After 24 years at CBS\u2019s FACE THE NATION, veteran journalist Bob Schieffer said goodbye to his Sunday morning audience. In those 24 years, Schieffer led the round table of journalists from newspapers, magazines, and occasionally TV. Current Slate political correspondent and former Time magazine political reporter John Dickerson will take over for Schieffer. Dickerson continued the tradition of having the majority of the panelists come from traditional \u201cprint\u201d news outlets, but at least including a colleague from Slate.<\/p>\n
This is not a surprise considering many older journalists, I\u2019ve encountered, consider newspaper journalists like Bob Woodward<\/a> their heroes. But they also consider \u201cprint\u201d journalists more \u201cserious” than their colleagues in other mediums. Some older veteran journalists have even been unabashedly caught making disparaging remarks about new media and other non-newspaper journalists. One newspaper writer from a large Midwest newspaper regularly makes these types of remarks on Twitter calling broadcast journalists \u201cnews updaters\u201d and Gawker journalists \u201ccontent thieves.\u201d Once in conversation with a newspaper reporter, I was told that they are the \u201creal journalists\u201d because they uncover information while broadcast and digital reporters just copy information they read in newspapers.<\/p>\n While many veteran journalists like Schieffer have not made such condescending remarks publically, they have expressed an opinion that the future if journalism seems bleak. Schieffer\u2019s statements made in a farewell interview<\/a> with CNN\u2019s Brian Stelter expressed this viewpoint. When asked about the future of journalism, Schieffer seemed skeptical that younger generations were up to the task of \u201creal journalism”. <\/p>\n \u201cI don\u2019t know where reporters are going to work in the future,\u201d said Schieffer. \u201cIf they\u2019re going to work at a website, or at a cable (station), at a network, or at a newspaper. I hope a lot will work for newspapers (be)cause I\u2019m really worried about the state of newspapers now. \u201d<\/p>\n He has reason to be worried. Newspaper readership and ad revenues are still declining<\/a>, even with many now offering a digital version. It seems unlikely that in the future there will be many jobs available any time soon for freshman journalists in newspapers. In fact purely digital news sites, like Slate, Mic, and Wired are popping up all over the internet, providing jobs for young journalists who will work for less than most veteran journalists. But do the veteran journalists considering these outlets legitimate bastions of \u201creal journalism”? <\/p>\n In Bob Schiefer\u2019s world, the internet can\u2019t be trusted and neither can the journalists who write for it. <\/p>\n \u201cGetting accurate information is harder now than it\u2019s ever been,\u201d said Schieffer.<\/p>\n \u201cEven though the internet has made it more accessible?\u201d asked Stelter.<\/p>\n \u201cYes, because most of the information is wrong,\u201d said Schieffer. \u201cWe\u2019re just overwhelmed by news. There\u2019s just so much news we can\u2019t get to the news.\u201d <\/p>\n He goes on to say that it\u2019s \u201cmainstream\u201d journalists job to \u201ccut through this great mall of information and tell what we think is relevant.\u201d <\/p>\n In the future, I\u2019m doubtful \u201cmainstream\u201d journalism of newspapers and TV will exist in its current state. Traditional print journalists, as well as ever other kind of journalists, is being asked to create digital<\/a> content. That could mean written word, audio or video footage, or social media posted on their news outlet\u2019s website. The mediums are blending. This may force some veteran journalists to re-think about what they consider \u201creal journalism\u201d, while others are destined to remain clinging to their traditional ideas as they exit the building either willingly or by force.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" After 24 years at CBS\u2019s FACE THE NATION, veteran journalist Bob Schieffer said goodbye to his Sunday morning audience. In those 24 years, Schieffer led the round table of journalists from newspapers, magazines, and occasionally TV. Current Slate political correspondent and former Time magazine political reporter John Dickerson will take over for Schieffer. Dickerson continued … <\/p>\n