When I walked into my arts reporting class, statistics from the latest "State of the Media" report were written on the whiteboard like an epitaph on a tombstone.

“That’s depressing,” one classmate said in a defeated tone. My professor, Sasha Anawalt, director of the USC Annenberg/Getty Arts Journalism Program and former dance critic for the Los Angeles Herald Examiner, turned around with a grin on her face. The statistics were, in fact, uplifting news. “Wanna know why?” Anawalt asked our confused class.

We had heard the gloomy facts so often, we were jaded. A report about newspaper advertising revenues falling 25 percent from 2008 to 2009 was no longer astonishing. But as my professor pointed out, there are reasons to be optimistic. Chaos creates new order, and we’re seeing opportunities for growth even in a crumbling industry.

Consider this: More than half of Internet users are also involved in social media, according to the Project for Excellence in Journalism. And now, the dominant form of communication is the cell phone. These evolving cultural phenomenon are paving the way for an emerging media era where new and innovative forms of journalism are possible, and as a student and growing journalist, I’m excited.

Larry Jinks, a McClatchy Company board member, said that the answer to creating order will be young reporters who understand technology and have a passion for the craft of journalism. I know it will be tough during the transition, but I think people who are truly passionate about reporting the truth will survive and help pioneer new business models. They will be able to adapt to new styles of journalism – professional and amateur, commercial and nonprofit, public and university-supported. Some professional news organizations are partnering with universities for content. For example, USC Annenberg graduate students partnered with California Watch to produce an interactive series on hunger in California, which will air on KPCC 89.3 FM radio.

I’m also planning to survive by diversifying my knowledge. In a globalizing world, it’s important to understand issues from many angles, or what author Thomas Friedman calls having a “six-dimensional” perspective. This multifaceted lens includes understanding the intersections of politics, culture, technology, finance, national security and ecology. In order to understand the news industry right now, finance is especially relevant. I have a minor in entrepreneurship, and I completed courses in feasibility analysis and small business management, both of which challenged me to consider myself as a personal brand. Journalists need to be entrepreneurial. They must be resourceful to establish a reputation for credible, high-quality reporting, which will bring value to their work and differentiate it from the blather on the Web. I encourage my peers to take classes in business and technology. This knowledge will come in handy when the baby boomer generation -- including rigid senior news executives – passes the reigns of the world to younger leadership.

I’m already excited by early signs of growth. Alternative news media models are popping up, such as Spot.us, which supports community-funded reporting; Patch.com, which focuses on hyper-local reporting; and FLYP Media, which experiments with different interactive digital layouts. Though I’m graduating in May, I’m full of hope for my future and the next generation of student journalists.

This is a guest blog post from Dominique Fong, a senior majoring in print journalism and political science, with a minor in entrepreneurship, at the University of Southern California. Visit her blog here. She can be reached at dominiqf@usc.edu.