Newspapers endangered

By: Hannah Pickett

Scientifically speaking, in the animal kingdom when a species starts to trail off they go on the endangered species list, a precursor to extinction. If journalism careers were categorized the way the animal kingdom is, newspapers would be dubbed endangered.

Many small town newspapers throughout the state of Iowa, and around the nation are having to close shop. There are many different reasons for the newspaper's endangerment. Some say it's the economic crisis, others say it's the internet phenomenon. This doesn't just pertain to small town papers, however. In the past year, the Des Moines Register laid off much of its staff.

Newspapers can survive on a skeleton staff. For example, in Winterset, the newspaper staff is four people to put out a 22 page paper weekly. It can be done; it just requires hard working employees. The point is, however, if major newspapers are cutting staff, some who have worked their for many years, what does that mean to the college journalism student?

If the current jobs are being cut right now, imagine what it will be like in a couple of years when college graduates are looking for jobs. Regardless of the reasoning behind small town papers folding, right now it is a really scary time to be a journalism major with no job security foreseeable in the future.

Eventually, newspapers will probably be taken over by the internet. Until then, where are the jobs?