What do you think are the biggest challenges facing journalism today and what solutions do you propose?

Probably the shrinking size of of the newsroom as a whole is the biggest threat to young aspiring journalists. The payroll cutbacks have made the profession more competitive during this time period of transition between traditional news mediums and new mediums, such as internet. Because older journalists are tending to retire later (probably due to the relatively poor average income of journalists), it is harder for young journalists to get and maintain permanent a position in the newsroom.

I think the best solution for perspective journalists is to:

1. Understand how to blog, navigate around social networking sites, and really become an expert at new media--that is where the future of newspaper is headed.

2. Write very well and very succinctly under presssure

3. Specialize in a certain type of journalism whether it be news anchor, investigative reporter or columnist jobs that interest you, pick one you are good at and go for it. Stand out in whatever area of journalism that best suits you so you can compete effectively with other qualified applicants.

If you do not love journalism, it is honestly probably not worth pursuing, especially at this moment in time; journalists work long hours with constant pressure to meet deadlines and report accurately. Journalists do not make a lot of money generally, and are currently experiencing cut backs in staffing.

If these warnings do not phase you and you really do love journalism, you just might have the drive it takes to make the final cut within the field of journalism in this day and age. Now however, that drive must be channeled into a relevant area of expertise to go very far.