Imagine a time before social media when every topic was spread verbally and not shared online. A time when it took 24 hours for a story to be written and published in newspaper. The newspaper would then have to get printed and delivered to the consumer. With the help of social media, people can deliver stories and can be picked up by certain television stations. With the help of social media, news travels faster. The 24-hour wait no longer exists. Large news corporations used to control what information was spread, but now the power lies in the hands of the people. People oversee what they read and where. Journalism has parted ways with the typical newspaper and has expanded well all-over social media.
The printing industry continuously tries to adapt to the new technology today. Newspapers are declining, but they are trying to shorten stories and add more commentary, so their audience may continue to buy newspapers. According to The Harvard Political Review, Amy Mitchell, director of journalism research for Pew Research Center, stated “Thinking about the way people use the digital space [and] thinking about the way content functions in the digital space has been a challenge for the news industry because that’s not what they’re grounded in.” Newspapers gain their profit by subscriptions and ads but with the digital technology increasing, those sales are declining.
According to The Harvard Political Review, The New York Times, The Wall Street Journal, and USA Today have had to lay off multiple people. The number of journalists between 2006 to 2012 has decreased by 17,000 according to the Pew Research Center. According to an article from Santa Clara University, there are some major benefits and drawbacks of journalism adapting to digital technology today. Some benefits include news traveling faster, the news industry is clickier, and reporters have builded a personal relationship with their audience. With the news traveling faster, it’s easier for reporters to share their stories with their audience quicker than ever before.
127 our experts are availableright now
Information is power, but sometimes the faster a story gets out doesn’t necessarily mean the information is correct. With the new digital technology, the number of clicks matters. Advertising is part of the new journalism to attract their audience, and so it brings more traffic. Personal relationships have become crucial because people want to know who it is that they are listening to, and they want to feel connection. As stated before, major drawbacks include the print industry majorly decreasing. Newspapers are still trying to find ways to keep them alive, but people want information fast, and they can do so with a device in their hand. Some drawbacks of consumers adapting to journalism include news traveling faster which means more fake news. As consumers, we believe everything we read on the internet. Dan Gillmor states in Harvard Business Law that to receive better journalism then we need to be smarter media consumers.
To do so, we must be skeptical of what we read, seek out sources of information, ask questions, and learn all the media techniques. We can’t assume that anything we read is fact, and so we must not be taken advantage of. Also, we must go outside of our comfort zone to gain more perspective. For example, Dan Gillmor says when you watch Fox News you are entitled to their opinion and not exposed to any contrary viewpoints. It is our job as consumers to find those other viewpoints to inspire our opinion. With the help of technology today, it is just a click away for us to do so.
Asking questions is important because it can give more information on that topic. Knowledge is power, and the more the consumer knows the better. The new media techniques now are targeted to a younger audience, and our job as consumers is to learn those techniques. Media is used to manipulate people, and that isn’t the case for all news sources, but it is for some. According to The Social Construction of Media, Michael Skoler, a journalist and author, stated that technology today has not changed the face of journalism.
Skoler believes the culture has changed the journalists. Back when newspapers were the main source of information, people trusted the journalists to get the information out. However, Skoler thinks the audience has lost that trust since the internet has taken over. Skoler stated, “Journalists are “out of touch” and journalists need to establish a “partnership” with the audience rather than “preaching”.” Since the audience can choose what they want to hear or read, Skoler believes the journalists need to know what their audience wants and establish an opinion from them to felt heard.
Newspapers are rapidly declining and continue to do so. People are losing their jobs that have been in the industry for decades. However, I think there have been more benefits with the new digital technology than drawbacks. Print is almost seen as unnecessary because everything has a screen to it. People have changed the way they get their information and it is going to increase as time proceeds. Social media has taken over and the media uses it as their main tool. People don’t want to buy a whole newspaper only to read one section.
If someone wants to read about sports, then all they must do is use social media or the internet to look up what they need to. The print industry will continue to try to adapt with digital technology today, but reality is journalism has moved to the internet and social media. Reporters have more power to get the information they need, and faster. Consumers choose the information they want, but they must be alert whether the information is true or false. Technology will continue grow as time passes, and it is our job to grow along with it.
Work Cited
- https://www.huffingtonpost.co.uk/damian-radcliffe/tech-and-journalism_b_10549114.html
- http://scalar.usc.edu/works/cultures-of-social-media/journalism
- https://hbr.org/2009/08/want-better-journalism-be-a-sm.html
- https://www.scu.edu/illuminate/thought-leaders/kurt-wagner-12/three-major-ways-social-media-is-changing-journalism.html
