By Josh Rivera
Nov. 14, 2018
Staff members of the Daily Memphian, a new digital news source, said Monday at the UC River Room that the future of journalism in Memphis is getting news on a smartphone, tablet or laptop computer.
The event titled “The Future of Local News in Memphis” attracted about 80 people and four staff members from the Daily Memphian. A reception before the event preceded the panel discussion lead by U of M journalism professor and Daily Memphian columnist Otis Sanford.
“I have been in this business for as long as I can remember,” Sanford said, “And to see it evolve the way it has, and to be part of the change, is such an experience because media went from print to online in just a few short years. And we are adapting to that now.”
The discussion panel was comprised of several important journalists and editors such as Michelle Corbet, a business reporter for the Daily Memphian, James Overstreet, an editor at the Daily Memphian, and Elle Perry, the arts and culture reporter also for the Daily Memphian. It also discussed the differences between print media and the media on a device of any kind and how convenient it is now.
Overstreet said one of the biggest differences is how easy it is to edit and correct mistakes because it is on a computer and a person does not have to wait for an editor to finish editing and looking for things they may have missed. Computers now inform and correct mistakes, making a news article easier to write.
Fariza Mayores, a sophomore advertising student at the University of Memphis, said she learned more about the Daily Memphian than she thought. She said that it was interesting that the Daily Memphian doesn’t require as many people to do the work as a traditional newsroom since most of the news is written and edited efficiently.
“Even though this was extra credit for me to attend, I was curious enough to want to come as well,” Mayores said, “It was very cool to see how different it was back then to write a story versus how it is now and how technology can make that impact.”
Both sides of the River Room in the University Center were filled with students who just enjoyed a few minutes of refreshments and time to settle in before the panel began.
It did not just draw out journalism students either as Christian Reyna, a student majoring in Engineering Technology also attended. He did not know about the event until the day of but still attended anyway as it peaked his curiosity.
“I wasn’t supposed to be here at the panel, but I had nothing to do until my night class,” Reyna said, “They had food but I actually ended up enjoying learning about the progression of news and it gave me a productive few hours, so it was a win-win.”
This discussion panel was sponsored by the UofM Chapter of the Society of Professional Journalists, the Department of Journalism and Strategic Media and the Helen Hardin Chair of Excellence in Economic and Managerial Journalism. Michelle Corbet, business reporter of The Daily Memphian, was very grateful for the support and for everyone that turned up for the event.
“It is very nice to see that the future of journalism in this community is in good hands,” Corbet said, “These young adults have been born into the technology era so this is second nature to them. It’s very exciting to see where they can take this and what it can evolve to next.”
The Daily Memphian has currently been running now since September and is now free for media writing and reporting students to subscribe to, and for those that are not in the department, there is a $7/Month subscription.
People can subscribe to the Daily Memphian or for just more information on the site visit About Daily Memphian to get all the details on the news of the future.
Joshua Rivera 