Ivanka Perez, 20, junior, Rice University, Houston, Texas

Perez is studying English, philosophy and business, and hopes to enter the publishing industry when she graduates. She currently serves as co-editor-in-chief of the Rice Thresher, Rice’s student-run newspaper. 

The switch to remote work may be accelerating the transition from print to online-only journalism. Just this year, the Thresher has faced a similar struggle—when classes at Rice went online for spring semester, so did the Thresher, and we halted print production for only the second time in our publication’s history. This semester, we’ve resumed having print issues, but have reduced the length of our papers because fewer students are on campus to pick up our papers. However, throughout these changes, our content production has remained consistent—it’s just shifted online. As other media outlets face the same obstacles as us, they too may be reducing their print issues, and they may not find a reason to expand their print presence once more when the pandemic ends.

While the shift away from print papers marks the end of an era, it also marks the rise of an exciting new form of journalism: multimedia reporting. With online content, journalists are now able to integrate videos and photos into reporting in a way that simply wasn’t possible with print, helping readers to visualize content in a new light.

The transition to more remote workrooms also impacts how teams of reporters work together. In a normal year, Thresher staffers would spend every Monday evening in our office. Although we edit individually, it’s inevitable that we find ourselves discussing the stories we’re writing and editing, getting advice from others along the way—something that I know is not unique to the Thresher. As we embrace the conveniences of a more flexible, remote workroom, we must also find a way to re-incorporate a team mindset into the way our staffers operate. There are pros and cons to the direction journalism is headed in, but there’s no looking back; we must adapt to the changes that are heading our way.