The journalist of the future is a jack-of-all-trades and a master of one

With budgets squeezed as newspapers make record losses the pressure is on today’s journalists to be much more than a good writer.

Job adverts for multimedia journalists have a long list of requirements: as well as being able to produce a cracking news story you must be able to code HTML and JavaScript, record and edit video and audio, have experience of content management systems, Flash and Photoshop.

With such a large set of requirements how can today’s journalist be, well - a good journalist? Time is at a premium and if you are fiddling with your JavaScript and doing basic editing of a video in FinalCut Pro, there is limited time to concentrate on what’s important - the story.

You should have a broad knowledge of the technical aspects of the job but strive to become a master of just one.  Concentrate on being a good writer or become an expert at putting together video and audio packages.

You are a journalist first and foremost and not a programmer.

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