the Iowa State Daily received several honors, including the award for the outstanding student-run daily newspaper.