In the 21st Century, a journalist certainly has to be able to produce content for a number of different mediums. This includes, print, radio, television as well as online. Some even have to perform roles for all four platforms, which Stephen Quinn and Stephen Lamble, refer to as "Platypus" or "Inspector Gadget" journalism, in that it is impossible for a journalist to be able to report well across the four platforms because of tight deadlines. In addition, Quinn and Lamble state, "the more stories a reporter has to do, the more likely they will miss a deadline or fudge a story." This results in the journalist "repeating themselves, and failing to take advantage of the benefits of convergence, which is the ability to tell a story using the most appropriate medium." In addition, the rise of the internet and social networking has made instant news a necessity.
Although this is the case, one of the interesting arguments on the rise of social networking and the way in which it is influencing journalism in the 21st Century, is that without old media, it would not be possible to be able to produce news online. The consistent development of the new media via new technology for use in a new media age has a number of critics who “express concern about growing economic inequalities, jobs lost to technology and mechanisation, new forms of state and corporate surveillance, and a surfeit of “information” that is unable to be effectively assimilated by its users, since it is devoid of meaning and context.” For example, Stephen Hume, a columnist for the “Vancouver Sun” claims that the old media is the new media. His claims are that old media utilises new technology, in which he uses the newspaper’s own website to prove this point by saying, “the Vancouver Sun’s website generated 10 million page views in February-more than 357,000 a day.“ This is only slightly less than the 500,000 hits per month on the newspaper’s blogs. Hume states that blogs are, “a vital tool to gather and distribute content.“ This means that new technology is used as a tool rather than an end. It also means that newspapers will remain viable.
Of course, new media advocates, who "point to the possibility of a new age of increased personal freedom, reduced social hierarchy, enhanced possibilities for leisure, and a greater quality of social interaction and communication resulting from new media technologies.” Take for instance, Al Gore, who since losing the 2000 American Election has become one of the most well known advocates of new media. In becoming an advocate for new media, Gore has set up a TV channel and a website known as “Current” that relies heavily on information from citizen journalists. It is currently in operation in the United States, Britain, Italy and Ireland. Expansion to Canada is on the cards as well. Gore stated, “By creating a cable network that works in concert with our online community, Current is facilitating a global conversation with our young adult audience.” In Gore’s view, new media is being used to change human culture. This is because it is being used as a global conversation, which allows a number of different people in different parts of the world to have a discussion about an issue which is affecting them. The issue is made international by the interactive website.
This is also known as multimedia reporting, which Quinn and Lamble refer to as "involving new approaches to newsgathering and new ways to tell stories using text, audio, video and graphics." It increases the life span of a story, which according to Jane Stevens, teacher of multimedia journalism at the University of California at Berkley is a "very different form of storytelling" because of its interactive nature, something I mentioned above. "It's a two-way communication system: people can search for information. They send their own text, photos, graphics, video clips and audio to comment on stories, or provide additional information." This is what is known as citizen journalism, which I spoke about in an earlier blog. Citizen journalism, as has been noticed, has plenty of advantages in that news that would not otherwise have been able to be produced has in fact been produced. For example, images from the carriages of the trains and the bus involved in the London Bombings. However, it also has negatives, including the fact that citizen journalists are watching every other citizen, looking for a reason to film a neighbour or colleague in a wrongful act. In addition, it is quite possible that the information produced in a blog, or on a social networking site, for example Twitter, may not be correct.
In addition to what has been mentioned above, it is important to note that social networking and the rise of the internet will not kill off traditional journalism. Instead, it will strengthen it. For Example, Quinn and Lamble point to the fact that blogs help a journalist to perform their role. This is especially the case with RSS, which "helps you find useful information." The advantage of using RSS is that "you can have news constantly fed to you instead of searching for it." Information is thus what you want to receive, rather than it being given to you. This video explains why the use of Twitter is so important to journalism, and especially in countries, for example India. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rzyt7V_ZgRo&feature=related
Finally, for the time being, there is a place for traditional news reporting and social networking, or the rise of new technology. This is because they compliment each other, and are intertwined. They are only fully realised through this integration. This video is a further explanation of how old and new media can work together. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VLAJg7-sqXc&feature=related.
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Although this is the case, one of the interesting arguments on the rise of social networking and the way in which it is influencing journalism in the 21st Century, is that without old media, it would not be possible to be able to produce news online. The consistent development of the new media via new technology for use in a new media age has a number of critics who “express concern about growing economic inequalities, jobs lost to technology and mechanisation, new forms of state and corporate surveillance, and a surfeit of “information” that is unable to be effectively assimilated by its users, since it is devoid of meaning and context.” For example, Stephen Hume, a columnist for the “Vancouver Sun” claims that the old media is the new media. His claims are that old media utilises new technology, in which he uses the newspaper’s own website to prove this point by saying, “the Vancouver Sun’s website generated 10 million page views in February-more than 357,000 a day.“ This is only slightly less than the 500,000 hits per month on the newspaper’s blogs. Hume states that blogs are, “a vital tool to gather and distribute content.“ This means that new technology is used as a tool rather than an end. It also means that newspapers will remain viable.
Of course, new media advocates, who "point to the possibility of a new age of increased personal freedom, reduced social hierarchy, enhanced possibilities for leisure, and a greater quality of social interaction and communication resulting from new media technologies.” Take for instance, Al Gore, who since losing the 2000 American Election has become one of the most well known advocates of new media. In becoming an advocate for new media, Gore has set up a TV channel and a website known as “Current” that relies heavily on information from citizen journalists. It is currently in operation in the United States, Britain, Italy and Ireland. Expansion to Canada is on the cards as well. Gore stated, “By creating a cable network that works in concert with our online community, Current is facilitating a global conversation with our young adult audience.” In Gore’s view, new media is being used to change human culture. This is because it is being used as a global conversation, which allows a number of different people in different parts of the world to have a discussion about an issue which is affecting them. The issue is made international by the interactive website.
This is also known as multimedia reporting, which Quinn and Lamble refer to as "involving new approaches to newsgathering and new ways to tell stories using text, audio, video and graphics." It increases the life span of a story, which according to Jane Stevens, teacher of multimedia journalism at the University of California at Berkley is a "very different form of storytelling" because of its interactive nature, something I mentioned above. "It's a two-way communication system: people can search for information. They send their own text, photos, graphics, video clips and audio to comment on stories, or provide additional information." This is what is known as citizen journalism, which I spoke about in an earlier blog. Citizen journalism, as has been noticed, has plenty of advantages in that news that would not otherwise have been able to be produced has in fact been produced. For example, images from the carriages of the trains and the bus involved in the London Bombings. However, it also has negatives, including the fact that citizen journalists are watching every other citizen, looking for a reason to film a neighbour or colleague in a wrongful act. In addition, it is quite possible that the information produced in a blog, or on a social networking site, for example Twitter, may not be correct.
In addition to what has been mentioned above, it is important to note that social networking and the rise of the internet will not kill off traditional journalism. Instead, it will strengthen it. For Example, Quinn and Lamble point to the fact that blogs help a journalist to perform their role. This is especially the case with RSS, which "helps you find useful information." The advantage of using RSS is that "you can have news constantly fed to you instead of searching for it." Information is thus what you want to receive, rather than it being given to you. This video explains why the use of Twitter is so important to journalism, and especially in countries, for example India. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rzyt7V_ZgRo&feature=related
Finally, for the time being, there is a place for traditional news reporting and social networking, or the rise of new technology. This is because they compliment each other, and are intertwined. They are only fully realised through this integration. This video is a further explanation of how old and new media can work together. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VLAJg7-sqXc&feature=related.
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