FAIRMONT — Preparing students for an ever-changing world and an uncertain job market is a challenging thing.

Just ask any teacher.

For journalism professors, that job gets even harder when you look at a profession that is literally changing each hour.

As the world changes, journalism must change with it. People must get their news in a timely fashion and in a convenient way.

With the proliferation of the Internet, many industry experts and consumers say the newspaper is going the way of the dinosaur, but the same can be said for television, now that Webcasts and podcasts are changing the way many people get their news.

The biggest change facing any type of journalism is the Internet. Coupled with that is the need to balance hard-hitting news with entertainment value.

West Virginia media organizations are on the right track and making a smooth move into the digital age, said George Esper, Ogden Newspaper Visiting Professor at the Perley Isaac Reed School of Journalism at West Virginia University.

“Despite technology changes, West Virginia newspapers have maintained the integrity of the news report and the readers’ right to know,” Esper said.

Esper has been a journalist for 55 years and covered the Vietnam War as a correspondent for The Associated Press. At that time, it would take hours for a single story to get to New York from Vietnam. Now they’re there in an instant, Esper said.

Robert Nutting, chief executive officer of Ogden Newspapers, believes a strong tradition of covering community news keeps newspaper markets strong throughout West Virginia. Covering community news is what the state’s newspapers do uniquely well, he said.

“It’s really important in today’s world, when you look at broadcast talking heads and talk-show journalists, it’s critical that newspapers retain and build on the credibility they’ve had for 100 years,” Nutting said. “No one devotes the resources and the people to gathering news that the daily paper in every market in West Virginia and throughout the country does.”

Nutting believes the Internet is a great help to newspapers. In nearly every market, a well-produced newspaper Web site is a primary source of news for readers, just as the printed version is.

“It’s an exciting opportunity that no other media can do effectively like print can,” Nutting said. “No one else has the reporting horsepower to do multimedia effectively.”

Last month, The Intelligencer and Wheeling News-Register, the flagship newspapers in Ogden’s organization, logged 902,000 page views, Nutting said. The papers are averaging 7,900 online readers a day and had 93,900 unique visitors last month.

“People are looking to us for news,” Nutting said.

Bray Cary, CEO of West Virginia Media, said he’s excited about the potential the Internet offers. WV Media owns eight television stations statewide as well as The State Journal newspaper.

In the coming year, Cary said he hopes his company will be able to fully realize the potential of merging television with the Internet. Another advance to digital broadcasting provides another opportunity for television, he said.

In February 2009, all television stations nationwide will begin broadcasting digitally.

“There’s so many opportunities to deal with pictures and sound. We hope to establish ourselves as able to deliver a good product,” Cary said. “I would hope with the expansion that we’re making and others with digital television, we’ll be able to create more depth, see people interact with news. We hope to become the medium of choice.”

Corley Dennison, dean of the School of Journalism and Mass Communications at Marshall University, said he emphasizes the difference between news and entertainment in his classes.

“We talk about the creep of tabloid news in general,” he said.

Getting students to think about striking the proper balance between hard news and “infotainment” isn’t as difficult as you would think, he said.

“The students are pretty quick consumers of the media,” he said. “They’re pretty good at looking and thinking about the issues.”

Helping students keep up with the changes in technology is very important as well.

Kevin Z. Smith, Fairmont State journalism professor and president-elect of the national Society for Professional Journalists, includes a variety of disciplines into his lessons. Reporting students aren’t just looking at improving their writing skills, they’re carrying digital video cameras so video clips accompany their stories. They’re also taking courses in digital photography.

“If they don’t embrace the technology, they’ll be left behind,” Smith said. “The way we consume news is changing.”

Fairmont State journalism student Molly Born said learning about digital photography and videography in college is a help to her. She’s confident in her writing skills, but having to do photography and videography as well is a daunting prospect.

“I’m concerned about convergence,” she said. “I want to be well qualified to do photography and video, too.”

In addition to multiple information platforms, Fairmont State students also get lessons in their primary obligations: truth and fairness.

“As a journalist, you’re first obligation is to the truth and the second is to fairness,” Smith said. “Getting them both is the ultimate accomplishment.”

E-mail Katie Wilson at kwilson@timeswv.com.