Not too long ago, journalism was
something reserved for a select few with the training and resources to break
and proliferate compelling news stories - a system that many still consider to
be the most accurate and reliable way to get their news. However, that basic
idea, and crucial societal function, is experiencing a fundamental shift.
As daily Internet usage becomes
increasingly universal, suddenly people have started going online, specifically
to social media networks like Reddit or Facebook to get their news and print
media syndications have begun to die off as a result. Nearly 60% of people use
Facbeook as a recurring news source while magazines like Newsweek struggle to
move a substantial number of magazines. The abandonment of print media was referred
to as one of the biggest shifts in journalism and media outlets were forced to
adapt to changing trends or face extinction. However, in light of recent
events, it seems clear that people are not only changing their mind about where
to get their news, but also who delivers it to them.
Citizen
journalism refers to a wide range of activities in which ordinary people
contribute information or commentary about news or events (citizen journalism; www.educause.edu/eli). Without the
participation of the citizenry, there would not be anything called citizen
journalism. The traditional media which hitherto was the sole custodians of
news and information did not allow audience participation and this made the
audience dormant. The traditional media is known for its legacy in the old ways
of disseminating information to its audience. It involves the use of various
media such as radio, television, newspapers or books. The information delivery
is one way with little or no audience participation.
The
social media is referred to as the means of interaction in which users create, share,
and/or exchange information and ideas in virtual communities and networks.
Examples of these virtual communities include: Facebook, Twitter, and LinkedIn.
These sites would not have been made possible without the development of web
2.0 technologies. Web 2.0 technology, which is an improvement on web 1.0,
brings on board user generated content. This encourages users to be interactive
with technology. The new media is defined as a 21st century “catch
all” term that is related to the internet and the interplay between technology,
images and sound. (www.newmedia.org). The
new media has the characteristics of being manipulated, networkable, dense, compressible,
interactive, and being often digital in nature. It does not include feature
films and television unless they contain technologies that enable digital
interactivity. (www.newmedia.org).
The
new internet or social media has allowed the development of devices that
enhance user interactivity. This new development is what has given rise to the
ever increasing population of citizen journalists. It is very possible that the
near future may witness the extinction of print media corporations; in
favor of digital media corporations. Though many people still read news online
that has been produced by traditional outlets, many users are now expressing
that they feel the traditional outlets are 'too slow' or that their reporting
has 'too much of an agenda'. While this attitude towards traditional media has
been around for a long time, the prevalence of mobile devices that can record
pictures, video and have constant internet connections, combined with the
growing popularity of social networking sites have actually made it possible
for people to produce and share news themselves .The term new media has been
used contextually from time to time. It’s a cloud of technologies, skills and
processes that change so quickly that it makes it a bit difficult to define.
Cell phones in the 1980s were called new media but today this same term can
apply to only a few digitally interactive cell phones such as Samsung Galaxy, Windows
phones and Blackberry Phones. Certainly the new media has been an improvement
on the old media and has improved on daily human interactions.
The
activities of citizen journalists with the help of the social media have in a
way affected the dominance of the traditional media outlets in terms of content
and production of news information. What goes into information gathering and
dissemination in the traditional media house entails a lot, it involves a lot
more people than individuals who have the benefit of the new media. Now, the
news making process is much easier than it was. The citizen journalist does not
require a camera man, sound engineer, an editor, a writer and all that it takes
to generate news; simply put the citizen journalist can be all this
himself. He or she uses tools that make
it easier for him to upload news related content to the web.
The
new media encourages audience participation than the traditional media houses. Applications
such as blogs and wikis have made it possible for individuals to generate
discussion. User friendly applications have helped formed virtual networks
which people create and share news content with their virtual followers. People
nowadays do not wait for the next day’s dailies to catch what is in the news; They
rather jump on to social networking sites to check the news.
There’s
only one way for the traditional media to survive and that way is to adapt to this
new trend. They have also taken advantage of the new media to encourage users
to submit content. CNN i-report invites comments from viewers. The BBC has a
dedicated social media staff which is responsible for these contributions and
check the veracity of the content submitted by these users. The traditional
media houses have embraced this challenge by also operating online, training
online reporters and engaging in crowd sourcing. Major news networks have online
pages, facebook pages, twitter pages and blog accounts that feed the online
market, The BBC for example out-doored 60 blogs in 2005 including that of ace
political reporter, nick Robinson. Mechanisms have also been put in place to
filter the news that comes in as libel laws cover internet. The BBC invited
images of the dramatic snowfall in February to see what readers were expecting.
No comments:
Post a Comment