A Comparison of Conventional Media With New Media - Essay Example

? A comparison of conventional media with new media Over the years, people have changed and conformed to emerging trends.The frequently changing technology brings with it challenges as well as unrivalled opportunities. In the following discourse, a comparison of traditional media against what can be termed as technology fronted platforms. What is evident in the comparison of the two forms of media is the contrast between old against what can be termed as the new media. Conventionally media includes the traditional broadcast as well as print platforms. On the other hand, new media includes outlets such as blogging, which would be the main focus in this discourse. The focus would be the fire tragedy in Australia which would be used as a case study to show the differences in the two forms of media. In doing this, the perspective of theorists have to be incorporated. Modern dynamic theorists have various issues awaiting their input in different disciplines. They cover cultural theory, philosophy, anthropology, sociology, history, technology studies, and science among many more. Impulses ignite the academicians to move issues in these disciplines in addition to the references beyond present problems that the dual form. Changes are also aimed at redirecting ways of thinking. The media as an industry has undergone transformations over the years. Bloggers are contemporary media personnel whose mode of information dissemination is conspicuously different from traditional media personalities. This is discussed into detail in the following discourse. In the following part, the theoretical framework that underlies the two forms of media will be discussed. There are several theories that relate to the two forms of media. In essence, either conventional or new school media only acts as a way of disseminating information. Conventional media refers to all forms of media which entail broadcast as well as print media. Traditionally, these forms of media have been the mainstream form of communication that people have known to exist over the years. They have always played the role of the public watchdog as they report on social as well as governance issues. In that regard, they have always been held in high esteem. However, they have not been without flaws. There are cases of media trivializing reports which usually cause unsolicited reactions from the public. In the same way, new media has been in existence due to technological advancements which have taken place in recent years. For instance, the advent of the internet as a modern form of communication has brought with it endless opportunities. In this case, blogging has evolved as way of reporting information. One notable attribute about blogging is the fact that the bloggers are usually not so much accountable for whatever they put out to the public. This is unlike in traditional media where the media houses usually bear responsibility for everything that they put up for broadcast. Consequently, bloggers have a boundless freedom in which they express themselves. However, they also have some limits regarding what they report. Theme The discussion that follows delves into the two forms of media with a particular reference to how they contrast in reference to the Australian fire tragedy. In addition, references would be made to theories which are related to media or reporting (Paterson & Domingo, 2008). The motive is to find out if the theories are true in view of what happens following media reporting. Background on the Australian fire The Australian fire was a tragedy that affected the lives of many. Of significant importance to the many humans who were affected at the time was the media coverage. During disasters like in the fire, most people turn to the media for information and updates. It is at the time that media owners have to practice professionalism and ethics in disseminating the information that they have. This should be observed because the media at the time is relied upon as the official communication channel. Responsible journalism is part of the code of conduct of all forms of media irrespective of whether they are conventional or new media. Part of the responsible journalism is known as community journalism which basically entails having a responsible approach towards reporting on issues which can trivialize a situation. The incident of fire in Australia is one such situation in which reporting had to be conducted fairly to avoid contradictions which could have made the tragedy worse. Theories The dependency theory is a postulation of DeFluer together with Ball-Rokeach. Basically, the theory fronts that because of the advent of modernity, people have over time become so reliant on the media that they almost depend on it for all forms of information that they need in their lives. In the case of the Australian fire, the population depended on the traditional media for updates and information on the progress made in combating it as well as in the rescue operations. At such times, it is usually the norm that people would be more interested in traditional media than the modern media such as blogging. This is because in as much as new media is interactive, they are never that effective in terms of live coverage. People would rather watch CNN and BBC as was at the time than go online and log into a portal or blog that would give updates on the same information. Consequently, it can be argued that traditional forms of media such as broadcast together with print made people more dependent on them. Even though this can be said for new media, the extent of dependency varies. The difference between the coverage of the Australian fire by both the mainstream media and the modern day blogs arises from the nature of the two institutions. Both media have different audiences and represent different interests (Patterson & Lee, 2004). The differences in the interests they serve thus builds the difference in their coverage of issues such as the Australian bush fires. Among the major differences in the two institutions is that main stream media are established institutions most of which being multinational companies. They therefore adhere to particular operational principles, codes of conduct and ethical provisions. Blogs on the other hand are small briefcase media that serve personal interest. The management of a blog is similar to the management of a social networking account on either Facebook or twitter. Blogs constitute parts of citizen journalism through which the citizens can inform each other. They constitute great sources of news but just as any other news source, they require effective investigation in order to establish the authenticity of the stories they run. Being established facilities, mainstream media institutions such as the CNN and BBC among others have set in place effective institutions that oversee both their management and operations. They have effective decision-making organs that assess every situation and develop human interests to the stories they cover. The media institutions have several gatekeepers in the form of editors and subeditors. The above offices make the operational decisions on the news stories to cover and the angles they adopt in the coverage of the stories. In doing this, they consider several journalistic factors of newsworthiness in order to ensure that their stories have as much human interest as possible. Additionally, they consider the possible effects of their coverage of the stories. In doing this, they minimize any harm that the coverage of the stories could cause thus maintaining objectivity to their coverage of the stories. Blogs on the other hand are personal and not professional. The management of blogs is limited to the interests of the blog owners. Most of such people run sensational stories with the view of either serving particular interest or communicating to specific audience. They do not consider any ethical ramifications of their actions and coverage of news stories. Their coverage of the same remains limited to the service of the personal interest. The lack of adequate infrastructure in the management of blogs limits the bloggers to the limited resources and news sources they can obtain. Unlike the established media institutions, blogs do not have adequate resources capable of affording their travels in order to meet news sources in different parts of the universe. The internet on the other gives them the ability to communicate to a universal audience a feature that therefore develops a great conflict of interests as they strive to meet the demands of the online international audience vis-a-vis their limited resources used in newsgathering. An additional operational difference between a blog and an established media facility is the fact that media facilities have assets and therefore account for their actions. They are careful in their coverage of news articles in order to eliminate any damage that their operations may cause to either their sources or audience (Ward, 2003). They are established companies with premises and an effective management should the media institutions harm either their audience or news source, the aggrieved party can easily institute a legal charge and get compensation for the damages. Governments all over the world have effective laws that govern the operations of the media with the view of minimizing harm. Such operational mishaps as either slander or libel attract stringent penalties. Several media institutions have lost millions of dollars in compensation to the people they harm. Bloggers on the other hand are rarely accountable to either their sources or audience. The fact that they lack any form of establishment makes it difficult to carry out effective investigation and apprehend such unscrupulous journalists (Richardson, 2009). Besides the operational differences between blogs and established media institutions, journalists have specific theories that guide their operations. The application of such theories remains relative to bloggers whose operations remain unprofessional. Among the theories is the magic bullet theory. Also known as, the hypodermic theory, the theory posits that mass media content have the hypodermic needle effect to their audiences. The theory ignores such fundamental features of news consumption as interpretation. It maintains that the effects of mass media content inject to the core of humanity and will therefore affect the audience directly. The theory should therefore regulate the operations of both journalists and mass media institutions. Before releasing any content to the public, the media institutions must always strive to eliminate any rash and sensational reportage of news items. Sobriety and effective consideration of the social occurrences should always guide the operation of journalists thus ensuring that they report events soberly and with effective consideration of the effects of their words. The Australian fire for example affected several families, people lost their loved ones while thousands others lost property worth millions of dollars. The families remained destitute with homes as their thus depended on their neighbors, relatives and the government for provision. The coverage of such an appalling state thus requires caution since direct and unregulated coverage of the event would reach the relatives and friends of the victims poorly thus cause them psychological trauma. Additionally, certain angles to the story may portray the Australian government poorly thus cause diplomatic rows. Effective coverage demands that the journalists maintain objectivity and avoids any temptation of developing emotional attachments to either the victims or the story in general. This way, the assessment of the damage and the effects on the local population maintains an informative approach without targeting any specific family. While such media institutions as CNN and the BBC and the local Australian media maintained such professional guidelines, bloggers on the other hand could not. Another journalistic theory that governed the operations of the media in their coverage of the Australian fire is the elitist theory. The theory suggests that media should educate their audience. This implies that the coverage of events should always provide memorable lessons in order to help avert any future similar calamities. Opposed to the theory is the populist theory, which posits that the media should be what the people want it to be. Mainstream media are professional institutions and must therefore assume the elitist view in their operations. While they do not employ professional surgeons, architects and firefighters, they must always maintain an objective and educative approach to their reporting. This demands that the media consult with such professionals in other economic spheres in order to get their facts right. Besides the basic coverage of the events, the professional news reporters must interact and consult professionals in order to educate both their audience and the victims of the calamities they report (Paterson & Domingo, 2008). Bush fires are perennial problems in Australia, it thus becomes imperative that the media perform an educative role and help mitigate the problems especially in recurrent situations. Fires cause loss of lives and property. To help mitigate such, the mainstream media ran features on past bush fires thus equipping their audience with basic skills that could help minimize damage and minimize the effects of the fires. The features involved professional advice from firefighters and governors from Australia elaborating on the measures they are putting in place in order to avert future fires. Such basic knowledge influences the actions of the people in the event of the fires thus creating a safer society. While the mainstream media houses ran such features and sought professional advice on fire management and emergency services to help curb the loss of lives related to the spread of the fires, the bloggers could not. As explained earlier, bloggers lack the resources to consult and engage the professionals and cannot therefore educate their audience. The best they can do is to sensationalize the stories with the view of increasing traffic to their websites. Conclusion Mainstream media and blogs have both operational and management differences that influence their operations. The differences in the two media manifested in their coverage of the Australian fires. The lack of resources by the bloggers coupled with the ceaseless demand by their online audience compelled such special interests reporters to run sensational stories often showing minimal regards to either their audience or the victims of the calamity. The differences and the abject lack of operational discipline as exhibited by the bloggers portray the relativity in the application of the journalistic theories to the two. Mainstream media have the resources to maintain professionalism. They adhere to the operational demands of the profession. The facilities hire professionals. All the journalists are professionals who have undergone effective education in recognized academic institutions. Additionally, most of the journalists who cover such large calamities have vast experience in the practice. They therefore portray the professionalism in their interaction with the victims and composition of their statements. Bloggers on the other hand lack the professionalism often required by the practice. Blogs are like personal diaries in which people maintain personal and opinionated entries. Bloggers rarely adhere to the professional principles and ethical requirements of the profession. They therefore cause harm to both their audience and the victims of such calamities as the Australian fires. References Paterson, C. A., & Domingo, D. (2008). Making online news. New York: Peter Lang. Patterson, P. & Lee, W. (2004). Media Ethics: Issues and Cases, 5th edition. New York: McGraw-Hill. Richardson, W. (2009). Blogs, wikis, podcasts, and other powerful web tools for classrooms. Thousand Oaks, Calif: Corwin Press. Ward, D. (2003). The impact of new technology on the traditional media/ David Ward (issue ed.). Mahwah, NJ [u.a.: Erlbaum Read More