Converge or Die – Journalism’s New Motto

Professional journalists are afraid to lose their jobs because of the credit crunch and also because of the ever-increasing power of the internet. 

While I think the first is a real problem (as publishers, broadcasters have to cut their budget to survive), I do not consider the latter one a threat to the industry.

Csaba Balogh, a Hungarian journalist and blogger told me in an interview: “It is exactly the internet why newspapers have a future.”

According to him, journalists have nothing else to do, but convert (converge) their knowledge and professional skills and start writing on-line as newspapers are “dying”. This, of course does not necessarily mean that professional journalists are no longer needed – although there is an increasing number of citizen journalists – as they bring their professionalism and investigative initiative to this quick-changing industry. They just have to learn to write in a different style and for a different readership.

These changes might be difficult but they also open up new opportunities: journalists can add links, videos, sound material, etc and even more pictures to their articles which make them interesting and unique.

I agree with this approach and as a journalism student I am happy to see that universities have understood these changes well and adapt to them perfectly.

E.g.: in the summer I got a phone call from my University (Edinburgh Napier) and they did a little phone-interview with me and at the end they told me that the course does not simply concentrate on newspapers, TV and radio any more, but largely on the internet and blogging, offering us a multimedia education; and honestly, what would we do without it these days?

A True Story of Success – Csaba B(a)log(h)

Csaba Balogh - picture by Gabor Suhajda

Csaba Balogh has never looked back since launching his journalistic career on the world wide web. Now editor of several web journals and one of Hungary’s best known bloggers, he warns newspapers and magazines must embrace digital technology to survive.

In 2007, Balogh sent an email to the chief editor of a news website, Hir6.hu, saying that he would willingly write articles for them. To show he was serious he invited the editor of Hir6 to visit his blogs. Within weeks he was working for the website and in recognition of his technical skills, was made online director.

Balogh decided to be a journalist following a visit to the leading radio station in his hometown of Bekescsaba, Hungary. “It was totally a coincidence,” he said. The event had been organised by his mother because teenage Balogh seemed to like telephoning radio stations to request songs and she thought it would be interesting for him to see how things were in a bigger studio.

Once in the studio, the presenter of a youth magazine asked him if he wanted to go back on a Sunday to see how the programme was produced. When he went back, the presenter asked him just ten minutes before the end of the line-up to do a presentation.

“I wasn’t nervous at all as I didn’t have time to intercept what was going on,” he said. Later he was offered a job at the station.

In 2003, he joined the communications department at the University of Szeged. At the time he did not have a conception as everything interested him. “I would say that I either didn’t have an exact idea or I had/have a lot,” he said.

As blogging started becoming to be in the focus, Balogh started his own with some friends. Blogter.hu, the biggest Hungarian blog provider at the time, put his second writing on the front page as the leading article. He got encouraged by this and continued blogging and also success continued to accompany his efforts.

“One that cannot break through with the help of the internet does certainly not know his stuff,” he said. Balogh claims that the easiest way to success is through the internet as there is sudden feedback and viewers “might respond quicker then you leave the dashboard of your blog.”

The Hungarian talent also states that blogs are the future of journalism, rather than being a threat for the industry. “It is exactly the internet why journalism has a future. The same crew could publish with the help of a different medium.”

However, he admits that journalism as we knew it, is not that important nowadays as public communications, i.e.: news gathering sites and blogging, of course. He sees the importance of journalists in their relationships, acquaintances in the industry, politics and social life.

Balogh also has a slightly different view of the crisis of print journalism. According to him it is not only print, but online journalism as well, that is in a critical situation: “I think if someone thinks that it is only print journalism that’s in crisis as a medium, is wrong,” he said. The reason, he thinks, is that people prefer articles with a subjective and more frank style and those that have video and sound materials as well.

When asked about the credit crunch Balogh said: “Because of it a lot of media jobs have been cut but it also makes the companies to economize. However, it doesn’t matter if they do, I still welcome those who are good professionals because there aren’t too many.”

Balogh enjoys the freedom he has as a journalist with no specific working hours; he is an editor, writer, and content-developing advisor for Oroscafe.hu, and Mobilport.hu. Although he is looking forward to teaching at the university he studied at next year, he saya: ‘”Being a good journalist cannot be taught. Someone is either good or not.”