If the ink runs dry - Jacob Moscovitch

For Marco, right, journalism allows him to bring light to unheard voices. “[My] dream job would be [a] photo editor at a major news outlet,” he said. “I’m worried about not keeping up with the industry, making me not find a job or gig.” Here, Marco sits f

For Marco, right, journalism allows him to bring light to unheard voices. “[My] dream job would be [a] photo editor at a major news outlt,” he said. “I’m worried about not keeping up with the industry, making me not find a job or gig.” Here, Marco sits for a portrait with his friend and fellow journalism student Adam in the newsroom of the Columbia Missourian. After graduation, Marco took a job at NPR. Adam interned at Bloomberg Business and accepted a job there.

“My mom always told me to do something that I loved, not for the money. It’s scary to follow that advice and not be able to provide for my basic needs,” Grace, a college journalism student, recently said.

The number of journalists in the United States has been cut in half over the last 30 years. For many college journalists, a cloud of doubt has shadowed the opportunities available for emerging storytellers across the media landscape.

“If the ink runs dry,” is a project made in collaboration with my university peers and my young coworkers at a daily paper called the Columbia Missourian. It aims to explore the hopes and fears of future reporters, photographers, designers and editors through interviews and large format, black and white film photographs. Some talk about leaving the industry one day, but all hope that they will never see the day that the ink runs dry.

“I don’t think journalism is dying or can die. It can adapt, but it will always be there,” Marco, pictured in the previous photo, said. Here, a standstill clock rests in the dust behind a stack of newspapers in the Columbia Missourian newsroom. This room was often called “the morgue.”

“It is scary how the public views journalism,” Grace said after she stood for a portrait in the Columbia Missourian newsroom. “My mom always told me to do something that I loved, not for the money. It’s scary to follow that advice and not be able to provide for my basic needs.” Her mother used to work as a reporter at the same paper. Grace, who grew up in a news desert, enjoys how the craft allows her to engage with local communities and subcultures. She currently studies print and web journalism with a focus on copy editing.

“I hope I don’t get burnt out,” Grace, pictured in the previous photo, said of the field of journalism. “I really hope I don’t leave before I get to see a change.” Here, a dead fly sits on top of a cabinet in the Columbia Missourian newsroom. The newsroom was later remodeled, removing these cabinets.

Makalah, who is a magazine design student, is excited by the power and scale of journalistic work, but she is nervous. “The pressure to constantly be on the A-game scares me because it’s a moving industry that does not allow time to rest,” she said. After she posed for a portrait outside her journalism school, she said if the magazine world didn’t work out for her, she would transition to commercial graphic design.

“I’m afraid that I am going to miss my chance to make my mark and stand out from the others,” Makalah, pictured in the previous photo, said. “But I hope that showing up when no one else does will go a long way.” Here, dozens of chairs are stored away below the Columbia Missourian newsroom.

Emmalee and her boyfriend Andy, who have been together for nearly four years, both study journalism in different forms. Emmalee is pursuing a career as a photo editor and Andy would like to write about sports. “I love helping people become stronger photographers and work on projects together,” Emmalee said. “Editing also gives me more space to really think about photojournalism and the function it serves. If I wasn’t doing journalism, I’d like to be an artist, or a teacher or just live in the middle of nowhere on a farm.” Here, the couple stands for a portrait in the Columbia Missourian photo studio.

“So often journalists talk about telling people’s stories, but I think it is so important to figure out what you want to say,” Emmalee, pictured in the previous photo, said. “Passion gives reporting meaning and depth, so knowing what you are interested in and what your journalistic purpose might be will help you find your niche.” Here, an array of trophies are on display in the Columbia Missourian newsroom.

Margo, right, says that she is afraid of the imposter syndrome she can sometimes feel as a journalist. Despite this she says: “I love exploring microcosms of the universe I wouldn’t know if it weren’t for journalism and walking away from each story with a deeper understanding of my community.” Her boyfriend, Minh, left, who posed for a photo outside the Columbia Missourian, said he loves to witness humanity and capture it through a lens. The couple have been together for one year.

“I feel like there just aren’t that many positions available and I haven’t had an off-campus internship before, Emmalee, pictured in photo seven, said. With the industry seemingly shrinking and the becoming more competitive, I am worried about where I’ll end up.”