This week's seminar presentation was on 'Online: a 'new' journalism, content and the rule of the search engine. This topic was very interesting and engaging in regards to affects this has on journalism itself. The presenters outlined the affects as being:
* Immediacy of online media
* Technological convergence
* 'Double Dipping'
* Social interaction
* People powered news
The technological determinism and Dystopian apprach were also mentioned. An example of a utopian view is citizen journalism by Clune. 'A letter to love-stricken FairFax journalists". The presenters also used examples from Sally jackson's 'online media can't bridge quality' ( this was based on the sacked staff of the Sydney Morning Herald & The Age). A final example was you-tube 'Has the internet killed journalism?'. The presenters were very in depth and detailed with the information they presented a lot of time and effort was placed into the presentation. Overall all presentation seminars in the tutorial group 9am - 11am on Wednesday has been of a high callabra.
There are many flaws and advantages of online journalism. With all of this cast aside do you believe that 'new' online journalism will be the way to the future and possibly take over print media?
The reading this week was thoroughly informative and captavating in its own right. Suellen Tapsall discusses this through her chapter "The media id the message". With the convergence of communications and information technologies, the growth of online media, and the relative decline of both print and broadcast news journalism in Australia have encouraged statements made based on the future or - lack thereof - 'traditional'news media. By 2010 we may see many journalists become multi- skilled.
Online news journalism and multiple- media newsrooms became realities in the late 1990s. In Australian by May 1999 more than 1.5 million households were connected to the internet. Katz argues that newspapers have traditionally been slow to change and react outside challenges, and the latest prophecies of doom have little impact on many news editors. Traditional print media - primarily newspapers are most under threat, with newspapers portrayed as 'relics of the past'.With the rise of technological convergence and the shift to digitisation it has called into question the future of radio and television journalism.
Technological determinism also known as media determinism is the most popular and influentail theory of the relationship between technology and society.Technology is pictured as a Tsunami- a massive, inescapable wave waiting to sweep all in its path. Its directions and effects are unpredictable and immeasurable. Individual theorists consider the impact of technology- driven change to be either positive or negative.it is important to note that technological change drives social change. The optimistic technological determinist view of the future of journalism and the news media would for example see the technological convergence as the solution to current problems inherent in the news. The pessimist, on the other hand, might cite the mechanisation of news-gathering and sub-editing processes as further ammunition in the hands of those debasing and devaluing traditional news practices, such that content is simply regurgitated and the journalists becomes little more than a word- processor.
The technological imperative diverts attention away from the questions of whether or not technology is necessary or desirable through an acceptance that is unstoppable. This means that journalists and news organizations are challenged to articulate their plans to cope in the converged digital media age, rather than considering whether or not on-line, virtual, or converged media forms are preffered or even desired options. For Australian journalists, this disempowerment further compounds existing pressures that in themselves result in feelings of powerlessness or inability to effect change and maintain quality of news product.
All media are forced to package information in a way thta engages the audience, but for television especially, the line between entertainment and information has blurred considerably. The recognition of the necessity for diverse media forms of news and acceptance of further fragmentation of news markets and need for niche products provides the best hope that journalism across all media will survive as a meaningful service. Journalism will continue to struggle for respectibility and acceptance, and attempts to maintain and increase audiences are most likely ro fail in the long term, unless journalists, and their publics, are convinced that there is a genuine and passionate commitment, at all levels of the news organisation, to the delivery of news in the public interest.
So i leave you this week on this final note. Online journalism, the way to the future for journalists? Can you see yourself becoming a multi - skilled journalist of the future?. Thats all i have time for this week i hope you enjoyed this week's riveting blog entry. Until we meet again,
I'm Shanna Bull.
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1 comment:
Some more good questions Shanna.
Firstly, is online the future of journalism? Not absolutely but definately as a big part of what makes up journalism. It may dominate one day but not in the immediate future. I think online journalism will continue to merge and converge with traditional formats in the mean time. This opens up more jobs and the issue of multi-skilling.
This leads into your next question - can I see myself being a multi-skilled journalist? Yes, along with many of my peers of 2008, like yourself. It seems to be the way media is heading. Dabbling a bit here and dabbling a bit there. I hope this does not take away from the experts already in the field.
This now leads into one of your earlier queries. Will new online journalism possibly take over print media? No. Print media survived radio and television. It will survive the World Wide Web. It may not necessarily survive exactly the way we know it now, but it will survive. The major difference will be the increasing relevance of convergence.
Another good job Shanna and another top blog. Your analysis has been consistently thorough, colourful and interesting over the semester.
Until we meet again indeed.
Josh Callinan
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