Mainstream media such as television, radio, newspapers were the primary source of reliable information before the epoch of the internet. However, the situation has changed. The evolution of modern technology in the world today has led to the continuous increase in the methods of practicing journalism. Social and technological advancements have not only improved the pace and content of this field’s practice, but has extended its genre to online or cybernetic journalism. (Project for Excellence in Journalism, 2007). News websites most of which are owned by major media companies and alternative websites with user generated content such as social networking sites and blogs are gaining grounds in the journalism field of practice. (Nel, n.d). One of the chief forces affecting the practice of journalism nowadays is online citizen journalists. Nel (n.d) defines citizen journalism as “individuals playing an active role in the process of collecting, reporting, analysing and disseminating news and information”. He further adds that “citizen journalism is slowly being looked upon as a form of rightful democratic ways of giving hones news, articles, etc, directly by citizens of the world from anywhere.” One of the major researches conducted in the field of citizen journalism, describes the phenomenon as “individuals who intend to publish information online, meant to benefit a community”, and this information is expected to benefit the audience or the wider population in making decisions for the improvement of their community. (Carpenter, 2010.)
Diversity in content is probably the most important factor when talking about online journalism. In a recent ECREA journalism conference held at the University of Navarra, one of the burning issues wa...
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...itizen journalism publications have been found to contain or publish topics similar to those of smaller online newspaper publications, covering issues on athletics, human interest and social events. (Tichenor et al, 1980). Meanwhile, larger online newspaper publications according to Shim, (2006), concentrate more on topics such as crime, government and politics. This assertion is confirmed by the Project for Excellence in Journalism (2006), whose research indicates that topics such as government, politics, foreign relations, elections are reported in a larger proportion than entertainment and human interest stories in online newspapers.
HYPERLINKS
Research which has been conducted on the use of hyperlinks or hypertexts in online journalism have relied on the methodology of quantitative content analyses to count the number off links present in online news sites.
In the late Seventies, America became shocked and outraged by the rape, mutilation, and murder of over a dozen young, beautiful girls. The man who committed these murders, Ted Bundy, was later apprehended and executed. During his detention in various penitentiaries, he was mentally probed and prodded by psychologist and psychoanalysts hoping to discover the root of his violent actions and sexual frustrations. Many theories arose in attempts to explain the motivational factors behind his murderous escapades. However, the strongest and most feasible of these theories came not from the psychologists, but from the man himself, "as a teenager, my buddies and I would all sneak around and watch porn. As I grew older, I became more and more interested and involved in it, [pornography] became an obsession. I got so involved in it, I wanted to incorporate [porn] into my life, but I couldn’t behave like that and maintain the success I had worked so hard for. I generated an alter-ego to fulfill my fantasies under-cover. Pornography was a means of unlocking the evil I had burried inside myself" (Leidholdt 47). Is it possible that pornography is acting as the key to unlocking the evil in more unstable minds?
Naturally, journalism would spill over to the Internet and as social media websites such as Twitter and Facebook grew in popularity, so did regular citizens involvement with sharing news. The argument can be made that the explosion of social media journalism was due to frustration from the lack of coverage of news that mattered to society. For example, the lack of subjective coverage of Michael Brown 's death helped with the creation of #BlackLivesMatter and spread of news related to African-American’s and other minorities across the country. After all, journalism is supposed to be a public forum. Millions of people on Twitter share their thoughts and opinions on several topics, furthering the conversation and to some degree challenging society. Things such as “Moments” on Twitter provide us with direct links and summaries to the world’s most important stories and encourage a conversation. According to journalism.org, 63% of users on Twitter and Facebook get their news from these websites. Even more eye opening is that 59% of users on Twitter keep up to date with news stories via Twitter while they are in the process of happening.[3] The rise of social media related journalism has caused some issues however. “Inevitably, as citizen involvement grows, more of our media culture is concerned with talking about news, instead of focusing on original reporting and the vetting of it.”[4] Because the general public has the ability to post as they wish and pass it off as news, it has affected the accuracy of many reports. Many stories lack reputable sources but are shared between millions as an accurate and true story. There are several websites designed to spread inaccurate information. The website www.fakenewswatch.com exists to inform people of these sites in order to avoid mishaps. Recently a Connecticut mom went viral for being involved in an online hoax
Today, we read less and less one “newspaper”. Today news organizations like the New York Times must deal with the continuous flow of information generated by the Internet and social networks. Therefore, journalists must learn to do their jobs on the Internet, which means being on the lookout for new ways to get informed and developing new practices and skills in order to feed this flow of information and venturing into new fields of inquiry. That’s the future of the media. And we need good core news produced by these professionals because the quality of the information provided by the media matters for political participation, and our democracy needs a well-informed
The revolution between traditional media platform to online and mobile media sources have change greatly throughout the past decades. With the time it takes for news to present its’ information quickly, online media provides the ability to access information and news ahead of traditional media. Especially with technology, receiving information can just be an arm’s length away by your smart phones or other electronic devices. Especially with Information Technology growing at a constant rate, consumers therefore are transitioning from traditional types of media such as newspapers,
It is undeniable that the mass media has a serious impact on people not only does it Influence us it not only does it influence us it can shape our opinions and idea the media can be defined by a means of communication through various channels such as Television, Newspaper and more recently the Internet. This essay will look at several problems that have seen in the media such as showing biased information, sensationalism and misleading information. In today’s world there is a tendency to focus on negative news and this has an effect on people and society to focus on negative news and this has an effect on people and society. This essay will outline the problems that arise from poor media coverage and present some solution and tackle these issues. It is true that media has become an ongoing question since the large people read listen watch the news every day but they do not recognize that news has been biased.
The introduction of the internet to modern society has brought about a new age of information relation. Since there is no longer a need to wait until the next print day, news from all over the world is available at a person’s fingertips within hours or even minutes of the event. With this advent of such easily accessible information, new problems for the news media have also arisen. Aside from potentially losing good economic standing because newspapers are no longer being purchased in the quantities they used to be, the credibility of the information itself is also put into question. No one would argue that credibility of news sources is unimportant, but there is a discrepancy in what takes precedence; economy and speed or getting the information out correctly at the first publishing by taking the time to make sure all facts are checked. The importance of having a system of checks on all information submitted is paramount. People trust what they read and believe it to be so without always questioning. If all information were to not be checked thoroughly, there would be instances where people read an article only for information included to be wrong and they go on believing such information. This can be very dangerous as misinformed people make misinformed decisions. With an increase in errors being made by citizen bloggers and even major publications, many are worried that journalistic ethics and credibility in the news media are being sacrificed in order to maintain swiftness in the news circuit and to retain personal profits. Though getting information to the masses quickly is a major part of the media’s importance, this should not mean that the credibility of that information being presented should be sacrificed for it...
Paul Grabowicz. "The Transition to Digital Journalism." Print and Broadcast News and the Internet. N.p., 30 Mar. 2014. Web. 27 May 2014.
The Internet’s influence on our lives has spread throughout. According a 2009 US Census survey 74% of Americans use the internet and have access within their household.A number that has increased every year since 1990 and will sure grow in the future. In this survey they relieved that they did various activities on the internet including social media, (Facebook and Twitter) researching and reading news articles, watching YouTube videos, shopping and so much more all can be done with a computer or Internet enabled phone. With this ease of use and convenience it casts a shadow upon the future of printed and broadcast information. The Web’s instant and vast knowledge bank has changed ...
Citizen journalism appeared by 2000 as a new trend which rose from new media technologies,
The mass media industry is a collection of companies that produce and supply television, radio and printed media to a large audience of customers. In this report, I will analyze a diverse collection of mass media firms composed of The Walt Disney Corporation (DIS), Viacom Inc. (VIAB), Time Warner Corporation (TWX) and Regal Entertainment Group (RGC). The mass media industry is growing immensely and the average annual growth rate for the worldwide broadcasting and cable TV is showing a growth of 27% annually, and an industry wide 5.6% annual growth rate over the next five years . However, due to a global shift towards digital media, the mass media industry faces many obstacles that certain corporations must overcome.
In trying to attract new audiences, news media have begun to transition from reporting to becoming a form of entertainment. With the meteoric rise of social media’s role as a news source, the fight for an increase of diversity in the media, and the ever-growing desire of immediate content, the future of responsible journalism is more important than ever. Ask yourself, why do I think the way I do? Where do my political views originate? How do I prove them? Most likely, it is due to the biased portrayal of issues in the media and the politicization that accompanies what we consume. Now, compare your views to your preferred news reporting entity. More than likely, they are the same.
Like citizen journalists, there are both advantages and disadvantages of professional journalists’. The disadvantages of professional news will be presented. For example, if we refer to “Free for All” a book, the author says that “the challenge for newspaper facing a future dominated by the Web has been that it was [insufficient] to transplant content, [associations], and business models from old media to new.” Previously, writers working in newsrooms delivered news coverage, and people in general needed to pay to acquire the paper (King ix). But not everyone can pay for that piece of paper and there comes the new method of reporting news. The new mode helps citizens gain their information for free and anywhere at any time because in 2016 we
Mass media and social media are technology all around us. They are ways of a mass communication that reach a limitless amount of people. Media has changed the way the world thinks. Mass media refers to TV, magazines, newspapers, pictures and Radio. Social media refers to any kind of internet logging like Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn and Google, amongst others. Mass and social media surround us and tell us what we should be or should do. This can lead to constructive behaviors or it can lead to the destruction of lives caused by how the media relays these messages. Ultimately leaving the diversity of people falling victim to mass and social media. Not one person can make that sole decision. Consequently, changing how people think. Consequentially, changing the way the public looks at presidential candidates.
The way that people receive news has traditionally been through channels of journalists who report over newscasts or in newspapers. Over the last few decades this has changed drastically. The birth of widespread internet, technology and social media began this revolution of change. Anyone with a smartphone today can instantly capture a story and begin circulating it within a matter of minutes. The occupation of journalism itself carries an inherent risk; whether citizen or professional. In recent history, professional freelance journalists have been killed, jailed and hurt. Citizens who step up and report in dangerous situations may be opening themselves up to this same
News is the core activity to which a large part of the journalistic (and thus media) occupation defines itself (Mcquail 2010 ). Its primary purpose, quips Bagdikian, “is to serve the general welfare by informing the people and enabling them to make judgements on the issue of the time” . The power, content and reach of news in today’s world is almost incalculable due to globalization and advances in communication technology. However, in the 1960’s a prevalent charge was brought against news journalism led by the New World Information and Communication Order (NWICO), which centred on the unequal balance in representation of nations in global coverage and reports.