Page 27 - AC/E Digital Culture Annual Report 2016

On 9 February, my dear colleague Felix Salmon gave some (frequently solicited) advice to young journalists2 trying to break into media: as he himself put it himself, ‘Don’t do it’.Salmon said it’s never been more competitive, that the future will be more so, and that the privileged class that has traditionally found well-paying media jobs is being disrupted, with elite degrees and family connections no longer guaranteeing success.And though much of what Salmon said is true, I think that getting into journalism is more exciting than ever before. With new challenges, yes, but even more opportunities for a wider group of voices than we’ve ever heard, and the chance to build a media career that is uniquely theirs, rather than de ned by structures set in places decades or centuries prior.I should know, because that’s exactly what I’ve done as director of interactive at Fusion, where I tell the news with images, words and video, in forms static and otherwise.I did not set out to become a journalist but a communications designer.When I began my career as a motion graphics designer, I thought I would be con ned to the advertising industry, telling stories to sell products and services to people.I soon became frustrated, however – I was eager to tell stories, but I wasn’t telling the stories that truly mattered to me – so I began searching for work that would provide me with a feeling of accomplishment.I felt a bit lost: I didn’t know what opportunities might exist for more ful lling work, but I fought doubts and fears gnawing at me and explored what was out there.What I realised was this: news was making the tumultuous shift from print to digital,and audiences were hungry for video and, more importantly, the chance to be part of the conversation. As someone in the world of graphic culture and motion graphics, I realised that my skills and background could bring something new to the table.Now there was not only room for me, but a need for others like myself: fresh minds with new approaches and a desire to serve a generation of readers who wanted to be part of the conversation, where the story is no longer presented as a monologue but as a dialogue between readers, journalists, activists, artists and experts, all building o one another.It’s about problem nding rather than jumping straight into problem solving. The creative process starts with the users – learning about their actions and observing their behaviour to nd out their needs.Let me be clear: journalism is undergoing a huge shift, and change doesn’t happen easily. But this shift also provides a whole bunch of new and exciting opportunities as we adapt and reinvent our notions both of what it is to be a journalist and what ‘media’ means.Journalists, entrepreneurs and activists are joining forces to make a di erence in a world where corruption, inaccessibility of information, abuse of power, discrimination and bad policies are the topic of the day.Look at all the amazing new ventures created to take on the new kinds of media work that needs to be done, from outlets like Vox Media, AJ+, The Marshall Project, The Skim, Quartz and The Conversation, to my beloved Fusion.Though being a white, intelligent and privileged male with height, education, and a nice accent still helps, it no longer guarantees a life of career safety. And expecting luck to help build or make your career is a dangerous strategy.AC/E DIGITAL CULTURE ANNUAL REPORT 201627Smart Culture: Impact of the Internet on Artistic Creation