By Lauren Sheffer

Journalism has long been considered “the fourth estate of democracy,” the “watchdog” that barks up a fury when politicians abuse their privileges. Yet, that dog appears weakened as of late.

The current economic recession is also exerting great pressure on traditional news sources. Cox Newspapers, for example, which owns newspapers including The Atlanta Journal-Constitution and The Austin American-Statesman, announced last month that it will be shutting down its Washington bureau on April 1, according to an article in The New York Times.

Bob Amirshahi, a public relations representative who works for Cox Enterprises, the branch of Cox Communications most involved with newspaper production, said to the News that Cox’s Washington bureau “also serves as a hub for our international correspondents,” who report from cities like Beijing, London and Tel Aviv.

“The backdrop for this event is that we have put up for sale many of our newspapers … but we’re still maintaining The Palm Beach Post, The Palm Beach Daily News and a couple of other papers,” Amirshahi said.

Furthermore, to stay updated on events in D.C., papers like The Atlanta Journal-Constitution will retain their own bureaus.

Cox is not the only publisher to move in this direction. According to the article, Advance Publications, which owns The Star-Ledger of Newark, N.J., shut down their bureau of more than 20 people, and smaller papers, like The San Diego Union-Tribune announced in September the decision to shut down its Washington bureau, which was active for more than six decades.

Some newspapers like The Washington Post, The New York Times and The Wall Street Journal are bucking this trend, resisting any significant staff changes, according to the article.

“The coverage from Washington to Baghdad, among other places, has and will continue to be a priority for The New York Times,” Carolina Valencia, a public relations representative from The New York Times, wrote in an e-mail to The News.

While a number of publications plan to keep their bureaus active, some students like Lucas Britt, a freshman political science major, may be worried about how cutbacks in publications like Cox will affect the overall coverage of national politics.

“If there are fewer news sources, I worry that something important [regarding politics] may be left out of the news,” Britt said. “It’s always good to get more than one view on a topic.”

Britt said he seeks multiple opinions by scanning articles online.

“I like the immediacy that online publications provide,” he said, referring to events like the passing of the Emergency Economic Stabilization Act of 2008, or the $700 billion bailout bill Congress passed in October. “I heard about it in less than half an hour.”

Some students, like Britt, use the Internet as their primary news source. However, some students, like Brandon Boxbaum, a freshman political science major, may think the Internet allows non-credible sources to publish as well.

“I personally don’t like blogs,” he said. “Anyone can write them. Yes, they’re cheaper, but it’s easier to spread propaganda on blogs.”

This notion is one of the major changes the world of journalism has seen, and with layoffs being rampant in the industry, some journalism majors question their futures.

Chelsey Pieretti, a middler journalism major, said she plans to explore other options.

“I don’t think I’m going to stay in journalism,” she said. “Too many jobs are being cut.”

Steven Kesler, a freshman journalism major, said that students looking to enter the journalism field should be familiar with more than one medium.

“I’ve noticed that a lot of news outlets on the internet, like CNN, don’t just use print anymore, they use a lot of video,” he said.

And as many students at Northeastern question the future job sector, those looking to pursue a career in journalism may ask themselves if there is a future in covering politics.

“Political coverage is not particularly my focus. My focus is more on feature writing and magazine writing,” said Lauren Alexander, a junior journalism major. “As for the rest of the journalism students, it’s usually kind of equal, as far as I can tell. Some want to report on politics, some, on sports, and some want to write feature stories. I am, however, concerned about the job losses in the industry.”

Alexander may not be alone. Lincoln McKie Jr., editorial lab manager at the School of Journalism, said many journalism students will be forced to confront the industry’s struggles as graduation nears.

“We’re at a challenging point of transition, but not a terminus,” McKie said. “I continue to be heartened by the fact that our journalism students are still interested in this career, even though we see this as an industry that’s in trouble. We don’t pursue this career for the glamour, and definitely not the money.”

It’s more of a mission, he said: a purpose or cause.

“But the [question] for the students is, ‘What will I do with this degree,'”McKie said.

McKie, along with a number of journalism students said there are students interested in the possibility of working or doing a co-op in Washington, D.C.

The range of topics journalism students are interested in covering is wide, McKie said.

“Among undergraduates there is a great variety of interests – public policy, national politics and foreign politics,” he said. “Many students, though, are into the softer side of news.”

Entertainment and lifestyle issues are among those topics some students are drawn to, he said.

Many of the co-ops available to journalism students allow them to write on these topics. However, Northeastern has not had a significant amount of co-ops available at Washington bureaus, said Kellianne Murphy, co-op coordinator for journalism majors at Northeastern.

“A job in such a bureau would be considered a high-level staff position, but I think there are always a significant number of journalism students who are into politics and want to write hard news stories,” Murphy said.

While the newspaper industry remains in an unstable position, the amount of students who have enrolled in the journalism program at Northeastern remains stable, Murphy said.

“The future platforms that we’ll be using for reporting are unclear, but reporting skills will always be useful and marketable,” she said.