More and more of the job listings I see are asking for "versatile" journalists. That means they are looking for people who can write, report, shoot and edit photos and video, design, edit copy and other various newsroom tasks. Basically, they are looking for utility players.
But I have to ask... are we spreading ourselves too thin? The more you ask someone to do, the less focused they will be on doing on particular task. Throughout my college career, I've been trying to learn how to do everything that I MIGHT need to do one day, instead of focusing solely on, for example, writing or shooting video.
Had I focused all of my efforts on either one, I'd be a lot better at whatever it was I focused on.
And journalism is a profession that demands perfection. In every aspect. So is asking journalists to report, write, shoot, edit and juggle fire asking too much?
It works within the evolving business model of journalism, but ultimately, I believe it's weakening the content.
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