Media Does a Mind Good
How does new media AFFECT the production, content, and consumption of news?
Introduction
To find out what effects take place, there is a distinction between the ‘old’ and ‘new’ media, but it must be made clear. What is ‘old’ media? It is traditional forms of mass communication, e.g. books, newspapers, magazines, film, radio, and television. In a sense, it means physically holding an object like the newspaper, or watching television for the news. What is ‘new’ media? It is a means of mass communication using digital technologies such as the Internet. “In addition, the expression ‘new media’ denotes a dynamism and a penchant for constant change. The term can, therefore, include all kinds of media formats as long as they are indeed evolving” (Gauthier 2020).
Now that they have been defined, it is safe to say that news and journalism are affected by the emergence of social media based on new media aforementioned. It has reinvented the meaning of the term ‘fake news’ which originally meant journalistic content that was mixed with humour. “Now the term more commonly refers to false or misleading information made to look like a fact-based news story…” (Nelson and Taneja, 2018). Despite this, new media does have a positive effect on news and journalism through its continuous development. There is an assorted amount of ways it contributes to the production, content, and consumption of news.
“News junkies never had it so good” (Pavlik 1999). The only way to receive global information before social media was through material consumption based on the physical ability to read a newspaper, or watch the news. Now it is immersive journalism in letting the consumers experience it for themself. It is citizen journalism because the general public gathers information. It is interactive journalism as it uses a collection of mediums from video and sound for information. In addition, it is also social journalism, a collaboration between the consumer and the journalist. The convenience to produce instantaneously, the variety of content, and the ability to consume news from anywhere at any time just shows how favourable new media is for news and journalism.
Production
How social can one get?
News production in the old days took the time to sniff out potential stories. There was a dedication to detail and the accuracy of facts relating to a news story. The production of news was based on a team of decision-makers who were in control of what was covered (Browns 2018). This meant there was a known system plus time and effort that a journalist followed when chasing a story. The journalist would take the story to their editorial staff, the gatekeepers of traditional news, to maintain professionalism (Linder 2016).
Fast-forward many years to the creation of social media, news production has become so much faster. Information is now digital. That means a journalist does not have to leave the comfort of their desk to put in the ‘footwork’ of chasing their story. There is also no longer a need for an intermediary between the news, journalist, and its readers (Gauthier 2020). With social media as a platform for ordinary citizens, they began looking for their own news to share with the world, which created citizen journalism. It is a concept that refers to users of the general public engaging in journalistic practices like adding a post to current events as an eyewitness, tagging, sharing, and so forth to participate in the news process (Goode 2009). Instead of just the perspective of a news broadcast or journalist, there is now shared information on social issues from citizens as events happen, getting a perspective that would not have been shared.
Accordingly, social journalism is created. So what is social journalism? “In The Handbook of Global Online Journalism, Alfred Hermida defined social journalism as a media model consisting of a hybrid of content created by ordinary citizens in collaboration with professional journalists” (Gauthier 2020). It is mixed professional journalism and consumer readership in news stories. Instead of a journalist going out to look for news, readers are able to introduce interesting topics and story leads in which the journalist will then fact check. This builds a stronger community between citizen journalism and professional journalists.
Let us act out this action!
Regarding what classifies as content, it is the availability in written, auditory, visual, or any combination of the aforementioned formats. In journalism, news has seven values such as impact, timeliness, prominence, proximity, bizarreness, conflict, and currency in order to make the content newsworthy (Curtis 2011). If a story was able to hit each value, gatekeepers were willing to let that content through, hence the story of the cow with two heads. Now that new media has given access to social journalism, the content available now is incredibly more diverse with smaller local stories that would not have been shared.
For example, Shaun King, activist, and journalist, for social justice and systematic change relies on social journalism. One recent post (viewer discretion is advised, sensitive content) on social media, brought to his attention by the family of a deceased family member, provided another piece of the puzzle to his journalistic activism. Shaun King uses social journalism and civilian journalism in his fight against systemic racism, something that would not be possible with traditional news. So why does someone say that new media is harmful to the news? We know that consumers no longer need newspapers, books, or magazines as a source of information. This means the consumer does not have to restrict oneself only to one format. People should be able to read an assortment of content for the reason that no one is interested in a single topic (Garber 2003).
Despite this type of new media content being ubiquitous with sometimes a lack of quality and inaccuracy, it still presents the opportunity of being interactively informative. Interactive journalism is “through the integration of a combination of multimedia assets (photos, text, audio, animation, graphic design, etc.) with web technologies” (Gauthier 2020). This allows the consumer to comment on a piece of journalistic content or add more information to the story. It creates a community without having to live in the same area, now people can connect on shared interests worldwide. Now that there are civilian journalists, they can follow leads for a professional journalist, knowing what information they are looking for (Gauthier 2020). Moreover, it adds to the credibility and accuracy of citizen journalism.
Consumption
Immerse Yourself
When it comes to consumption based on media, it is the amount, whether informative or for entertainment, taken in by an individual or a group. The consumption rate for consumers has not changed, but it has broadened the behaviour at which it is consumed (Ahlers 2006). Till this day, consumers still have to wait for the morning paper and the evening news on television, but they do not have too, in between these periods, the consumer is voluntarily exposed to social media blending the way they interact. There is no longer such a thing as time zones since “...time is ongoing, continuous as the rhythm is 24/7 since we are now (almost) all connected through new media” (Gauthier 2020).
News has no choice but to continuously update to handle this new consumption rate. 680news traffic radio is ongoing but is only available via the radio and now through their website. Imagine getting into a car just to sit for about five minutes waiting for the traffic report. With new media, Google has created the Waze application dedicated to real-time updated reports so one could drive anywhere traffic-free. Of course, new media developed even further and paved the way for immersive journalism, a journalistic production in which the consumer is able to have a first-person experience of a news story.
Traditional news usually told through the third-person perspective, is on the wave to change. Now big-time news corporations are using immersive journalism via virtual reality technology to boost emotional responses and empathy (Laws 2020). This gives the consumer the opportunity to experience past events as if they were there themselves, making it heighten the experience, create a deeper emotional response, and “...a way to understand the news in a more profound manner…” (Laws 2020). Something that could help to boost literacy of news and journalism in consumerism.
Conclusion
Final Thoughts
In conclusion, newsprint, television, radio, and the Internet have been redesigned for journalists to meet the demands (Klinenberg 2005). New media is changing the method in which news is put together, the way its theme is shared, and the approach of how it is consumed. Because it is so progressive there are bound to be new ways to utilize news media the more technology thrives. This can only benefit society by bringing truth to transparency in news and in journalism. It has already brought more insight into social issues worldwide, created a space for public collaboration without criticism, and engages communities in a discussion on local solutions. To put it another way, there was a Netflix documentary, about the chase for a Canadian serial killer that posted videos of brutality towards kittens. It shows the progression from citizen journalism to social journalism. Subsequently, how people from around the world were able to form a community in collaboration, on this shared interest, with journalists and later on police globally to achieve a combined goal.