In a column published by The Maine Campus, a student columnist argued that journalism remains essential to daily awareness despite shifting from physical newsstands to digital and video formats.
The column states that journalism is prevalent every day in modern life, noting that much of what people know on a day-to-day basis originates from television, phone screens, or newspapers.
The opinion piece focuses specifically on print journalism and video journalism, excluding digital article formats such as Axios and Politico. The author describes print journalism as the baseline, highlighting that the physicality of a newspaper or magazine gives weight to internal issues while allowing readers to absorb detailed reporting at their own pace without needing any device.
However, the text points out that physical newspapers are uneditable once printed, and notes that many people no longer read physical news due to dwindling attention spans.
According to the column, video journalism represents the next step, combining visuals, audio, interviews, and narration on platforms like TikTok and Instagram to forge stronger emotional connections with viewers. The piece notes that video is often more engaging and accessible for those who prefer watching over reading, and possesses a distinct advantage in communicating breaking news quickly and worldwide.
Despite these benefits, video production can be expensive and time-consuming, contrasting with the author’s estimate that the column itself took about 45 minutes to write compared to days of work for a 10-minute video essay.
The columnist asserts that journalism is more relevant than ever amid polarized politics and a growing pop culture lexicon. While acknowledging that video journalism has largely taken precedence due to advancements in personal devices and social media platforms, the author concludes that newspapers are far from being completely replaced.
The piece highlights that the University of Maine benefits from having print and video journalism from The Maine Campus alongside culture-related video coverage from the Maine Journal, which together provide students with different ways to stay informed.
