Today’s Daily News layoff, of half the staff including editor-in-chief, Jim Rich, may have you believing that news is truly dying. But these drastic cuts are only preparing us – the media student, for the new wave of media.

Mass layoffs in print journalism have been a normal occurrence over the last few years with digital focused companies, like BuzzFeed soaring to the top. Why? Because who still wants to read a newspaper when a colorful interactive website that’s free to use exists?

Be honest with yourself, how many newspapers or magazines are you still subscribed to? How often do you sit in the morning and read a newspaper verse, scroll on Twitter or click a Snapchat story to learn what’s going on? News is changing, but that’s a good thing. It’s changing in a way that allows us to know what’s happening immediately and become more engaged in issues around us, feeling better connected to the world.

“The long-term inability of the paper to construct a workable business model in the digital age has caused it to fall well behind its tabloid rival, the New York Post, a position that will only worsen with today’s cuts,” Kevin Convey, assistant professor of journalism at Quinnipiac University and former editor-in-chief of the Daily News from 2010-12 said in a press release.

Professor Convey is right, things will only get worse if we don’t recognize the truth ahead. Let’s embrace the change. Change doesn’t have to be scary, it can be an exciting opportunity.

If you’re a journalism student, I urge you to embrace this change by creating something of your own. Create a podcast, website, or YouTube channel. If you care about it, chances are other people will care to.

Do things yourself. Don’t wait.

It’s so easy to create content on your own – and for free. Google is your teacher who never sleeps. I believe now is the best time to start showing off what you can do.

Big companies struggle with change because it takes a lot of agreeing to make the switch, but if you do things on your own, you won’t need to wait for someone’s “OK”.

Rather than waiting to be hired, don’t wait at all, be your own boss and create something engaging for the world to see.

If you do have a job, be willing to mix things up and shift toward digital. Get creative and think about new ways to cover a story. Be the person who’s ready to trek the unknown.