A Journalist's ever evolving roles

Howard Owens certainly enjoys making lists and over the weekend his excellent blog gives the six roles of the modern journalist.


He says that

As “audience” transmutes to “community,” and the level of communication and information increases exponentially, as news becomes less ecclesiastical and more egalitarian, the role of the professional journalist is changing

These according to Howard are:

1.The ethical role
2.The filter role
3.The understanding and context role
4.The conversation leader role
5.The aggregator role
6.The straight news role.

I believe that he has hit the nail on the head there.To be a journalist in this ever changing media is a continously evolving job.Lets not though lose sight of the sixth point,the importance of actually reporting news

Perhaps history teaches us that journalism is at the crossroads

With all the changes that are currently taking place in the media world,sometimes the past can teach us lessons

According to Howard Owens and something that I agree with

We don’t spend a lot of time talking about our profession’s history, even though history might teach us a good deal about today

The book's:

primary theme is that journalism has evolved in response to changes in society

.

It covers American history of the press and cites

The rise of McCarthysm, the Bay of Pigs and the start of the war in Vietnam were all events that helped create within society a greater sense that the U.S. government, now no longer easily accessible, was not always worthy of trust. For the first time, the press began to take on a watch dog role and investigative reporting was born.

I wonder whether this is indeed the case now though,Howard concludes by asking

society is apparently going through its largest upheaval, especially in terms of how it interacts with media, since at least the 1960s, if not the earliest parts of the 2oth Century.
If that’s the case, should today’s journalist react with “we should keep doing what we’ve always been doing” attitude, or figure out how journalism needs to change to meet new demands and new needs?