Final reading

These are weird times. This is something no one saw coming and as a journalist its something we will probably never forget. These articles put a lot in perspective for me as a senior about to graduate. Journalism has changed during this time. We can't put a bow in this pandemic and call it done. It's always changing and its always different by the hour. When we write stories about this pandemic we can't drop it or put a conclusion on it because there isn't one. We have to keep reporting and keep getting sources because this is news every day. This honestly could make front-page news every day it's such a big deal right now. The first article talks about how we interact with our audience now and even that has changed. We have to constantly update our audience because they want the latest all the time. This pandemic has changed the amount of work we put into these stories because of the demand these stories have. The second article spoke volumes to me. I have seen people get laid off from work and all kinds of craziness since this has started. I have never thought about doing free-lance as being more stable than a full-time employee. That was really interesting to me but when it was explained it made sense. It made me think about if I wanted to work full time for a paper or if I wanted to work as a freelance writer. I don't know much about the free-lance world but if something like this happens again the way that article talked I would be in better shape as a free-lance person than I would a full-time employee. That is something I need to take into consideration when I am entering my final semester. I think that these articles speak to how days are now. Before the pandemic, we didn't see stories like we do now. We didn't see stories that have no end to them or have constant changes every day. I don't think you would have seen a single topic be a headline story every single day for months and yet here we are. This is a story that has so much attention to it that we would be crazy not to write about it as often as we do. Life has changed because of this pandemic. People are wearing masks now outside and social distancing wasn't a thing until the pandemic and within months these have become the norm. After the pandemic life will change and we won't be the same because of it. As someone who is graduating soon, I am worried about where I am going to find my work. Finding a job now has become a chore and so I will be diving into looking into free-lancing more just in case something like this happens again. I need to have stability and not be afraid of losing my job just because of something crazy like this happening.

The one thing that stood out to me when it came to the three articles I read is the idea of unity. The media has become over the years split over certain things and has gotten away from what we are supposed to do. Conservatives and Liberals have a hard time working together and can not find a common ground anymore. Media is starting to come together but they are coming together with their own kind. A more conservative paper will merge with another conservative paper. Working in those conditions you start to miss the other half of a story and then you are not doing your job fully. Since the beginning of COVID-19 we have been forced now to work together. Liberal and Conservative have now been forced to come together and tell these stories. I honestly don't see us staying like this though. After the pandemic is over we will split again over time and that is a tough pill to swallow. I did like the idea in one of the articles that said that maybe a conservative paper or media should hire on a liberal person to help balance everything. That way not everything is so biased. These articles to me were calling for unity among the media. While we may have that now during this weird time I don't see it lasting for long.