Alexandra Wake spent more than 25 years working for broadcast and print news agencies in Australia, the Asia Pacific and the Middle East. She is currently the Associate Professor of Journalism at RMIT University. 

In your own words, what is the importance of journalism and the 24/7 breaking news cycle?
Journalism is important at every single hour of the day. Australians need to know about emerging events like fires and floods, regardless of the time or the day of the week. We also all work to different hours and different schedules, so having 24/7 news is important to many people. But I do acknowledge that rolling news on a 24/7 cycle, particularly when it is not well funded, does not tend to add to the quality of the information provided to Australians.

The best journalism is investigative work that takes time to prepare. That’s the kind of work that Rick Morton specialises in for The Saturday Paper, or that Four Corners does for the ABC. That kind of ground-breaking work that comes out once a week, or a month, is incredibly important and is dreadfully expensive to produce. I do wish our major print news outlets would focus more on major investigations and less on happening events (I’m so over live blogs). Even Matilda Boseley’s excellent TikToks take time. She doesn’t just turn on the phone and start talking. 

How have student's enthusiasm for journalism change during your time teaching it? 
Enthusiasm for journalism studies is undiminished by those who show up to our classes each year – but you could call them the true believers. They are the ones who absolutely get the need for well-trained journalists to prepare news for the nation. But I have to acknowledge that the popularity of journalism amongst school-leavers has certainly changed over the past 20 years.

We used to get a lot who came to journalism simply to get their face on the telly. That really has changed. Young people coming to university to study journalism now haven’t had a newspaper thud on their lawn, or even watched the TV news with their parents. They have a different way of engaging with media but still want to tell stories that matter. Those who sign up for a journalism degree absolutely want to be there, and they are an absolute joy to teach. (They are also sick to death of the Twitterverse telling them to do something else).  
  
Are there any undervalued skills in journalism that you think need to be taught? 
The ability to talk to people, and to literally see what is going on in front of them, are probably the most undervalued skills in journalism. You can get a computer to check your spelling, create a visualisation, and find a lot of facts, but talking face-to-face with someone is absolutely terrifying for many young people. It’s even more difficult if they need to talk to someone who doesn’t come from the same social, economic and cultural background. 

Teaching young people basic communication skills, including listening, is vital. It’s not their fault. Most young people coming into uni now didn’t grow up with a home phone, and they’ve been schooled to use text and chatbots, and warned not to speak to strangers. We need to do more work on developing those in-person communication and cross-cultural skills. Good young journos need to look up from their phones and see what’s going on around them. 
  
What do you think of the role of AI in media, and the possibility of it replacing reporters? 
Coincidentally, as we are heading into a new academic year, I was playing with ChatGPT when this email arrived. I had already asked if it was going to replace journalists (and journalism academics) in the future. I was pleased with the answer which said, among other things, that AI is not yet advanced enough to completely replace the skills and talents of human journalists. 

It noted that critical thinking, ethics, and the ability to understand and analyse complex issues are skills that are hard to replace by AI. I’d like to think that AI also doesn’t have empathy, yet, which is also an important skill for journalists. Phew. We have job for a long while yet. 
  
What do you see in the future for journalism?
AI should be embraced because it will take the drudgery out of daily journalism, and free up time for the more important work. We don’t need to spend time as journos typing in straight sporting results or financial reports. But journos do need to know about the biases that AI bring to the information they provide.

Most computers are programmed by male engineers from English-speaking countries. Just think about what that could mean about the information that is generated and how it can perpetuate societal inequality, such as discrimination against marginalised groups. (If you don’t believe me, just ask ChatGPT). 
 
I’ve always said I can teach anyone to write as a journalist, but I can’t teach them to be curious about the world. Knowing to ask questions, and more importantly what to ask, are really important skills. That’s why critical thinking skills learned through a good university degree are vital. Getting quotes, taking photos, video and audio will remain important practical skills. Journalism will always be needed because let’s face it: there will always be a need find information that people in power don’t want us to know about. AI isn’t going to change those power dynamics. 

Any advice for PRs when pitching to journalists and media professionals? 
Stop spamming people’s emails. Do not send an email to anyone, or phone them, without first looking at the media outlet and seeing if they actually run the kind of story you are trying to pitch.

If you only pitch stories that news organisations are interested in running, then journalists will return your calls. You could end up with a really productive working relationship if you approach it in the right way. But if you don’t listen, watch, or read their work and their product then perhaps consider a different calling.