I think it is a good thing that everyday people are producers, as well as consumers, of news. The more people who participate and communicate with one another, the more productive society can be. Also, sometimes the best ideas come from individuals, and ideas can now be more easily shared. Much more can be published on the internet, and stories that would otherwise go unpublished because of space issues, are now able to be reported. Also, when the public is contributing to the news, it is more difficult for those in power to try to cover things up, and we may finally be able to work around corporate interests, which have plagued the mainstream media for nearly a century. Also, the internet has made it possible for a greater diversity of people to communicate with one another. Social media has created almost a universal language, where people from all different places and backgrounds can communicate with one another through basic and concise text. In this way, people all over the world can communicate like never before, and Marshall McLuhan’s prediction of a “global village” is becoming a reality.
A journalist’s goal is to get people talking. The best result of a good story is that someone reads it and tells other people about it. The internet and other media make it easier for consumers of news to pass the news on. Also, people can digest a greater amount of news in a shorter time by searching the web. In “The Evolution of the Newspaper of the Future”, Lapham writes, “As the appropriate next step on an evolutionary continuum, CMC can return to language (the word) the immediacy lost in writing and give it a real-time presence.” With modern technology, people can communicate over great distances in a way that was once only possible face-to-face or over the telephone.
As discussed in “The Evolution of the Newspaper of the Future”, the hybrid model is allowing the public to have more power. As Howard Rheingold writes, “‘The technology enabled the power shift, but the power shift was created by the people who used the tool to educate themselves.’ (127)” It will be up to the public to decide how they want to use the internet. The scary thing about this technology is that at one time television was a revolutionary communication technology and unfortunately, although it has the ability to teach, for the most part, the device has become a tool only for entertainment. That is why journalists must remain in place in order to give people a place to go to get information they really need.
Through the internet, journalists are actually able to reach a greater amount of people, and a younger generation which does not generally get its news from a paper anyway. And besides, if someone misses reading the paper in the morning, they can print out the paper from their computer. It might be wise for companies to provide a printable version of their daily content and charge customers to print using this format. Unfortunately, it is difficult to find a solution for how to maintain journalism as a paid profession. However, because the internet and digital technology are making it easier for people to communicate and they are changing the actual language we use to communicate, there will be a demand for people with traditional writing skills to produce clear and effective writing, quickly. Business models of journalism have changed throughout its history, from strictly subscription fees to advertising revenues, journalism has faced and withstood challenges before.
Intelligent and influential people, like philosopher Plato, were quick to dismiss writing, when the technology of written language was developed thousands of years ago. Since that time, many great works of writing have proven the worth of that technology. Today, we are experiencing similar prophecies of doubt about the value of digital technology and social media. Throughout history humanity has experienced similar revolutions. The printing press did not completely eliminate the role of priests in interpreting and sharing information from the Bible, for example, the role simply evolved. The same should be true of journalists, with the internet. The job of the journalist is as important as ever because even though people can find information about anything they want on the internet, the public will still rely on journalists to deliver facts from credible sources, to do analysis, to research correlations between data and to investigate situations that impact the community.
One thing is for sure, and Jon Katz said it well in “The Evolution of the Newspaper of the Future,” the purpose of printed news still remains, and “That's the point of a newspaper. . .to filter the worthwhile information, then print it.” Something I never thought about is the ability to add different layers to stories, on the internet, by including links that would allow the reader to do more research for themselves. How often do we read a story in the paper and have a question about something but cannot immediately find an answer because paper is not interactive like internet. In “The Evolution of the Newspaper of the Future,” Lapham writes, “For example, a story about a poll on the performance of a government official could include color-highlighted links that readers simply click on to get more in depth information about his or her voting record, recent speeches, or a news story about campaign promises."
Overall, this evolution of news is actually a more efficient way of doing business, even if it creates less profit for the news conglomerates. Just think of the environmental effects; less paper, less gas, less electricity. There are many benefits for society by having digital news as opposed to traditional print.
No comments:
Post a Comment