[MUSIC] Because this program, this course, and this specialization is about journalism, I wanted to talk a little bit about the industry today. One of the reasons that people go into journalism is because it is an ethical, noble profession. Where else can people get the news and information that they need to make good, informed decisions to lead productive lives? So journalism helps citizens make sense of the world, and helps them to separate fact from fiction, or rumor and gossip. Journalism also provides diverse viewpoints in a context so that people can learn about each other and learn about maybe how a certain law affects this segment of society and how it affects this other segment of society perhaps differently. And journalism helps people learn about one another. And as we learn more about each other and our different situations, then the truth will rise above. So the basic principles of journalism have been the same for generation after generation. Although the tools and the technologies have changed. And those tools and technologies help reporters to gather information in different ways, and to put it together in different ways, and to disseminate it at audiences in multiple ways. I'd like to talk a little bit about journalism today and the audiences and jobs. So more people than ever before are seeking more news and information than they ever have before. People use four to five devices to obtain news and information regularly. And they go to three to five different sources. And when I talked about devices, I'm talking about people are using newspapers, they're using radio. At evening they might be at the TV. During the day, they might check their smartphones. So they are getting their news and information in a variety of ways. So what that means is that the jobs for journalism, in the forms of writers and authors and visual communicators, is very positive, and the number of jobs continues to grow. So whatever devices people are using to get their news and information, it is journalists there providing that content. Journalism is fact-based story telling in any form. That may be text, it may be audio, video, photography, 3D information graphics, animation, virtual reality, all these types of examples. And journalism is fact-based storytelling in any medium. It is print and digital newspapers, magazines, radio, TV, websites, and mobile devices, for example. So here's a little bit about the industry in the United States. The news industry brings in more than $60 billion of revenue every single year. 5,000 new full time professional jobs were created at 500 digital news outlets, mostly in the past six years. So these are outlets that are digital only without a traditional print side. They are popping up all the time. 80% of Americans get their news daily, and that means not just every other day, or that would increase the number. 10,000 magazines are in existence in the United States right now. And 50% of social network users share or repost their stories, images, and videos. 85% of Americans get their news from computers, and more that 60% of Americans use smart phones and other types of mobile devices to get their news. So, that should give you a little bit of an idea about the journalism industry, and why it is great to be a journalist, and how important it is to report news accurately, objectively, and fairly.
