Ohio State received a visit from a prominent staff member of The New York Times yesterday, who gave a number of speeches and hosted discussions with students and faculty around campus.
Gregory Brock, Washington news editor for the Times, arrived in Columbus Tuesday and kicked off a two-day series of talks yesterday.
"My colleagues and I go around the country and talk to students," Brock said.
His first formal speech was titled "Journalism: The Next Generation."
The major theme of the speech was to ask future journalists why they are choosing journalism as a profession. He said students need to make sure they choose the profession for the right reasons.
There are many challenges that new reporters are going to face in the coming years, Brock said. One of these challenges is the decline in readership that many newspapers are likely to experience, and another is the possibility of disappearing print news.
"The only constant in this business is that we know it is going to change," Brock said.
According to a Pew poll conducted for the Times, only 16 percent of 18- to 28-year-olds read a newspaper every day. Of those who do read newspapers, they spend nine minutes actually reading the paper.
"Some days, it takes nine minutes to read the lead sentence of a Times story," Brock said. "I envy all of you and the exciting times ahead. A lot is riding on your generation."
The very nature of the news industry is changing, he said. With a good portion of news being placed on the Internet, there is discussion that print news may be phased out.
"I don't know if it is a fear or not," Brock said. "My guess is that it is going to last a lot longer."
He said the next generation of reporters will have to work hard to keep reporting alive and well, but they should be excited about the opportunity. News should shed light on important issues in our nation, Brock said.
Another key point Brock made in his speech is the importance of future journalists in protecting democracy.
"You must make sure that democracy never dies." Brock said. "It gives voice to our freedoms."
Jayson Blair, the Times reporter who was fired for falsifying stories, was also brought up during Brock's speech. Aside from hurting the news industry as a whole, the Times now takes steps to reduce the probability that a reporter can use false information in a story.
"Before, any reporter would be willing to go to jail to protect a source," Brock said. "Now, all anonymous sources must be cleared by an editor before they are allowed to go to print in the Times."
Before ending the session to field questions, Brock ended with a bit of advice: "I want you to keep your feet on the rug, have some fun when you do and remember my generation is counting on you."
Brock is a 28-year veteran of the news industry. He attended the University of Mississippi before working at a number of smaller newspapers. Prior to joining the Times, Brock worked for The Washington Post in a number of editing positions, including news editor for page one. During that time, he took a fellowship at Harvard University for one year.
As the Washington news editor, he runs the day-to-day operation of the Times bureau in the nation's capital.
Today, Brock will be visiting with various journalism classes and will attend a final reception before departing tomorrow.
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