One speech, and I'm already a Josh Awtry fan. Not only could he potentially get me a job when I'm done with school here—he's a managing editor at the Salt Lake Tribune—but he's the first person I've heard speak on journalism, who, after the speech, I left feeling more hopeful about my future career.
Journalism isn't going away. But it is going to change radically. And we want to stay on top of that change.
The news of tomorrow will come to the consumers, not the other way around, as it has in the past. If we want to be paid to write, we're going to have to get our names out there and promote our work. We need to develop a following.
Funny, but this is what I've been told for years in the fiction world. Perhaps the two aren't so different as they appear. Perhaps the two occupations will become increasingly similar over the years to come.
Awtry spoke of becoming more personable, of allowing ourselves to be human and adding our own flavor--not to be confused with bias--into our work. Although I'm not the best person at being human, I know about adding tone and flavor and making a work yours. Again, this is what the world of fiction is all about.
The hard part is going to be getting used to this social media stuff, and learning to put myself in the spotlight. That’s the part that doesn’t come easily for me.
But if it means being more able to write what I love, then I’m always willing to try.
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