(Mary Nesbitt)

Talking with aspiring young journalists as the school year begins is a wonderful antidote to breathing the smog of despondency that envelopes many news veterans. The students are hopeful and eager, with limitless energy. They don't have much - if any - newsroom cultural baggage. (And let's keep it that way.)

While they're definitely a unique segment, they provide insights into how some young adults use news media and why, what's irksome and how news media can connect with them.

I had an email exchange a few days ago with an incoming freshman, Lorraine Lee, whom I met in Medill's 2007 Cherub program for rising high school seniors. At that time she peppered me with questions about newspapers, online news, readers, consumers and everything else we've been studying at the Readership Institute. Later she undertook a year-long print/online research project at her LA school, for which I served as a long-distance mentor. (You can read one of her papers here.)

Pew's 2008 study of news consumption segments people into four groups based on their interest in news and how they get it. I mentally pegged Lorraine as a Net-Newser (13% of the population, skews younger, net-focused but use traditional sources as well) and wanted to see if I was right.

"I try to visit news sites for major papers like the New York Times or the LA Times at least once a day and I like to read at least one or two major stories," she wrote. "I always skim the headlines, though, to get a general idea of what's going on. I spend about 15-20 minutes while doing other things online simultaneously. ...If I'm in the car in the morning I listen to news that radio stations report, but it's always very brief."

For her, news-seeking is more of a habit than happenstance and news is a broad category. "The only time I usually run into news unintentionally is when I check my email. Usually there is one interesting headline that will catch my attention. I don't actively seek out any 'genre' of news though - I try to read the major headlines and a few human interest pieces which can include anything from fashion to new discoveries about food, for example."

New research reports from my colleagues (here and here) demonstrate what an important role a strong news brand and its associated credibility play in building online loyalty. Most people, young and old, have a small number of sources that they trust and use consistently. Whatever their source, they don't want to work too hard to access information and understand it.

Lorraine's comments echo that: "I think the most important thing for me is that the source has to be legitimate. I don't get news from random sites or blogs...

"I get upset when I see typos or carelessness, or when I read something written unclearly. This becomes especially annoying when it's a complicated topic that I may not have much knowledge about."

Like many, Lorraine was drawn to journalism by a love of writing but came to relish the discipline and challenge of the journalistic approach. "After you start learning about journalism... you realize it's so much more than just writing. It really challenges me in so many ways - I have to constantly interview different people and come up with intelligent, probing questions. Articles have to flow, deadlines have to be met by everyone on staff. Also, I love that journalism serves an important purpose by informing society of news and information. If you are passionate about journalism it's just a feeling you get that you can't really explain. No matter how stressed, frustrated or tired I get in the newsroom, I still love being there making sure the job gets done."

Something that troubles me is the potentially chilling effect on students of endless stories about layoffs and declining revenues in traditional news media. So I asked if she's worried about her prospects:

"It's definitely never easy hearing all the negative reports about the news industry but I'm still positive about the future. ...I'm not only a young journalist learning how to write news stories, but I'm now going to learn how to make videos, slideshows, podcasts, etc. In whatever format, there will always be a need for unbiased, interesting and informative news delivery.

"Also, I learned so much about the news industry, in particular print and online media, this past year from my research project... I think the news industry needs to be willing to adapt and adjust. This doesn't mean compromising the news. It's just presenting it in a way that appeals to readers in a technologically driven world."

Students like Lorraine make me optimistic for the future. They share the essential values that have motivated journalists throughout time. They're digital natives and ready to tackle the problems that perplex their elders. They care enough about the future of news to learn about the business of news. And they accept the need to understand and serve audience - on the audience's terms.


By Mary Nesbitt (m-nesbitt@northwestern.edu)
Mary Nesbitt is managing director of the Readership Institute.