Is the fact that it is most likely that journalism is turning completely digital, an advantage?
In many ways it is; curating and producing news becomes much easier for journalists. Using social media sites such as Twitter and Facebook, enables journalists to engage with members of the public, other journalists and professionals. There are many sites, such as Tweetdeck, Topsy and Storyful that enable users to filter through social media sites for specific issues and trends from the past, and in to the present. Journalists no longer have to do this themselves, due to these certain technologies that give them easier access to information.
Will there now be an even more dramatic decline in the amount of journalism houses and print media? Will it even matter?
The validity and reliability of news on the internet is questionable. Evidently, not everything you read on the internet is true. But this goes the same for all types of news. They are of course, more dangers on the internet - people are able to hack in to sites, and create hoaxes. The most recent one being the outing of the world-famous street artist, Banksy. Rumours spread that they had uncovered his identity and he had been arrested. This, however, was revealed to be was false. There have also been many celebrity death hoaxes which have been created on Twitter, with the use of hashtagging to get it trending worldwide. Therefore, there are many people who take advantage of the power of social media.
You have to be kidding me, @metpoliceuk. Banksy? There are so many criminals out there, Banksy? The great artist?
— Louise Mensch (@LouiseMensch) October 20, 2014
Graffiti Artist Banksy Arrested In London; Identity Revealed http://t.co/4x398fNVIF
— FWA (@fwa) October 20, 2014
Banksy not arrested: Internet duped by fake report claiming artist's identity revealedIt is clear to say that print journalism is declining in the industry. Journalism is definitely transitioning in to ‘The Digital Age’. News has now become 24/7; and journalists no longer have to wait until the next day to print breaking news. The use the internet offers so many possibilities to journalists. News is now being transformed on to social media sites, and is currently being updated in ‘real time’. Breaking news can now be updated as soon as it happens from Twitter, Facebook and news websites. Readers will now be able to instantly react to these stories, and are able to feel involved.
According to Paul Grabowicz, from the UC Berkeley Graduate School of Journalism, as more users are looking at news content online, news organisations 'face the dilemma of reallocating resources to attract new readers and viewers while still trying to hold on to their existing, and usually aging, print or broadcast audiences'.
He also argues that many of these news organisations online are constantly trying to 'fill reporting gaps created by the strain on resources at traditional outlets—from niche topic areas like education to international coverage to local community news to investigative journalism'. He makes a very good point, as there are many 'news' sites online, which are not regarded as being 'traditional', as such. Gravowicz gives Buzzfeed as an example of transforming this type of media: 'Previously, the site BuzzFeed content was viewed by some as 'frivolous click bait'. But in a recent speech to Kansas University journalism students, former Wall Street managing editor Paul Steiger mentioned BuzzFeed as “the kind of team I’d want to join,” if he were embarking on a journalism career.'
With journalism now becoming digital, does this now make it an 100% advantage to both journalists and readers? How is journalism going to shift completely digital? Will there now be no need for journalists to sit in their offices writing stories, or going out to find them themselves? Everything is just constantly repeated throughout the internet, and is easy to research.
These charts below, from a Washington Post article in May 2014, show what the Indiana University School of Journalism found with regards to how US journalists use social media to report the news in late 2013. These statistics just confirm the rise of social media usage amongst journalists, and how they are mainly used for researching and reporting news:
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