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.
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