Do journalists working in various media really perceive each other like the above image suggests? Of course, David Cohn, who made the chart, is having a bit of fun with the stereotypes about people who work in print versus broadcast versus online versus data journalism. But, joking aside, it seems worthwhile to ask how deeply are these comedic interpretations based in reality, and how do they affect how journalists do their jobs and get along with each other.
Maybe you disagree with some or all of the stereotypes the chart presents, but the fact that they exist to some degree is hard to ignore. Freelancers who work in more than one medium will encounter these perceptions and feel their effects more often than journalists with full-time gigs. If your portfolio is full of online work, will print publications be less likely to give your pitches serious consideration? How often do you hear the term “blogger” used pejoratively? Do online journalists harbour a bit of envy towards those who work in broadcast for their “lighter” work loads (as the above chart suggests)?
In a rapidly changing industry like ours, these walls between journalists working in different media are certainly not as tall and strong as they once were. Chances are, if you work in print or broadcast, your work also appears online, and you’re even creating stories specifically to appear online as “add-ons.” Reporters are shooting videos to go along with their written work, and TV reporters are blogging to engage with their audiences. Still, building your skill set, especially when good jobs are scarce, can’t be all bad, right? Maybe the above chart has an expiry date that’s not far off, and maybe we should look forward to that day.