On Wednesday, Apple announced the launch of their newest product the iPad. About the size of a book, the iPad can keep track of your contacts and calendar. It claims to make surfing the web and checking your email easier than ever on a mobile device. Like the Kindle, it has the ability to download books, but perhaps the most interesting factor to me is the way the New York Times is featured on the screen in the ad.

As someone who always has my iPhone with me I am very interested to continue researching about all the iPad has to offer. I will also watch how news meshes with the electronic readers. Will New York Times sell subscriptions through an iTunes like store? Can the Times still be viewed on the web for free? And the question I am most interested in…Will the popularity of Apple’s new product effect the sales of New York Times since it is featured so prominently in their advertising?

The determination of a student

In the first couple of classes, we discussed national job losses in journalism over the last couple years. This impacted me because I had read about a few job losses here and a few there, but had never seen a total number. And what was worse, I knew that even as I sat in class the number was getting higher. I believe the number of job losses for 2010 was already over 700 and January was only halfway over.

In all of our classes we are told to have a diverse skill set, be prepared for a tough job market, and don’t expect to be wealthy in this critical time of uncertainty in our industry. What is surprising to me is that I have seen only a few aspiring journalists turned off by the grim outlook of our future careers. Instead, students look at it as a challenge and hope to rise to the occasion above all other students to fight for the few jobs out there. I think on some level we all want to be the one that helps find the solution to saving the news industry. As journalists, uncertainty and critical thinking are the bread and butter of reporting because it takes effort and persistence to tell a story. At this point, I have no idea what a solution will look like, but I know the stubborn and determined students of my generation won’t let news fall to the wayside because of a lack of effort.

They just don't mix

My reasoning behind the title of this blog is like oil and vinegar, I believe the needs of a publishing company don't mix with the needs of a newspaper's audience.  I have worked at the Campus Carrier for two years and think I have a decent understanding of the responsibilities involved in serving an audience.  However, I have almost no understanding of ad sales, what's it like to deal with a publisher, and other things on that side of the business.  Through taking Economics of News this semester I hope to be educated about the business side of news. I would like to come away from the class with a better understanding of how these two sides operate together and a clearer picture of what the future of the journalism industry looks like, but that may be asking too much.  We'll find out.