First, Dokoupil says, there will be more openings for journalists who can create buzz, act as “big names” for publications and be, in effect, “one-person brands”. Last year, the New York Times altered its layout to give more space to “big-name” bylines. The online political journal Politico, founded by “big name” political journalists Jim Vandehei and John Harris, chose to recruit other stars to generate readership.

Also, journalists will more frequently be asked to showcase opinions without the pretense of objectivity. This, PEJ reports, is the result of the demise of cable shows like Crossfire that veil opinion as fact, giving way to the rise of shows like Lou Dobbs Tonight that offer straight opinion.

Finally, Dokoupil conjectures that journalists will face a difficult job market in coming years. As job cuts pervade the industry, journalism schools produce record numbers of graduates.

However, PEJ does see this problem as avoidable. The newspaper industry needs a new economic model that includes making money from Internet content.

Click here for the full State of the Media report.

Source: CJR Daily