News and Communication Theory - Essay Example

?"News and Communication Theory" Sharp Question Essay How has the emergence of Social Media re-shaped the gathering, dissemination and character of news? What are the trends for the future? Twitter is currently a prominent journalistic tool but will it survive or be surpassed and/or transformed? How does the “many-to-many” model of communication affect the traditional notions and experience of accuracy, impartiality, fairness, spatial reach and relevance and timeliness? It has been argued by several researchers that the emergence of Social Media re-shaped the gathering, dissemination and character of news all across the globe (Safko, 2012). Significant level of literature on polarisation as well as selective exposure supposes that the Internet aggravates the fragmentation or separation of the media as well as of the citizenry. Nevertheless, this pays no attention to how the widespread utilisation of social media has changed news consumption across the world. Social media endow with readers a choice or option of stories from dissimilar sources that come advocated from politically, economically as well as socially heterogeneous individuals in the context that highlights social value over different ethnic affiliations. Building on different existing models of news and information selectivity (in respect to the business of journalism) to give emphasis to information utility, various researchers have hypothesised that the distinctive feature, social and political endorsements of social media trigger different decision heuristics which suggest utility. In respect to two experiments, researchers have demonstrates that much stronger social endorsements raise the probability that individuals select information and that their attendance decreases different selective exposure to the levels indistinguishable from the notion of chance (Messing and Westwood, 2011, p.1). This paper is aimed at providing a detailed analysis of the process of the emergence of Social Media re-shaped the gathering, dissemination and character of news and also its sustainability of the future trends. Thereafter the paper explains the ways which demonstrates different process through which the “many-to-many” model of communication affects the traditional notions and experience of accuracy, impartiality, fairness, spatial reach and relevance and timeliness. Research question: The research question of this essay is described as: what are the influences of social media and many-to-many models of journalism, communication and news delivery system across the globe consistent with its effects on traditional notions and are these trends in the system of journalism communicational system sustainable for the future? Social media and modern news delivery system: The emergence of the social media has been regarded as one of the most important aspects in modern structure of journalism and news. People who read news online use it because it is easily accessible, faster and it is available in 24/7. People who read hard copies of newspaper and magazine said it helps them to relax, gives more information than online, can be referred to anytime, good for the eyes and more comfortable. This makes the use of news and information easier for the readers. Also the use of advertisements is greater in case of online journalism compared to printed newspapers. This makes greater amounts of profit earning for the newspaper companies. This also helps the readers and audiences to gather greater amount of information regarding other products and services which are available in the market. Large number of people across the globe has also argued that practices related to online journalism are helping business organisations in the business of news and journalism to spread higher amounts of news and information compared to the traditional sources of news and journalism business, such as print media. Large number of people have argued that the online journalism practices are sustainable in the future which has been possible because of the fact that the popularity of use of online media (Wollan et al., 2011, p.47), such as editorial blogs and social cites (Facebook and Twitter), as the main source of spreading news and information across the globe is not growing at rapid speed The notion of online advertising is also increasing the focus of news organisations on the use of online journalism at a high rate instead of print media (Barthelemy et al., 2011, p.22). With the help of technological development across the globe (like, with the help of Google’s technologies), larger number of advertisements are shown in the newspapers which are published online compared to the printed newspapers where there is a limitation of absolute number of pages. This beneficiary property of online media sources are increasing the stream of generation of advertising revenues of news companies which are also helping these companies to raise their level of investments in online journalism. Another important feature of the online journalism and the system of spreading news and information across the globe online which are positively affecting the generation of revenues of news companies of the country is the use of social networking sites, such as Facebook and Twitter. These social networking sites are increasing the source of online journalism along with spreading information across the globe at the fastest possible speed. Again, in case of use of news and information and the process of production of news and information requires lesser number of human resource and machineries, apart from computers and modems which are nonetheless must required in modern form news business in the any country. These facts are also getting encouraged with the help of greater amounts of use of news and information in the modern societal structure of the country, such as use of social networks like Facebook, Google Plus, Orkut, Twitter etc. (Barthelemy et al., 2011, p.22), These social networking sites are increasing the base of news and information all over the country through greater social connection among the people of the country. If anyone gets a news or information on any kind of topic, ranging from sports and politics to entertainment and business and industry, he or she shares the news or information through these social networking sites. Hence, people who are collecting these news and information from different sources on different issues effectively get the most recent news or information very easily. Again, companies which are engaged in production of online newspapers very easily contact the news collectors, news writers and news editors who can make the necessary quantitative as well as qualitative improvements in the process of production of news and information. Large number of editors and news collectors are now engaged in the production of news and information in the country, mainly after the shift of the newspaper companies of the country from the use of print media to the use of online media. These editors are now more capable of producing instant news and information from anywhere in the world and at any time of the day (Barthelemy et al., 2011, p.23). Social media and use of modern news and journalism structure: New communication technologies – mainly social media with the help of the Internet – have become significant resources in regard to the mobilisation of different collective actions. This social media has also become highly important in respect to the subsequent creation, organisation as well as execution of different social actions all around the globe. In this context the use of online media sources which are increasingly being used for the purpose of spreading news and information across the globe are becoming extremely important. The development or progress of social media has created different opportunities for the Web-fueled social movements, which are also known as the notion of cyberactivism, for the purpose of changing the landscape of wide variety of collective actions across the globe (Eltantawy and Wiest, 2011, p.1207). The notion of cyberactivism is regarded as the fast developing area of different intellectual investigation, even though it has not yet significantly understood. Along with this it is greatly lacking a clear, consistent direction. Langman (2005) has argued that different computer-savvy activists utilise the Internet in order to initiate as well as organise a broad continuum of dissention activities, incorporating consumer boycotts as well as public protests and/or public demonstrations. Large number of scholars, in fact, have marked to different new communication technologies – mainly social media such as “short messaging services” (SMS), different “social-networking sites” (such as Facebook, Twitter, Google+) and different online blogs – as being, cooperatively, a significant innovative resource for the flourishing organisation and implementation of different social movements (Eltantawy and Wiest, 2011, p.1207). In this context, the use of different social media sources and Internet services are making happened mainly because of the sole purpose of spreading significant amounts of news and information all across the globe. Social media technologies, in this regard, have been utilised especially for the purpose of organising as well as implementing different kinds of collective activities, also for the purpose of promoting a feel of community and cooperative identity among the marginalised group of members (Qualman, 2010, p.281); thus creating less-impounded political spaces, instituting connections with different other social movements. These are also used for the purpose of publicising different types of causes to increase support from the international community (Eltantawy and Wiest, 2011, p.1207). In the 17th century modern journalism evolved and therefore the present world is in the stage of fifth revolution in world journalism. The changes which are introduced in the modern world of journalism are related to the broader media revolution. This new media revolution incorporates new forms of transformation of communication with the societies and it has created global world which is characterised as media-liked. The ecology associated with this new global media is also characterised as a chaotic landscape which is evolving at a massive pace. Professional journalists in modern world are sharing their journalistic sphere with online media sources, such as Twitter, Blogs, along with citizen journalists as social media users. The future of traditional journalism is at a grave danger because of the fact that audiences are shifting their pattern of choices related to habits of acquiring current information away from reading newspapers to online sources of news. This shift is largely because of great reduction of aggregate cost incurred by these people in acquiring the same amount of information. These shifts and changes are creating great challenges to the ethical perspective of journalism as well as the foundation of these ethics. These changes and shifts, at the intersection of the professional and the amateur, are further creating communication possibilities as well as ethical debates in the field of all over the world. Time-honored principles like objectivity are questioned after occurrences of these changes. According to Fortner and Fackler (2011), “journalists adopt new descriptions of themselves, as “sherpas” guiding readers through the information maze, as global “aggregators” of bloggers and web sites, as facilitators of online dialogue” (Fortner and Fackler, 2011, p.215). Vibrant and robust form of media is considered as a critical part of the function of democracy. It allows people to gather greater amount of knowledge and information and also helps them to get engaged in current debates. People depend on journalism and media mainly for acquiring information where information is used as a tool that helps those people to get engaged in various discussions and also to hold various political leaders of the their respective nation-states accountable to them. Therefore online journalism is more interactive in nature. In these contexts the media is regarded as the way of providing a “marketplace for ideas”. This market is characterised by a tool for scrutinising arguments and debates and also for forcing or interacting various ideas to confront each other in common forums. These properties are said to be the basic characteristics of a successful democratic system. The most important role of social media and journalism is to carry the information from one part of the world to different other parts of the world or across boundaries. This fact is evident from the spread of information on recent events of Tunisia and Libya across countries which raised the voice across the globe for a political and democratic change in these two countries. Newspapers with their various internal roles, such as reporting of events and incidents, analysis of events, facts and figures and commentary of those reports and analysis, play most significant role in providing an in-depth analysis of major international events (Barthelemy et al., 2011, p.10). Benefits of use of social media: There has been little doubt regarding the fact that social media played an important role in the process of revolutions which have smacked the Arab world since the period of late December 2010. Regarding the situation of Egypt, different activists had been connected since 2009 through online discussions as well as debates on different socio-political states, which ultimately developed into the full-force rebellion. What these protesters were doing – in respect to debating, organising as well as planning – has not been new in itself, rather the means engaged to correspond with each other and perform the revolution have represented a significant new resource for cooperative action. Social media initiated a novel resource which has provided swiftness in the process of receiving as well as disseminating information and news; helped to build as well as strengthen ties among different activists; and also raised interaction among the protesters and between the protesters and “the rest of the world”. According to Eltantawy and Wiest (2011), “following efforts and heeding the advice of activists who had come before them, Egyptian protesters were able to disseminate a continuous stream of text, videos, and images from the streets of the revolution directly to millions via social media technologies, and indirectly through the republication of these messages on news networks such as Al Jazeera and CNN” (Eltantawy and Wiest, 2011, p.1218). The theory of resource mobilisation can help in accepting the Egyptian revolution – and also different other political as well as social movements – in regard to the significant contexts as well as resources. First and foremost due to their ubiquity and possible for communicating memorandums to enormous, comprehensive audiences, different social media technologies can be considered as a significant, instrumental reserve for cooperative action as well as social changes. Nevertheless, people must consider the powerful persuade of different outside conditions, mainly the social, political, economic as well as historical circumstances of the movement. Also they need to consider the availability as well as interplay of these different resources (social media technologies and others) as well as the actors’ effectiveness in utilising various available resources in order to meet their objectives. Even though some researchers believe that “resource mobilization theory” has been past its’ prime and even though research on usefulness of social media in social movements has still been in its immaturity, their amalgamation would illustrate the endurance as well as strength of the theory though updating it for current times. Researchers have urges scholars to consider as well as test this potentially functional theoretical structure in future studies, with the intention that researchers can go forward the social movement theory suitable and useful for appreciating social movements in respect to the modern increasingly media-saturated world. Even though the sample considered in these studies have not been randomly selected and also although the findings of these researches have not been generalisable, these analyses donates to the knowledge in respect to the Egyptian revolution and starts to evaluate the utility of including social media as a significant resource in the process of obtaining the success of different contemporary social movements (Eltantawy and Wiest, 2011, pp.1218-1219). Social media and present news world: The spread of mass communication and news across the globe with help of social media sources has been changed with the advent of online media services, in particular, and internet services, in general. People all over the world do not have the time to relax and read newspapers for a long time period and are therefore getting attracted to use online media sources to gather the most required knowledge about what are happening in the modern world. These facts are also encouraging global business organisations to optimise their resources and employment opportunities and create more content of news and mass communication services online, instead of print media services. In the United Kingdom, these practices related to online media are increasing at rapid speed which has significantly and positively affected the future of social media services. In the country all the old social media sources are getting undermined and newspaper companies, which have been catering print media services, are now either closing their operations or are reshuffling their business patterns from using print media services to online media services. These practices are also increasing the need for online media in business domains of mass communication in the country. This has been increasing the need for higher investment for supply of online media all across the globe. As both the demand and supply of online and social media are increasing all over the country, therefore the practice of using social media is being popularised. Also with the greater popularity of social media, services all over the globe are creating a question mark on the future of the print media services in the country (Stanyer, 2008, p.1). Also, analysing the “rate of chatter” from more than 3 million tweets across the globe from the well-liked site Twitter, researchers have constructed a “linear regression model” for predicting the box-office revenues or profits of different movies in advance in respect to their release. These researchers then revealed that the results have outperformed in accurateness those of the “Hollywood Stock Exchange” and that there has been a significant correlation between the quantity of attention a specified topic has (in regard to this concept a approaching movie) as well as its ranking in future. Researchers have also analysed the emotions present in those tweets and hence have demonstrated their effectiveness at improving different predictions after the movie has been released. These aspects have been the most important developments in the process of development of social media like Twitter (Asur and Huberman, n.d., pp.7-8). Old vs. Modern journalism and media use: Journalism, in the 20th century, was consisted of radio and telegraph. The news started to be available at each and every home across the world with the help of newspapers and printed formats of news. At the beginning printed newspapers and magazines were considered as luxury items, but gradually it evolved as a common practice in the business of journalism. Eventually television was introduced which provided a new edge in the journalism business and profession with live visuals of events and sound interplay. This mesmerised audiences in their seats. Finally in the later part of the 20th century, the Internet was introduced which completely changed the system of information giving all over the world and over the last 15 years it has changed the way people receive news and information (Hornig, 2009, p.50). After 2005, blogs and online media, such as use of Twitter and Facebook, have been considered as the most legitimate form of media and journalism in the country. Hence, the BBC has been encouraged to make a shift in the use of blogging. Although several criticisms have been raised during this time regarding the use of blogs in the most popular newspaper of the country, but the BBC had been using the online media sources like blogs more frequently compared to printed media sources (Hermida, 2008, p.11). The officials of the BBC have been expecting great future of the newspaper house with the development of online journalism, social media and blogs. Hence, these officials had been trying to generate more trust and coordination among the consumers in terms of higher use of online media in the country (Hermida, 2008, p.12). In the year 2006, Editors blog has been launched by the BBC. This blog has been the most important factor for creating brighter future of online journalism compared to print media by providing a great platform for new editors and columnists across the country as well as across boundaries to explain and discuss editorial decisions at the BBC. Accordingly greater volume of transparency in the field of journalism has been created by this rapid use of online journalism by the BBC (Hermida, 2008, p.13). However, there are some problems with the many to many models of online sources or of social media. Many-to-many model creates significant level of similar (both positive and negative) effects on the curatorial knowledge of people, even without knowing the exact reasons behind such positive or negative effects (Russo et al., 2008, p.23). In case of many-to-many models low level of barriers to entry to social media (such as Facebook, Twitter and Blogs), create negative effects on the truthfulness of news and information (Russo et al., 2008, p.24). The greater use of blogging and online media sources by the biggest newspaper company of the world has been resulted in greater use of this source of journalism all over the country by re-asserting the journalism business as well as journalistic authority in the country. Rapid growth editorial blogs has been viewed as the most important result of the media and journalism business in the country by increasing the level of trust and transparency of news and information in the country (Hermida, 2008, p.15). Hence, traditional norms and forms of media and journalism, such as print media, have been undermining by the newspaper companies of the country. Blogs and online journalism created the closer relationship with the audiences through greater use of blogs which have been available to all the audiences at the same time. All these issues have made the future of print media darker in the country (Hermida, 2008, p.16). These developments in the process of change in the way of presentation of news and information across the globe with the help of social media have consistently been playing an important role. Along with this, the process of information technology and communication system across the globe has also been creating significant level of positive effects on the development of social media and its uses across the globe (Scott, 2011, p.38). Conclusion: After discussing all the aspects of use of social media and the processes of acquisition of news and information across the globe it can be argued that the emergence of social media re-shaped the gathering, dissemination and character of news. This change has been highly significant in respect to the fact that associated with the process of development online technologies and mainly Internet services across the globe. Due to this development process of computer technologies and communication system, Facebook, Google+ as well as Twitter are currently regarded prominent journalistic tool. These tools are also considered to be sustainable in the future or it will survive and will not be surpassed and/or transformed. As a result of all these beneficiary effects on the lives of people, on the developments of various social, cultural as well as economic factors of the people of the country, newspaper companies across the globe are increasingly using social media services in comparison with traditional media services. These increments are in effect creating greater positive effects on the future of social media services across the globe. These are also creating greater negative impacts on the use of traditional media services which are essentially getting substituted by online media services. Newspaper companies are increasing their business channels as well as their business ethics, which are increasingly affecting the future of print media sources in the country. Along with this, larger requirements for news and information at each and every second by the people are also creating detrimental effects on the future of print media in the country. These detrimental effects are creating favourable effects on the bright future of online journalism in the world. Hence, it can be said that the use of social media is, in effect sustainable in the future. References 1. Asur, S. and Huberman, B. A. (n.d.), Predicting the Future With Social Media, Hewlett Packard Labs, available at: http://www.hpl.hp.com/research/scl/papers/socialmedia/socialmedia.pdf (accessed on May 31, 2012) 2. 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