With the way the journalistic economy is trending right now (downward spiral), it would be a miracle to think all print publications will survive worldwide. As stated in this Guardian article, “Losing money is not a business model. It is a going-out-of-business model.” The Washington Examiner will cease daily publication in June, and every time I look at the Tribune Tower in downtown Chicago, I think of the horror stories one of my professors at graduate school told me about the layoffs at the Tribune in the mid-1990s.
“There were people that jumped out of the windows to their deaths,” she said. “Some of them would get stuck up on those spires. It was horrifying.”
Stories like this make me happy I’m a Christian. Not because I’m immune from suffering, but because I have a hope that surpasses layoffs and downsizing – that no matter what happens with my career or my job, my worth comes from God, and it’s free.
This reminder was reflected back at me over the course of this past semester, as I wrapped up teaching a semester of journalism at Wheaton College. There were 11 students in my class from a variety of majors (communication, political science, international relations, business/economics, and more). We launched a website, MillennialInflux.com, that showcases the passions and interests of “11 Millennials in the Midwest.”
We published over 50 stories on the site, and had over 7,000 unique visitors in the course of seven weeks. That’s pretty impressive if you ask me, and I couldn’t be more proud of the students involved in the class – which is why I’ve chosen to showcase them, one by one, on this blog, over the next couple of weeks. They’re daily miracles in and of themselves, and represent the future and hope of journalism.
“Shelby Anthony: Leaving a Glamorous Legacy”
Shelby Anthony is a senior graduating from Wheaton this year. She played defense for the Wheaton Thunder Women’s soccer team during all four years of her Wheaton experience, and is graduating with a degree in Communications with a journalism certificate with hopes to eventually land a job in fashion journalism. She’s an extremely talented, motivated, and sweet individual – read her full profile at this link on Millennial Influx.