Mindy McAdams doesn’t think that all journalism schools are preparing their students for the realities of online. Commenting on some of the future-journalists themselves:
“They are attached to a dream of becoming someone from the past — maybe photojournalist Eddie Adams, maybe gonzo writer Hunter S. Thompson — a journalist who only took pictures or who only wrote”
Her advice for students, educators, and journalists
- Get off of MySpace and Facebook and start making Web sites from scratch.
- Quit wallowing in the verbiage of Slate and Salon and start searching the blogs. Get an RSS reader and learn to use it.
- Stop watching YouTube and start making videos of your own (and then post them on YouTube).
- Take the earbuds out and buy a microphone.
- Stop mixing music and start mixing interviews and natural sound.
- Start figuring out why this Web site is easier to use than this one.