Increasing Technology and Decreasing Media Credibility

936 Words2 Pages

As the power of technology grows, information has become not only easier to spread, but has also become more generally accessible. Anyone who seeks news from any part of the world can easily find it on the internet. Previously, the most common form of information distribution was through newspapers, printed in large quantities and sold for small fees. Now newspapers are having to make their way on to the internet, printing less in favor for online subscriptions to digital copies of their productions. This practice has caused a general shift from less physical productions of media to more web based publications, as brought to attention by Ira H. Fuchs, author of the article “Prospects and Possibilities of the Digital Age.” Also, the practice of keeping full time journalists and photographers on staff has declined in favor of purchasing mostly freelance materials, as addressed by Julianne H. Newton in her book The Burden of Visual Truth: The Role of Photojournalism in Mediating Reality. This has been done to mostly cut down on costs, but some wonder if it could potentially lead to a decrease in credibility. There has also been a question as to whether this change in how media is presented is something that needs to be done, or if this could potentially lead to misinformed stories.

In terms of changes in media presentation, those who are for them, such as Fuchs, see the advantages to having the bulk of news distribution online. A great amount of people have internet access readily available to them and those that don’t always have the option of going to public libraries funded in the interest of keeping the masses informed. It is also a cleaner and more cost effective way to have news distributed, with less paper and...

... middle of paper ...

... and bring forth many questions as to how they should be handled. Some things to be considered are whether or not fully making news a digital endeavor is beneficial or if using amateur photographers and freelance journalists only is a responsible decision. In terms of further inquiry, I feel that looking more towards the benefits of printed media could reveal some interesting new questions as to how news should be handled. Personally, I feel that the immersion of media in the digital age can be a great thing, but everything must remain as credible as possible, meaning that having a fully trained staff would be the best route to take. The most important thing is that the news that is so readily presented through the internet needs to stay in the hands of those trained to handle it. Without that security, no one will ever know the real truths of the worlds happenings.

Open Document