In the digital age, journalists are no longer simply writers. From fieldwork to data analysis and cross-platform content production, the profession is being reshaped with many new facets: more multitasking, more technology-intensive, and more stressful.
A multitasking reporter
If you pictured a journalist a few decades ago, many people would imagine someone carrying a notebook and a tape recorder, going on field trips and then returning to the newsroom to write articles. But in the digital age, that image has changed significantly.
A smartphone, laptop, video editing software, and a host of digital platforms are becoming familiar tools for modern journalists. Beyond simply reporting news, they must also take photos, shoot videos, manage social media, track reader data, and even utilize artificial intelligence to assist in their work.
Journalist Nguyen Dinh Trung (30 years old), a reporter in charge of the culture section of the Newspaper and Public Opinion, said that his workday usually begins with updating news from various sources and monitoring trends on social media to find topics. This is followed by contacting sources, working in the field, interviewing people, taking photos, shooting videos, and finalizing the journalistic product.
"With digital journalism, working hours are no longer confined to office hours but can extend whenever there's breaking news," he shared. This change reflects the strong digital transformation in news organizations. A reporter today is no longer solely responsible for written content, but must participate in the entire information production process across multiple platforms.
The pressures faced by multi-platform journalists.
In an unexpected event, reporters can simultaneously take on multiple roles that previously belonged to different departments. According to Nguyen Dinh Trung, there have been times when he was simultaneously gathering information from authorities, photographing the scene, sending quick news reports back to the newsroom, interviewing witnesses, and preparing short videos for social media. In just a few hours, one person had to complete the workload equivalent to that of an entire small team.
Multitasking also requires journalists to constantly learn new skills. In addition to traditional writing, many reporters today must know how to shoot and edit videos using their phones, basic graphic design, manage social media, and apply AI in information processing.
According to Mai Trang (27 years old), a reporter for the online magazine Vietnam Businessmen, these skills were hardly taught adequately during her time in university. "After entering the profession, I had to learn many more things such as in-depth research on subjects during interviews, conducting in-depth feature stories, communication skills with sources, handling complaints related to articles, and using new technological tools," she said.
Given the rapid advancement of technology, AI is becoming an invaluable tool for many journalists. These tools can assist in transcribing audio recordings, processing data, and editing images or videos. However, according to journalists, technology only plays a supporting role. The core value of the profession remains the ability to identify problems, verify information, and create in-depth content.
While in the past, the success of an article was primarily judged by reader feedback or circulation numbers, today, journalists can track the effectiveness of each product almost instantly.
Le Van Nghia (24 years old), a reporter and Fanpage manager for the Education and Times Newspaper, said his job is not just about posting content, but also includes monitoring interactions, analyzing trends, evaluating outreach effectiveness, and developing communication plans.
Nghia said that data helps him determine which content should be prioritized, the appropriate posting times, and predict reader engagement. This shows that modern journalism is no longer just about content. Understanding user behavior, knowing how to distribute information, and optimizing the reader experience are becoming new requirements for those in the profession.
From another perspective, reporter Mai Trang believes that building a personal data repository is also a significant competitive advantage. For reporters covering specialized fields like economics , data accumulated over many years of work provides them with a more comprehensive view of their profession. According to her, this is an asset created through time, effort, and close observation of reality, not something that can be easily bought.
Changes in journalistic practices have also placed new demands on human resource training. While previously, journalism students were primarily equipped with news writing skills and basic professional knowledge, the realities of the profession now demand much more.
Students need early access to skills in multimedia content production, digital platform operation, user data analysis, search engine optimization (SEO), and the application of artificial intelligence in journalistic processes. In addition, issues of professional ethics in cyberspace, fact-checking skills, and responding to fake news are increasingly becoming essential components in the training of future journalists.
New opportunities and challenges
The development of the digital environment is opening up many new avenues for journalism students. Besides traditional reporter positions, young people can participate in jobs related to social media management, podcast production, multimedia content development, reader data analysis, or user experience optimization.
However, opportunities always come with challenges. According to Ms. Mai Trang, the current job market in journalism is highly competitive. After the restructuring and streamlining of the media system, the number of job openings is no longer as high as before. Newly graduated students have to compete directly with experienced reporters who have extensive networks of sources.
This has led to increasingly high demands on journalism students. A degree in the field is no longer a significant enough advantage without practical skills and the ability to adapt to the digital environment.
Nevertheless, journalists agree that the core values of the profession remain unchanged. Technology may change the way information is produced and distributed, but it cannot replace the role of journalists in verifying facts, protecting public interests, and upholding professional ethical standards.
According to Nguyen Dinh Trung, besides technological skills, the most important quality of future journalists remains honesty and a sense of responsibility towards information. Because in an era where fake news can spread in just minutes, what makes mainstream journalism different is not simply speed, but reliability.
The portrait of a journalist in the 4.0 era is therefore being painted with many new colors: more multitasking, more technologically advanced, and more stressful. But after all these changes, the core mission of the profession remains unchanged: to provide the public with accurate, objective, and valuable information.
Source: https://giaoducthoidai.vn/chan-dung-moi-cua-nguoi-lam-bao-post782136.html
