But I’ve gotten off topic. What I mainly wanted to say is, the Monk is right about pretty much everything he’s said about the future of journalism in general and the problems with journalism teaching. And even Knox is somewhat right about students being told not to expect jobs in journalism. I’ve seen it personally through friends struggling to find work or even getting laid off after only a short time in the work force. And unfortunately it is a wake-up call for many recent graduates, including myself. I had an inkling the industry was on the downturn when I graduated, but never did I imagine it getting to this point. Here’s another good site for tracking layoffs: http://graphicdesignr.net/papercuts/ More than 12,000 jobs so far this year…

So though I am currently a full-time employee at a daily newspaper with a 200,000+ circulation, I am still scared for my future and wish there were a lot of things school had taught me. I do believe that journalism as an idea will not die completely, and disagree with the Monk on some points, because everyone – including those in our age group – is still very much connected to getting news, just in a different way. And as we all know, newspaper have been disgustingly slow in catching up with that curve and thinking outside the box.

Some day I think I would like to work for myself is a commercial way, but I have no idea how I would go about doing that, so Monk’s advice is helpful. But I just hope that day isn’t forced on me too soon, as it very well could.