Every day, I have the privilege of seeing the next generation of journalists up close—in my classes at Fresno State and through the journalism organizations I’m fortunate to serve. Their curiosity, talent, and determination give me enormous hope for the future of journalism.

What concerns me is not the young people who want to become journalists. It is the business model that too often makes it difficult for them to find a place in the profession and for local journalism to thrive.

If I could make a couple of wishes for the future, they would be simple: invest more in local journalism and create more opportunities for the young journalists coming up behind us.

Because when I look at these students, I don’t see a profession in decline. I see a profession with a new generation ready to carry it forward. They have the talent, the passion, and the belief that journalism matters. We just need to make sure they have the opportunity to prove it.

That is where I find my hope, and why I believe the future of journalism is still ours to build.

Recently, I was in Phoenix for a board meeting of Journalism Funding Partners, an organization that raises money to support local newsrooms around the country. Our work is important, and I’m proud of what we’ve been able to accomplish. But as valuable as that work is, it cannot replace the newsrooms that have closed or shrunk over the past decade.

That reality is sobering, but it also reminds me of what is possible when we choose to invest in local journalism.

Every day, I see young people who are eager to do this work. I see their talent, their curiosity, and their belief in the power of journalism to strengthen their communities. They give me hope.

What we need now is to match their energy with opportunity: to invest in local newsrooms, to create pathways for the next generation, and to make sure talented young journalists have places to go and communities that need their work.

The future of journalism isn’t going to take care of itself. But I believe it is still ours to build, and there is a generation ready to build it long after my time in the business has passed.

One of our initiatives at JFP is supporting the Chips Quinn Reporters Fellowship, which gives early-career journalists something they need so much at the beginning of their careers: a chance to grow.

The fellowship provides young journalists with mentorship, support, and a stipend that allows them to pursue meaningful work while building their skills and professional networks. It is an investment not only in these individual journalists, but in the future of local journalism itself.

Programs like this remind me that while the challenges facing journalism are real, so are the possibilities. When we give talented young journalists the resources, guidance, and opportunity to succeed, we are helping ensure that the future of journalism remains strong.

As these young journalists shared their work with our board, which met at the Cronkite School of Journalism at Arizona State, I was struck by their enthusiasm, their talent, and their belief in the importance of what they are doing.

I saw something that is easy to lose sight of when we talk about the challenges facing journalism: Hope.

Their excitement was contagious. They reminded me that the future of journalism is not simply about the newsrooms we have lost or the business models that are struggling. It is also about the people coming into this profession who are eager to tell important stories, serve their communities, and make a difference.

Watching them, I left that meeting more convinced than ever that investing in the next generation will make a difference. As I listened to these young journalists, I saw a little of myself 50 years ago. I thought about the many colleagues I had when I entered the business and the remarkable era of newspapers we were fortunate enough to experience.

It was a time when newspapers had hundreds of reporters and editors, along with the support staff needed to help them do their jobs. There were thriving newsrooms, strong newspapers, and abundant opportunities for young journalists to learn their craft and build a career.

We didn’t know how good we had it.

But then Big Tech arrived and blew up the business model.

We had taken that abundance for granted because we assumed it would always be there. We couldn’t imagine that many of those newsrooms would one day shrink dramatically, or disappear altogether.

I don’t dwell on that past because I somehow think we can bring it back. We can’t. I think about it because it reminds me of what journalism can be when communities decide it is worth investing in.

And that is the opportunity in front of us today: to take what was best about the journalism we inherited and find new ways to build it for the generation coming next.

Today, the landscape is very different. But sitting in that room on the fourth floor of a building dedicated to journalism and listening to these young journalists talk about their work, I was reminded that what made journalism special then is still alive today: the curiosity, the commitment to communities, and the desire to tell stories that matter.

That gives me hope. Perhaps our responsibility now is to make sure this next generation has the opportunities that so many of us were fortunate enough to have.

It helped that we were meeting at the Cronkite School of Journalism at Arizona State, a place where the traditions of journalism meet innovation. It is filled with smart, creative people who are thinking hard about the challenges facing the news business—and, more importantly, about how we can meet those challenges.

There was something fitting about being there. I was thinking about the journalism of 50 years ago, when newspapers were thriving, while sitting in a place where people are working to imagine what journalism can become a half-century from now.

That is the mission that matters today: not trying to recreate the past but taking the best of what we learned from it and using it to build something stronger for the future.

And looking around that room at the young journalists we are supporting, I felt that future was not only possible. I could see it.

Journalism students seemed to be everywhere at the Cronkite School. Some were practicing their video and interviewing skills, moving through the halls and sidewalks with cameras and microphones, learning the craft by doing it.

As I was about to enter the building for the board meeting, one of the journalism students walked up to me and asked if I would sit for an interview. Purely random. He just picked ne out of the crowd.

“Sure,” I said.

He explained that it was just practice. He and fellow students wanted to make sure they had the sound right, that my face was properly in the frame, and that they were getting all the technical details they would need to become working video journalists.

Of course I said yes.

And as I sat there, I realized this was part of the reason I’m still doing this, long after most of my contemporaries have retired. I still get energized by young journalists who are learning, experimenting and figuring out how to tell stories.

Fifty years into this profession, I’m still learning from them—and, I hope, finding ways to help them along the way.

That random interview was a small moment, but it reminded me why the future of journalism is worth fighting for.

And as I sat for the interview, I thought about how wonderfully full-circle the moment was. I had come to Arizona to talk about journalism and the importance of supporting its future, and here was a journalism student at random asking me to help them learn how to do the very work we were there to support.

Fifty years ago, I was the young journalist learning the craft. Now, I was the interview subject helping a new generation learn theirs.

It was a small moment, but it captured for me why I remain so hopeful about journalism. The tools may change. The business model may change. The way people consume news may change. But the desire to ask questions, tell stories and connect with people is still very much alive.

This article was originally published on Jim Boren’s Newsroom Notebook, his Substack that shares a behind-the-scenes journey into journalism and its future.

Over the past year, Janette Villafana has spent much of her time as a bilingual multimedia journalist. She has documented the immigration raids, arrests and protests across Orange County, Los Angeles and the Inland Empire. 

Her reporting onslaught has at times been so consuming that she has forgotten daily necessities, like eating.

Villafana is not alone. 

The Global Center for Journalism and Trauma highlighted research that shows “between 80 and 100% of journalists have been exposed to a work-related traumatic event.” 

Villafana has experienced burnout three times in the past six years, especially since covering immigration she said. 

Zoë Wong-Weissman is a psychotherapist in San Francisco. 

Burnout looks different for everyone, but common symptoms include feeling overwhelmingly exhausted even with rest and trouble with motivation and decision making. She noted there can also be feelings of numbness and irritability. 

“It’s a sort of trauma from over time being overworked,” Wong-Weissman said. 

While trying to prevent burnout, Wong-Weissman said its important to consider a person’s workload, the nature of their work and the structure of the organization one is working for.

Outside of work, it’s important to be proactive with quality sleep, body movement, hydration and nutrition. Wong-Weissman said people should consider whether they are getting enough social connection and engaging in activities outside of work that feel meaningful and fulfilling. 

Although Villafana admitted that she still struggles with work-life balance, she said that therapy has taught her boundaries and coping skills that help her decompress. 

The relationship journalists have with their editors is pivotal. Her current editor reaches out to Villafana and assigns her lighter stories after harder coverage, she said. 

Dr. Kortni Alston Lemon is a former news director and television reporter who uses her years of experience to help news professionals build healthy workplaces. 

Through her work at her non-profit, the KALM Institute for Workplace Wellbeing, she encourages news leaders to first start with themselves and lead by example by setting work boundaries and having open conversations about taking breaks. She said leaders can then better move forward in being mindful about their team, the stories their covering, and the impact it can have on the newsroom as a whole. 

Ignoring these topics can lead to retention issues. 

Alston Lemon said that responsibility extends beyond newsroom leadership. Through the KALM Institute, she also works to train journalists in Mental Health First Aid, a program designed to help people recognize and respond to someone experiencing a mental health or substance use challenge.

Mental health challenges in journalism aren’t limited to the stories reporters cover. Layoffs, smaller staffs and more journalists competing for fewer traditional newsroom jobs can create additional stress and rejection.

 At first rejection can be jarring. 

“You can very easily start the negative talk once you get rejected from somebody or you get a no,” Villafana said. “Whether it’s for a job or when you’re pitching, you’re trying to get a story out, especially if you’ve done the reporting already.” 

Over time, Villafana said she has learned how to cope with rejection through phrases like “todo a su tiempo,” which translates to everything is going to land at the right place at the right time. Now she asks for feedback, or quickly shifts gears as to where she’s going to pitch next. 

“There’s very little room and a lot of us trying to get a job,” she said.  

For now, Villafana said she sees rejection as a positive.  

“It forces you to keep going, to keep fighting for the story to get published or if the story is missing something, it helps to be a better reporter,” she said.  

Rejection itself is one pressure, but for journalists covering traumatic events, the stories can be difficult to leave behind. 

For Villafana, learning about the lives and families of those in detention centers can be heavy. She often visits those impacted and sees how they are physically and mentally changed. She said it can be hard to not feel emotional after interviewing someone who reminds her of her own family, and to fight the feeling that she can do more. 

“On the drive back home, I do cry,” Villafana said. “I have to. I have to let it out. I cry because we’re human at the end of the day.” 

Villafana’s experience illustrates why mental health can’t be treated as something journalists have to manage alone, or be seen as simply “part of the job.”

Various journalism organizations are starting to prioritize mental health resources, but Alston Lemon said there is still much work to be done.

Alston Lemon highlighted the Self Investigation Mental Health in Journalism Summit, and multiple organizations such as NABJ, AAJA NAHJ and SPJ for championing journalists’ mental health through various resources, conferences and governing boards. 

“Hopefully, what will happen is that more people will stop thinking, ‘pull yourself together,’” said Alston Lemon. “And some of them will start saying, ‘let’s pull together’ to create more caring organizations that serve our team.” 

I’m honored to be asked to be a contributor to the Journalism Education Collaborative’s blog.

I was part of a rag-tag group years ago that helped found Cal-JEC, which was then known as the California Journalism Education Committee. I have since retired from more than 40 years teaching community college journalism courses and advising student publications.

Since retirement I have continued to contribute to journalism education mostly through my Online Elsewhere research project, which I sort of started as part of my critique efforts as a publications adviser and then developed into a more major project in Spring 2020, not knowing that the pandemic was going to split the semester between in-person and remote teaching.

Online Elsewhere is QUANTITATIVE evaluation of California community college student ONLINE news publications that looks at the numbers of stories written by each publication and a breakdown of story styles and localizations using RSS feeds as a collection source. It also looks at other qualities, such as days and times stories are posted, source use (including numbers and kinds), and in-story linkage, use of multimedia, and coverage of campus governance. The work involves monitoring all of the state’s 55-plus community college online publications on a daily basis throughout much of the year.

The project includes monthly written summaries and observations distributed to community college publications through their faculty advisers, comprehensive semester reports about publications statewide, and, when requested, special speaking presentations to individual publication staffs. I miss the regular interaction with students and wish I’d get more invites than I do.

The most recent semester summary is available in two formats: Download the print version or visit the Online Elsewhere blog.

The goal is to improve community college student journalism across the state and help each publication see how it compares to others through more than a hundred metrics. I still believe in student-run publications, but believe that students can be influenced into making wiser story decisions when armed with statistical knowledge.

The volunteer project is currently in its sixth year.

A major theme of my reports is that the online news publication– I have purposely weaned myself from referring to the sites as newspapers– deserves to be a publication of its own and not just a repository of print stories, even though most stories are still told in newspaper format. As such, I look at a lot of presentation issues in my missives.

I think that many student publications missed a great opportunity to build toward the future when education moved back into the classroom but publications immediately tried to restore the old paradigm that puts the major focus on the print publication over the online publication and social media. There is a bitter taste in my mouth every time I say that, but it seems clear that the online publication and social media/mobile reporting is a big part of our future. The pandemic interruption gave us the perfect opportunity to reinvent and prepare for the future.

I also do a lot of judging these days for press associations around the country, which is more qualitative than quantitative, and some days it is just weird switching between the two approaches.

As AI use spreads across newsrooms and audiences increasingly get their news online, educators and journalists alike say they are emphasizing ethics and other key reporting skills to empower students to find their own unique voices. 

“Being a strong writer is critical because it’s about being a good storyteller,” said Patel Liss. “Whether you’re producing stories for social media, or you’re producing stories for videos or audio or podcasts or digital text stories, you will need to be a great storyteller.”

According to Muck Rack’s State of Journalism Report, 82% of journalists report using at least one AI tool. AI is changing several industries, and regardless of the industry, workers of the future will need to be critical thinkers, Patel Liss said. 

AI can make some journalistic work more efficient, Patel Liss said but will never take from the human side of the work, such as interviewing, building trust and translating public records. 

Journalist and educator Eduard Cauich, lecturer at Cal State Northridge and a bilingual reporter for the L.A. Times, said he understands why some educators are hesitant to allow AI; he thinks it is a mistake to not allow students to learn how to use the tools in the classroom. 

Cauich allows students to use transcription, spelling and translation tools, such as Otter AI and Grammarly he said, but emphasizes the need to edit critically and fact check their work. 

Although AI produces “decent” writing that “does the job” he said its growing presence makes it more important for journalists to develop a distinct voice. He describes a writer’s style as a “unique fingerprint” that can fade when AI use becomes too prevalent.

Patel Liss also encourages students to develop their voice through in class writing assignments and feedback on their first drafts. 

While students are generally banned from using AI in her classes, she said she allows them to experiment with it to improve their initial work, brainstorm ideas, or develop headlines and outlines in class, but students must disclose any AI use in any published work as transparency is another key component of journalism.  

For Cauich and Patel Liss alike, ethics are more important than ever. 

“It’s a very risky tool because you can become very dependent on it,” said Cauich. “It’s part of our task and responsibilities as professors to give some limitations on the use of AI. Once they graduate they will hopefully know the fundamentals of ethics, and I think that’s the most important part of journalism school.”

Emerging journalists are just as concerned as their teachers.

“Developing one’s own craft as a journalism student is essential,” said Desmond Bracken, journalist and 2026 CPF internship grant recipient. “I’m not gonna say there’s no place for artificial intelligence tools in reporting, but you have to have a strong enough grasp on writing and how to interpret facts on your own for those tools to be useful.”

Bracken saw the evolution of AI usage as they were moving from a student journalist to working in a professional newsroom. Students must first learn how to trust themselves as reporters before outsourcing some of their work to AI, said Bracken. 

Bracken said if a student doesn’t develop the sense of reporting independently, they risk crossing a line before they even know what the line truly is. 

The best way for students to develop their voices is to be open to making mistakes, Bracken said. 

“They want to seem like they’ve done their research but they don’t necessarily know what that looks like yet,” said Bracken.

For support, Bracken encouraged students to seek out mentors and peers they respect.

“That’s something an automated tool is never going to be able to do for you is help you push past those anxieties and stand on your own two feet,” Bracken said. “It takes practice and being vulnerable and being afraid is not a bad thing.”