At Its core, the job of the [working] journalist [today] is unchanged.

I would have to agree with this statement. Granted that technology has changed a lot of views as to how we need to approach the media, the fact remains that when a story is out there, the journalist is the one to find it and report it to the public. Finding stories is a maneuver that is both difficult to the human ear, and sometimes plainly obvious. Nevertheless truths are out there to be told and the working journalist isn’t going to rest until he or she has presented them to the public.
Journalists take on the pursuit of letting the public know what’s going on in the world. They not only put themselves at the risk of their lives to report such harsh stories of wars, money-laundering, and scandals. They are the gatekeepers that provide us the information that we use to get by with everyday. Every morning my parents would turn on the news before my brother and I left for school, and on Sundays they would read the newspaper at the breakfast table, discussing the stories in them. Whether it’s a story about federal taxes, an obituary of a local mailman, or the town festival that is going on next week, news is news, and someone is there to tell us.
As journalists make the efforts to keep the public well informed without tending to be bias, we’ve seen, bias still sometimes takes a toll. Regardless, the facts in the story is what we the people depend on when it comes to finding out the results of things such as whether or not OJ Simpson really did or did not kill his wife, and is he being convicted for the crime. Now is the core of a journalist’s occupation to understand the truth, or merely report the facts? I believe both, that it’s important to understand the facts of the case, and why they are significant.
Journalists do not just create stories for our amusement, but to notify the public what the media deems is essential to know. Given that all stories may not be as attractive as the next, or as detailed, it is how we perceive them to be relevant, and the impact they leave on us that makes them so important. The town creeper who breaks into female off-campus houses, and watches them sleep, is a great example of this. This story is not intentionally meant to scare people, but to show them what they need to be watching out for, and how to take precautionary action. Thus being able to relate to the journalists story is what makes them connect with their audience.
The point of this assignment is to defend whether or not the occupation for working journalists has changed or not. As previously mentioned, I agree that it has not changed, and that it will not change. There will always be a story to tell, and there will be many different ways to research it, write it, and report it; however the fact remains that it is the job of a journalist to expose it.

How has journalism and mass communication changed over the past decade?

Over the past decade mass communication has expanded exponentially. I remember back when I was in 7th/8th grade the Internet was becoming real popular, real fast. I would only use it to chat with my friends on AIM, and send e-mail to friends and family. Ha I can still remember the old AOL dial-up connection noises my computer would make as I would sign online. Now everything is about wireless connection, and AOL's popularity got drowned out by other companies such as Comcast, Yahoo!, and Verizon FiOs.

On the subject of wireless, cell phones have now become a common necessity for most people. I remember I didn't get my first cell phone until I was in 9th grade, and it was one of those $10 Nextel phones that was half cell phone, and half walkie-talkie with basic texting capabilities. These days everyone carries around blackberries or iPhones, or some type of cell that consists of a built-in camera, unlimited texting, and web access to check their e-mails, facebook, and even mapquest directions. As for the journalism aspect, since everything is technological these days and the Internet is a main source of news and information, we need to keep ourselves informed as to how to write correctly for media outlets like the Internet, radio, and television.