As the palm trees of Lone Mountain wave above lower campus, a familiar mix of nostalgia and excitement washes over me. My laptop hums with final edits for this very issue of the paper, marking not just the close of time at the University of San Francisco, but also my final hurrah as the opinion editor at the Foghorn.
My passion for journalism started in the halls of Lone Mountain. It led me all the way to this newspaper’s humble office and has only deepened through the countless late nights and tight deadlines. Through lessons of “this just doesn’t look right” in Journalism 1 with Professor Tim Redmond, to my capstone that took me to a year long internship with NBC, I have learned so much during my time here at USF. Especially as a student journalist, living in San Francisco is far more valuable than a mere reporting technique in a textbook; it’s a deep understanding of the impact and enduring power of a well-written story, even as the walls of the industry constantly shift.
It is no secret that journalism is in a state of flux. As the print landscape shrinks, the attention economy dominates, journalism faces creative destruction.
When I first started studying journalism, this volatility was scary. Oftentimes, it felt like I was learning a craft whose future was uncertain, and at many times fleeting. Now, as a graduating senior, what truly weighs on me is a belief I have come to hold with absolute certainty: the premature eulogies for journalism are not just wrong, but hold a dangerous distraction. Like many who come to study journalism as a wide-eyed first year, we hear the refrain “journalism is a dying industry.” The internet has killed print, and the cable news war has killed any sense of objectivity; the algorithms have killed attention spans. But to be honest, it was on this very campus, amidst the controlled chaos and the lessons for truth, that I realized I was witnessing a rebirth of journalism, not a funeral.
To call journalism a “dying industry” is to look only at the shrinking ad revenue of traditional newspapers, with the actual demand for accountability and information. In fact, the demand for truthful journalism is at a peak right now. In a world deeply saturated with propaganda and misinformation and a constant stream of “fake news,” the need for carefully crafted sources, verified information and the production of good journalism as a premium commodity is in dire need.
Our generation of young journalists is no longer bound by the legacy systems that have struggled within journalism. In a generation that grows within the digital age, we are native to digital instincts, instinctively understanding the new media ecosystem. Bringing passion and skepticism to all realms of it.
The money isn’t gone; it’s being placed elsewhere. Innovation of sustainable models is emerging within journalism. People are constantly creating viable funding structures — from membership programs to data-driven non-profits that support deep, public-driven reporting.
As AI and deepfakes make digital fraud cheaper and easily accessible, the value of human, shoe-leather verification has become priceless. The fight for truth will be won by those who are best at seeking, reporting, and checking, not just posting.
Anyone can decide what news goes viral. How do we balance this speed with accuracy? Redefining ethics in the digital age demands thoughtful and focused engagement through strong journalistic techniques.
To anyone pursuing journalism, let the critics speak about this “dying industry.” These people are looking at relics of history. Look instead at the future of it all. The countless platforms hungry for reliable and authentic content. The need for accountability, and the non-negotiable demand for someone, anyone, to stand in the storm of lies and fight for the truth.
To the Foghorn, to the professors within the media studies department devoted to teaching us how to learn, to fail and ultimately to fall completely in love with a profession that is not just surviving, but is essential – I thank you.
