Programming and Software Development Skills Have Increased Prospects of Those Applying for Jobs in News Organizations and Fields Outside of Computer Science

With the introduction of online media and news websites, job prospects for journalists in news organizations are on the decline, especially those involved in print media. On average, the Bureau of Labor Statistics is estimating an 13 percent decrease in employment from 2012 to 2022. In this competitive job field, it is necessary to have skills that make you into a more appealing applicant for employers. Because there is currently a shift from print media to digital media, possessing computer skills has become significantly more advantageous.

Data from Bureau of Labor Statistics

Digital Media Has Become Heavily Integrated into Society and Job Fields Outside of Computer Science

The projected job growth outlook for software development and computer related jobs from 2012 to 2022 are 22 percent and 18 percent respectively. The increase is massive compared to the average job growth projections for other jobs in the same time period. Most of this growth is due to the prevalence of digital media and electronics. Because digitization is being introduced to all aspects of society, there is higher demand for workers who understand it.

In the past few decades, programming has been integrated into our daily lives. The internet and smart phone applications appear to be the most obvious examples of advances; however, there are many more that we use without even realizing it. Thermostats, washing machines, and many other household appliances rely on computer chips and coding to ensure they work properly. In several modern appliances, there is the option to use mobile applications that can control basic functions. The situation is paralleled in the field of journalism.

Originally, a writer would find a story that would interest his audience and then gather data from researching at libraries or conducting interviews. Now with databases, news websites, and mobile applications there is more reliance on digital data. A significant portion of the information for a story can be found online. The ability to construct and understand how a database works can make the process of writing and interpreting much more efficient.

Digitization Has Created Many New Types of Jobs in Journalism Such as Data and Data-Driven Reporting

Computer skills have become relevant enough that some news organizations are actively seeking journalists with programming experience. There are websites that consolidate job listings from across the country for programming journalists. These news organizations need people specializing in technological skills such as application and website developers, but they are also looking for data reporters and data journalists. Having programming skills could give you an edge when searching for a job in journalism, because of the options it opens up.

Data journalism has become  very popular due to the very large  amounts of statistics that is free to  access online. The information is  referred to as Big Data. It is the  record of everything that has been  researched and posted online. This  can include web behavior, user  information, surveys, and  scientific information. Big Data is large enough  that it is measured in petabytes, which are one quadrillion bytes each. With so much information, there is potential for stories and news if it can be translated into a format suitable for the general public.

To translate Big Data, data reporters are used. Recent studies have analyzed how the style of data reporting has changed journalism, but there were some differences in the results. These jobs are placed into two different categories. The first one is data analysis where the reporter reviews the all of the data on a subject and makes a visual to communicate the facts to the public. This can be done with a graph, chart, infographic, or video. The second category is data-driven jobs which rely on making a story after collecting information from a database or somewhere else online. The result would be a story based on the facts interpreted from the data. 

Data Journalism Flow Chart

In both cases, journalists are using coding skills to accomplish their tasks. They must analyze freely accessible the Big Data on the web and convert it into a format that the public can understand. Sources include scientific publications, government reports, online databases, and other documents. The data then has to be searched for errors and placed into a common format needed for communication. Bias must be checked and the information needs to be into the context of a story. Finally, the data is combined and presented to the public.

          Going through that process with thousands of documents to gather data cannot be done by hand efficiently, so other methods must be used. By automating the data collection and analysis, programming journalists can filter mountains of data easily and communicate the trends they find.

Learning Programming and Applying It to Journalism Does Not Require College Degrees

Many colleges are offering a joint major between computer science and journalism or a digital journalism degree. These types of degrees bring aspects of both mass communication and programming together. They give the students the tools to convert data into interactive infographics and other informative styles of communication for the audience. Although the joint degrees do show the trend of digitizing journalism, they are not critical to becoming a programmer journalist.

While extra schooling and degrees are an option, gaining experience with programming languages and working in the digital field can provide a similar outcome. Learning to code does not necessarily require formalized classes. With a bit of effort and some free time, educational sites and introductory videos to coding make learning code fast and simple. There is enough available material online that journalists can apply coding skills to their work without further schooling.

In a Technology Based World, Programming and Logic Skills Are Very Valuable Even Without a Computer

Even if you are not planning on using programming frequently, the skills that you learn can be applied in numerous different ways. Automation of searching, analyzing, and other computer tasks can be used make work simpler. In addition, coding is a very logic based skill. The step by step outlook used for writing programs can be applied to every day problem solving as well.

Programming is a valuable skill that can be applied to many different fields. In journalism, it is especially useful because the goal of journalists is to communicate facts to a general audience in the form of text and graphs. With the ability to filter and interpret Big Data, programmer journalists can look through massive amounts of information and pull out factual stories that they can publish. While a college degree is no necessary to learn coding, it does take a logic based approach and some effort to understand.

References

http://www.bls.gov/ooh/media-and-communication/reporters-correspondents-and-broadcast-news-analysts.htm#tab-6

http://www.bls.gov/ooh/Computer-and-Information-Technology/Software-developers.htm#tab-6

With the Advent of the Digital Age and Websites like Kickstarter, Crowdfunding for Artists Has Become Easier than Ever

• Crowdfunding is a more viable alternative to gaining internet popularity from Youtube
• It creates connections with dedicated fans since it targets an interested audience
• The funding has a global scope for and could potentially receive media coverage

Originally artists had to rely solely on media companies and record deals to gain popularity. Only those industries had the capital and interest in spreading products and developing a fan base. The past few decades and the introduction of an online audience have changed the process significantly. All that is needed  now is an internet connection and anyone can reach the masses using sites such as Youtube. However, building an online fan base takes a bit more work,

While discovery and fan base development is possible through just the usage of online videos, it is fairly difficult. 300 hours of video are uploaded every minute to Youtube alone. Your video would have to gain attention in the deluge of other user generated content. Going viral and attracting a niche audience could take months or even years of effort.

The Solution Is Crowdfunding

This is why many artists have opted for using crowdfunding sites such as Kickstarter and SellaBand. The chance of getting discovered and "going viral" is also relatively low on these sites with one study estimating only 34 of 4,712 artists on SellaBand receiving enough capital to market their albums. However, it is still more likely than Youtube, because you are targeting an audience that is actively looking to invest in your content. 

In most crowdfunding platforms, the artist is attempting to raise money in order to achieve a goal. The goal must be clearly defined and easily understandable for the audience. Therefore "producing an album" would be a good example, but "rediscovering musical talent" would not. To achieve this goal, a certain amount of money must be raised from donations and investments. This research study found that fund raising for crowdfunding projects is best done with a reasonable, low goal. Although it means fewer investors are required, it will make management much simpler.

Once you've chosen a site and a goal, you will have to propose a plan to your audience. Before they invest, the audience needs a clear idea of what is being marketed to them. In the case of Kickstarter, this plan proposal is usually in the form of a video. This video gives some background about the artist and a sample of their music. 

In addition to the video, most artists will also write a succinct bio and description of their work. The short description can give a history of the author, information on his or her family, and a list of challenges that the project faces. To make the section more appealing, they may add endorsements, updates, and graphics as well.

Asking for Donations Is Not Enough

The sample music and touching back story are significant motivation for investment, but in nearly every case it will not be enough. This is why rewards are implemented. For SellaBand, the rewards are the album and a portion of its profits. Kickstarter has a more open and diverse system of rewards. Donations can be split into tiers based on volume. Then the rewards can be decided at the artist's discretion. Common high tier rewards include private concerts, signed souvenirs, and personal meetings.

This ensures that the people investing in you are also emotionally invested in your work. The fans you gain will be dedicated and willing to pay money to see you succeed. Unfortunately, the fans, while enthusiastic, will still be very low in number. To actually develop a following, you will have to expand your sphere of influence.

Building a Social Media Empire

The next step to building a fan base and continuing your funding would be through social media. Up until now you should have been promoting your work on all of your media outlets; however, it is usually not enough. Encouraging your investors to share by word of mouth will speed up the process and guarantee more man power. An even more effective method would be through media coverage.

By involving a local newspaper, radio station, or television station, you can attract fans from different mediums.They can also spread information by word of mouth, increasing your sphere of influence. Because nearly everyone is connected to the internet these days, fans you gain from other mediums can be easily converted to online fans as well.

Through a combination of crowdfunding and social media, it is possible for an artist to develop an online following. Crowdfunding will provide the necessary income for production of more material. The connection to dedicated fans willing to invest in your work creates a very strong fan base. An audience like that can easily be encouraged to spread your work through social media and by word of mouth. With your work dispersed all over the world, people will begin to take notice. Eventually, like-minded people will be attracted to what you produce and you will have developed a fairly large fan base. 

Advertising Promotes Negative Body Image In Men and Women

 The advertisements below are designed to attract customers; however, they do this by reducing self confidence and objectifying women. The advertisement on the left presents a body type that is difficult to gain and maintain. Very few men will be able to achieve and keep that type of body without having a significant amount of work invested in it. The advertisement on the right treats women as sexual objects. They are put in scantily clad outfits and placed in front of a green screen to help sell beer. For men, these advertisements set unrealistic standards, and for women, the advertisements are lowering their self worth. Advertisements such as these are affecting societal perceptions of both genders.

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Hello! I am Alex Yu from J150. I enjoy playing tennis and computer programming. I'm a computer science major at UMD