The Evolving World of Journalism

Figure 1. Social Media Takes Over

From the previous posts, it is clear that communication professionals have a lot of learning and work on their hands.  If some journalists are old enough, they can probably remember typing their stories for the news columns on their typewriters, saving news clippings for future references, mailing information, and telephoning others.  Since that time period, the world of communication has been drastically altered.  Now individuals rely heavily on the Internet to receive, share, and upload information.  Newspapers and other historical information can be stored and accessed digitally any time and anywhere in the world.  Information reaches a mass audience in a matter of minutes.

With the digital, technological, and social media advancements, professionals are forced to keep pace.  We are seeing two very fundamental shifts in the way we consume information.  “One is the

Figure 2. TwitFace

rise in news audiences accessing journalism through their phones and mobile devices, the other related to this trend, is the increase in people who read or watch news through social platforms…” (Bell, 2015)  This could drastically alter the way they produce the news.  Individuals that are constantly connected want their news and updates instantaneously.  Communication professionals should never sacrifice accuracy for speed when producing the news.  The demand to get information out quickly is great, but plagiarizing or deliberately publishing false information is inexcusable.  The next series of blog posts, to be published at a later date, will discuss just how the technological advancements we are accustomed to today have changed society’s expectations of the media and just how this technology has influenced our culture.

Here is a short video to end the post explaining how social media has changed journalism:

Works Cited:

 Bell, E. (2015). The Rise of Mobile and Social News – and What it Means for Journalism. Retrieved January 11, 2016, from http://www.digitalnewsreport.org/essays/2015/the-rise-of-mobile-and-social-news/ 

Images:
Figure 1. Social Media Takes Over [Jpeg] Retrieved January 11, 2016, from http://roymorejon.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/03/social-media-news-facebook-twitter.jpg
Figure 2. Twitface [Jpeg]. Retrieved January 11, 2016, from https://s3.amazonaws.com/lowres.cartoonstock.com/computers-journalism-media-reporters-twitter-technological_developments-rron1185_low.jpg

Video:
The Atlantic. (2014, August 8). How is Social Media Changing Journalism. [Video File] Retrieved January 11, 2016, from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-7esKJDZqzQ