Now...I technically don't have to write a post about this week's discussion but I find the topic fascinating so you're going to get my thoughts all the same.
The topic for this week is the loyalty of the news. Just who are we trying to serve here? Well let me tell you. The purest form of journalism and news reporting should be aimed at serving one group, the public. Reporting of the news is a free public service. With that comes a small profit, sure, but it also brings service to the community in which we live. If you haven't noticed from past posts, you know I'm a big community girl. This is my bias. I'm all for the local news and sharing of a neighbor's accomplishments. Maybe that comes from spending the crucial teenage years of my life in a small town, I don't know but thus it is.
A journalist's loyalty is to the citizen. So what happens when the citizen moves his/her gaze to a different medium to gain news? Do we tell them they have to stick to the old way of doing things? No! We roll with the punches. Professor Campbell brought up a good point that news has practically come full circle in it's history. It started with stories told in pubs and street corners. From there, it grew to be a biased business with strong citizen loyalties running beneath the surface. Now it's coming back to the people via electronic meeting places. Think about that for a moment, where do you get your news? Do you usually check the paper first? I know, for me, I check my Facebook first. Links, videos, or just a wall post usually tells me everything I really want to know. Then I'll peruse the headlines of a paper to see what else I missed in the outside world. It's like gleaning information from a giant bulletin board!
Now comes the question for us, the future journalists. What are we going to do about this change in forum? Are we going to stick to the newspaper/television, telling people what to think about? Are we going to listen and record? Well I can tell you what I'm going to do...for now. I'm going to report what I see. It will be the world through my eyes. That is the best I can do right now. I'll report it wherever I can! That way, everyone gets a chance to see it. There, you've heard my soapbox speech. I can come down now.
Until next time!
I don't know what traditional media will do. Newspapers are already on their way out. People don't really need them anymore. It's hard to convince people to pay for the paper when they can hop online and get the same information for free.
ReplyDeleteI think that eventually all news will be electronic. TV is safe because local news is a free service that is provided in every viewing area. But optional news that a person has to pay to see, like magazines and newspapers, are going to become obsolete. The best thing they can do right now is start putting everything online.
The next question is how will these companies make money? Most of the things on the internet are free, right? Well, if all of the companies put everything online, then EVERYONE started charging subscription fees at the same time, they can switch subscription fees to internet-based information rather than print-based. If one company charges before the rest, people will switch to whichever provider will give it to them for free.
So, in answer to your question, I think people writing for newspapers and magazines might be in trouble. They need to learn computer and internet skills so they can post stories online. Everyone is going to have to be more versatile. The internet allows for video, audio, and print, so people in the business are going to have to be proficient in all of those areas. As for TV, I think our couch potato society will keep looking to them for news for a long time to come. It's print that really needs to evolve in order to fit the needs of a faster-paced, electronically based society.