Opportunities in New Media and Mass Communications

Stewart, Pearl S., Diversity Employers

A few weeks ago, a radio-talk show host contacted me with a request to book a couple of student writers on his show, which often addresses issues related to colleges and universities. He hoped to interview students who had written controversial articles for my website, BlackCollege wire.org. We complied eagerly. There was just one catch: The program isn't broadcast on terrestrial radio" as we know it, or even on satellite radio. It's broadcast online at PSIradio.com or downloaded via podcast.

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This is just one example of how "new media" technologies such as the Internet and portable digital or wireless devices, have changed the landscape of mass media and the field of mass communications as a whole.

A Google search turns up eight distinct definitions for "new media," ranging from "artworks that use multimedia ... and computer technology," to "emerging digital/electronic communications forms." In any case, today's students preparing for any career in media should assume they will be working in a multimedia environment--and a rapidly changing one at that.

Rapid Change, Diverse Skillsets

Remember when you purchased your first laptop with all latest bells and whistles only to find, a year or so later, that it was obsolete? Similarly, if you entered journalism or media programs four years ago, you may have thought you wanted to …

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Publication information: Article title: Opportunities in New Media and Mass Communications. Contributors: Stewart, Pearl S. - Author. Magazine title: Diversity Employers. Volume: 37. Issue: 3 Publication date: April 2007. Page number: 40+. © 1998 IMDiversity, Inc. COPYRIGHT 2007 Gale Group.

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