SCAMDEMIC AND THE CHALLENGES OF MASS COMM GRADUATES
One
time in my chat conversations, a creative professional mentioned the term “scamdemic”, two words-in-one (to mean a combination of scam + pandemic), in which she alluded
to the many expenses that had to be incurred by the ordinary citizen to fulfill the protocols set during the quarantine timeline.
I
did not wish for her to elaborate on what she meant. But the term itself is
true even if the pandemic did not happen.
When
THE TERM WAS BROUGHT UP, THE CONVERSATION was initially meant to focus on
job-hunting online (without the need to work in physical locations), and the
need for more available employment for MEDIA and creative professionals of all
ages, who have been displaced for the longest time by many contributing situations—the
current pandemic; closure of a good number of media companies and the
downsizing of employees, to name a few reasons for the unemployment.
The
lack of employers who prefer to hire Mass Comm-related credentials further placed
graduates into obscureness and irrelevance, in the era of social media.
WHY
THE LOSS OF OPPORTUNITIES FOR MASS COMM GRADUATES?
This
writer might have stressed in previous writing that the over-popularity of
vlogging which opened a plethora of earning opportunities for many individuals,
could also have given birth to the polarization of media companies which offered
more tangible jobs in regular offices and with preset times for reporting.
The polarization came with the increased
pressure to come up with digitally proficient versions of their companies and
the need to reformat media structures to accommodate vlog formats and other tech-induced
online media productions. We merely put vlogging at the top because of its
undeniable way of drawing workers to its fold. To further hyphenate on this,
Vlogging
which features formal to informal productions of individuals or businesses, has
given birth to the practice of many non-Mass Comm educated professionals coming
from different fields and work backgrounds to go into media, entertainment, and documentary work
as well, without the necessity of training or degree. Practitioners who are now
into vlogging are not just celebrities
and news media personalities but graduates of the serious mold—the lawyers,
politicians, etc, and the ordinary skilled individuals as well, who offer a
variety of topics to discuss and vlog about.
There
is a need to underscore that most of the skills and knowledge required for vlogging
are instilled among Mass Comm students from
their earliest journey to the end of their learning ropes in college.
With
the democratization of news, lifestyle, travel, and entertainment productions that
are more scalable rather than grandiose, including other feature shows, Mass Comm practitioners
have slimmer and not actually better opportunities to EARN AND LAND A
STABLE CAREER online despite the soaring popularity of vlog work, propagated by many high-income
earners.
THE
REASONS COULD BE:
1. VIRAL-CENTEREDNESS OF THE ONLINE MEDIA FORMAT AND ALL THE
HYPE OF SENSATIONALISM THAT WORKS ON MANIPULATION OF ISSUES AND/OR OVEREXPOSING THE
PRIVATE LIVES OF INDIVIDUALS. ALL OF
THESE ARE NOT REALLY PART OF THE TRADITIONAL TEACHINGS OF THE OLD MASS COMM CURRICULUM
IMPLEMENTED IN COLLEGES OF SENIOR MASS COMM PRACTITIONERS.
2.
A SECOND REASON IS THE DIFFICULTY OF
GETTING SPONSORSHIPS FOR VLOG SITES. This is
sparkly true even for local bloggers who do not use visual expression, or videos
to beef up their content online.
For
older practitioners, the gap in skills is EVIDENT in the quality of output of
their content. THERE IS A NEED TO MENTION THAT for vlog work, a vlog's quality IS DEPENDENT ON THE availability
of exhaustive and sometimes punitive resources, that one NEED to make use of, to
better vlog productions- gadgets and apps included.
Mass
Comm practitioners of the past era are used to minimalist technology and with low
DEPENDENCE ON manpower. Old-timers have been trained MORE to HANDLE multi-tasking and to hone basic media skills DESPITE THEIR NEED TO HAVE SKILLS FOR TEAMWORK
FOR PRODUCTIONS. THEY HAVE focused on technology but not as brazen as the ones being offered
these days like AI technology. THEY ALSO
LACK the financial management training that is necessary before going
into fully integrated media work or venture. This
is a problem because most vlog productions require expenses that can range from
minimal to exorbitant, DESPITE BEING SCALABLE.
Also,
ordinary Mass Comm graduates are used to being employed rather than having an
unparalleled freedom to pursue creative independence as exhibited by start-up
vlogs that put together one or more talents to PRODUCE CONTENT FOR VLOG, AS
AN INDEPENDENT, without limits for topics, form of expression, use of technology and so forth.
HENCE
THE REASON FOR DISPLACEMENT includes INCREASED COMPETITIVENESS OF other graduates trained in non-Mass Comm courses, THOSE WHO
HAVE BETTER RESOURCES AND MANPOWER ACCESS. The media landscape truly has changed for the OLD TIMERS WHO SHY
AWAY FROM CAMERA work OR IN YOUR FACE MEDIA PRODUCTIONS.
3. ANOTHER EXPLANATION FOR THE
DISPLACEMENT OF MASS COMM GRADUATES FROM REAL MEDIA WORK OPPORTUNITIES, IS THE ZEALOUSNESS OF OTHER INDUSTRY PROFESSIONALS TO VENTURE INTO
MEDIA; THOSE WHO OBVIOUSLY AIM ONLY FOR POPULARITY AND CLOUT, THE FAST AND EASY
WAY MORE THAN THE EXPRESSION OF PRESS FREEDOM, which is the first stalwart of MOTIVATION
for going into mass media work.
To
be continued…
