In today’s world of CNN, MSNBC, and news blogs, it seems as if the newspaper is a dying breed.

This is a point that the prolific journalist Dwayne Bray made in his speech in the Union today.

Bray hypothesized that with the ever-increasing popularity of the Internet, newspapers will not last for more than 15 years. He told the audience of about 80 students that it is now in their hands, the hands of young journalists today, to help save the printed mediums of journalism.

“Right now, I don’t think [newspapers] are progressive enough,” Bray said.

He said newspapers should be diversifying ranks, bringing in younger people because 95 percent of editors are white, male and over the age of 50, and they all think alike.

In order to attract the attention of younger people, they need to hire younger people.

Bray was invited to speak by Melissa Spirek, who is a professor in the University’s Journalism Department.

Bray and Spirek have been friends for many years, and first met at Cleveland State University in the mid-1980s, where they were both reporters at the student newspaper.

“I’m completely bias,” Spirek laughed when their friendship was brought up.

“Dr. Spirek really talked the world about him, so I was really excited to come,” said Katie Montgomery, freshman.

Montgomery said Spirek had come into her section of JOUR 100 a few times to tell the class about Bray.

“I conscientiously asked him because I wanted our students to have a role model,” Spirek said.

Bray is a man who has high morals, values and ethics, she said.

Spirek’s praises had a good effect, as it made students excited to come and see what advice Mr. Bray might have to offer.

“I really was interested in that he’s African-American and he’s so successful in this field,” said Kristin Brown, freshman.

Bray said he grew up on what is now called the “Million Dollar Block” in the inner-city of Cleveland. His friends were car-theives, drug dealers, and gamblers. They protected him from their illegal activities though, because they said he was smart, and that he was doing things they could not.

Bray still speaks to those friends, despite the fact that they have all gone down different paths. He tries to speak to them as often as possible and sees them whenever he can. In fact, he said, his first stop upon returning to Cleveland last week was the Million Dollar Block.

“Never forget where you come from,” Bray said.

Bray continued to say that he only made it through school because of his passion for baseball. When he got to college, however, he realized that the summer he had spent slacking off with friends would cost him a position on the university’s team.

So he walked into the doorway that would change his life, the doorway of the university newspaper.

He continued working at newspapers, and swiftly flew up the ranks, because he had something that not many of the other reporters had: street experience.

Bray went places that not many others would go, and his break came in the early 1990s, when he was the only reporter brave enough to venture into the housing projects of Dayton, Ohio, to uncover the rise in the selling and using of crack cocaine. Because he had street experience, drug dealers grew to trust Bray and eventually told him their story, which landed Bray many job offers from around the country.

After working with the LA Times, Bray returned to the Dayton Daily News as their sports editor.

“I’ve never gotten up in the morning and felt like I had to go to work,” said Bray.

Bray has won awards for his efforts, and has even caused policies to change with his stories.

Bray said without hesitation that his favorite story was one that uncovered police abuse in Dayton. Because of his story, the Dayton City Police instituted a “Lie and Get Fired” program, and if a Dayton policeman is found to have lied to Internal Affairs, he is immediately terminated.

The experienced journalist outlined a sort-of “to-do” list for student journalists to achieve before they enter the real world. The most important thing Bray said was to get involved. Write and edit whatever you can, and get connected to a publication.

“Go with the flow…be willing to be open to more things…” Bray said.

The last piece of advice Mr. Bray gave was to network.

“You’re gonna get your job on…who you know,” he said. “Don’t be afraid to take less money to get your foot in the door.”