"It's more of a stream of consciousness thing.."

Without trying to sound overly melodramatic, in recent weeks I have found myself questioning if being a sports journalist was still what I want to do. It always had to be something sports-related; that's who I am. Using my Uncle (Sports Director for the Australian Radio Network) as inspiration, and my Grade 12 English teacher's assurance that I "write good and stuff" (eloquently taken out of context), I settled on my path. A path that, until a few hours ago, wound more through dense cloud than along a brightly coloured brick road.

Oh the imagery..

My last lecture for JOUR1111. It didn't disappoint.

"BUILD YOUR OWN BRAND"

In no way being offensive to Bruce, this was definitely the most compelling lecture of the course. While previous lectures related more to information and content (as is understandably required), guest lecturer Steve Molk brought a refreshing new outlook to journalism that I have recently found myself grasping for.

By his own admission, Steve Molk hasn't been in the media industry for long. Despite his many assurances to the contrary, Molk is very modest when it comes to what he has achieved. 

"1.5 million views per month... nothing really," was the reply, when asked of the popularity of his website MolksTVTalk. Perhaps compared to some of the larger sites, numbers like this seem small. But for a person who, in only a little over 18 months work, has built an audience of roughly 130,000 unique viewers, established close contacts within the media industry and holds 17 weekly radio time slots, Steve Molk is somewhat of an inspiration. 

"START PUBLISHING YOUR OWN STUFF"

Molk's comments on the current media climate were very interesting to note. He spoke of traditional journalism as something that cannot die, citing the expansion of an online medium as a 'third-arm' to the continual evolution of the news format. Quoting a statistic of a 15% decrease in print-circulation each year, Molk urged everyone in attendance to familiarise themselves with the online medium. Don't write blogs or use twitter simply because your course requires it; understand the benefits these outlets can bring and embrace the direction journalism is heading. 

Thanks to Bruce Redman, I now have a greater understanding of this direction. 

Thanks to Steve Molk, my yellow brick road is infinitely more clear.

Now it's time to start enjoying it.