Reflecting on Independent Media

I initially chose to take this class because I wanted to learn more about independent media and how I could report on it. I learned in my time at Ithaca College that the mainstream media had lost much of their credibility over the years and as the advent of the Internet provided independent media with an easily accessible outlet, and that the news media that I would enter would not be the same as the old media. I realized that it would behoove me to learn what I could about independent media in order to prepare myself for my career as a journalist.

The changes are to some degree unsettling. I had initially hoped to work for a newspaper for the entirety of my career, eventually becoming editor of the news section; my interest in that field was due to my skill as a writer, and my interest in that position was in order to combine my talents at editing with my knowledge in reporting and ensure that the paper contained the best stories. Unfortunately, it became apparent over time that not only was a permanent career at any single news outlet very unlikely, but that newspapers were declining, and that it would become harder than ever to get a job at one. After hearing about the failures of the mainstream media, I wondered if I could get a job in the independent media, and hoped to learn more about it.

This course and many of the journalism events that I attended helped me learn more about independent media and how to get involved in it. The talk by Josh Marshall and the assignment in designing and pitching an independent media outlet helped me see how news outlets could be created. Much o the readings about past independent media showed how they were often limited by how they were distributed, and how the Internet was an important benefit for such outlets. In the process, I also learned about well-intentioned independent media outlets that lost sight of their purpose or went out of business, showing that independent media are only as good as those running them, and the potential challenge in being recognized as legitimate journalists.

Despite the difficulties associated with independent media today, and the difficulty in getting a job in the current economy, I hope to work in independent media. While in it, I would less likely encounter restrictions on what I could or could not report, or attempts to let the bottom line dictate reporting, and would thus be able to report with fewer interferences. Change is not necessarily always for the worse, and while the rise of online independent media may force journalists to rethink what they learn, it also presents the possibility of making the news media fairer and more informative, a possibility young journalists should strive to make reality.