Job cuts in the media seem to be rife at the moment. With Trinity Mirror cutting more than 75 editorial jobs as well as rumours that The Guardian are set to lose more staff, times are tough.

It all seems pretty dark, as Trinity Mirror says that they have cut back “to meet the economical challenges”, however they also claim that the cuts are due to a “technological revolution facing the industry” and in fact they are “restructuring” their organisation.

Obviously they are culling jobs due to the recession, but also because of the threatening advance of digital media. As we all know too well, people are consuming news right in front of them on their Ipads or smart phones rather than from a newspaper.

Trinity Mirror may recognise that it needs to make that transition, make changes to still be in the game. So they now plan to make radical changes within their titles to “create one of the most technologically advanced and operationally efficient multimedia newsrooms in Europe”.

True, they are merging specialist desks such as show business and sport so that the teams will now be shared across the titles, a cost cutting initiative. But hopefully, these “radical changes” will shake things up a bit, one change is to focus on the way stories are reported. Trinity stated that they will recruit more district reporters, to “increase the range and depth of regional coverage”.

This is something that I think could improve readership, by covering more local specialist news stories they are giving readers something that they can’t get so readily from their Ipads and news websites. This could be a unique selling point for the fledging newspapers.

Trinity Mirror is not just making changes to how stories are being reported either, but the way the whole editorial system is managed. Since 2010 the Trinity group has used a Content Watch editorial management system, which “streamlines the production process and facilitates efficient online publishing”.

So whilst more than 75 editorial jobs are being cut across the board, which is terrible there’s no doubt about that, 20 new digital roles are being opened up in the regional restructure. A slight, beam of light for future aspiring journalists.

So perhaps for us wannabe hacks these kind of cuts aren’t all bad news. It just shows the continued change in the industry, one which now requires young journalists to get nifty with our social media, know our CMS from your SEO, offer something new, skills that newspapers or any “dying” media organisation cannot refuse. We are the journalists of the future and in this climate especially, where traditional roles are decreasing and there is not much money going around, we have to create our own opportunities.

You could say, the media is dying but really what we need is a shake up, a transition to suit the modern age. Whether you fancy yourself as a bit of an entrepreneur, creating a new start-up or if you do want to be part of a large media organisation today we must show employers what we can offer them.  The public will always have the desire to read and feel the “need” to know the  news, so the media isn’t going to simply die. Instead, it is rapidly changing and traditional organisations must keep up with the times.

Journalism today has become more of an  “open journalism” where readers want to be part of the discussion and have something to say. They want their news now, not wait for the paper the next day. So, whilst more job cuts can be seen as another nail in the coffin of the newspaper world it is also an indication of the continued change as we strive to find a prosperous future of journalism. It is up to us, the young journalists, to be at the forefront of that change to ensure that job cuts such as this are only one part of the story.

Do you think Trinity Mirror’s cut backs are to do with a restructure or is it simply a culling of professional journalists jobs due to the recession?

As ever, let us know your thoughts by commenting below or tweeting us @wannabehacks.