By: Nina Carlsen
Journalism today is constantly evolving and changing as technology allows it to. This is oftentimes thought as a great feat that allows for multiplatform journalism, specifically, to thrive. The concept of having multiple platforms to embed into and enhance your piece of writing is made possible by technology. At the same time though, this seemingly endless tool of the internet and the social platforms that come along with technology, can be what ultimately hinders journalism the most. Multiple articles have been released about big news providers restricting comments in order to limit the toxicity and negativity that so many journalists receive daily. It is only fair to imagine that this issue would make it very difficult for some journalists to continue enjoying their work and maintain a passion for writing when so much hate is brought upon them.
Another issue that is prevalent in journalism today is using ethical judgment on how to break news to your audience. Some news stories are universally triggering, jarring or scarring for most people, but journalists still have to do their jobs and report. Deciding whether or not to use graphic images and videos is a dilemma that many multiplatform journalists face. Social media allows for the circulation of content at an extremely fast pace so it is necessary that journalists make the correct judgement calls on these breaking news stories so as not to trigger or offend the masses. In this way, journalism is a high stakes job and this difficulty that comes with making judgement calls is something journalists today should anticipate.
Lastly, for multiplatform journalists and journalists in general it can be difficult to have free reign when one works for a specific news platform under a set of authoritative figures. Oftentimes journalists are told or at least pointed in a direction of what to write and how to write it, especially when starting off in the industry. This can be discouraging and cause for power balance issues if one's boss is too demanding or overbearing.
These struggles are to be expected as journalists enter the current job market. Unfortunately dealing with negative comments, stressful judgement calls, and work pressures is something that is being asked of journalists. Finding a good support system within the industry, seeking mental health support, job searching, aiming for promotions, etc. are a few ways that journalists may be able to cope with these challenges.
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