Digital and fundamental skills journalists should have…
Today’s journalism world is continuously changing. New technology is always being introduced and improved and business models are flopping or restructuring. To help keep publications in business, journalists require a few fundamental skills to be good reporters: solid writing/storytelling skills, adaptation skills, knowledge of new digital tools, good judgment and the ability to work in a fast-paced environment.
If I created a list of digital skills journalists should have, it would take a lot of space, so here are a few of the crucial skills one should have: Adobe PhotoShop, video editing software, slide show production, basic content management system knowledge, social media, and research skills.
After reading the Mashable article, there were a few points missing. A must-have trait for journalists is collaboration/team work skills. Many newsrooms converged, and reporters should be able to utilize each other’s skills and work with together in order to produce good content for multiple mediums. Journalists should also know how to use tools such as WebTrends to get data about their website visitors’ trends.
In addition to being “business savvy,” the explanation should go a little more in-depth by explaining how and where journalists fit into the revenue producing model of an existing or start-up company. It’s important to understand where the money comes from even if you’re not directly involved in that process (i.e. advertisements, grants, fundraising or subscriptions). If you understand that, then you understand how you get paid.
Smart business models along with good talented content providers are the keys to keeping companies afloat. Unfortunately, we’ve seen too many publications file for bankruptcy and die because they lacked smart business models and/or good content. Journalists job is to provide good storytelling to our targeted audiences with the above mentioned skill sets.
That’s all for now…
