Digital Journalism Nowadays - Essay Example

DIGITAL JOURNALISM Digital Journalism The field of journalism and mass communication has greatly changed over the years. The rise of the digital media has given rise to a parallel source of information and introduced new dimensions in how news items are reported. The over reliance of traditional forms of media such as newspapers has reduced. However, the digital media are yet to replace traditional media. This is because there is still a huge population that has no access to the internet. The most important aspect of the two forms of media has been the convergence of both, where traditional forms of media use the digital platform while the digital platform depends on traditional media as sources of information. Web 2.0 The changing face of journalism and mass communication is the rise of web 2.0. This is the rise of a new form of technology that allows people to not only read information online, but they can also contribute to the subject of discussion. The main characteristic is that he pages are not static, such that one reads information and contributes her opinion on the topic of discussion. The user can also store information, and social bookmarking abilities. This is the example of facebook and other social networking sites that allow for users to share information and share ideas (Fuchs 2011). Web 2.0 has an audience. The audience comprises of those who read the information on the sites and contribute. The rise of blogging has given a different dimension to the practice of web 2.0. The sites have their own audience comprising of people who visit the sites and share information. Those who participate in the blogging sites and other commentary sites comprise the audience of the sites. This platform has an impact on mainstream media as bloggers and other users can gather information and share it on these platforms, making the role of main stream media greatly diminished. Additionally, the users of web 2.0 can use the platform to confirm or deny the information carried on mainstream media, making it essential for journalists to always confirm their work before sharing (Dahlberg & Siapera 2007). It thus, increases accountability. The web 2.0 media are also cheaper ways of advertising and can carry more advertising messages as opposed to mainstream media. This means that the business that is the main source of revenue for mainstream media is being diverted. The use of the web 2.0 platform can also allow users to post information that is targeted at a specific audience based on the target audience of the blog. This increases precision of the message and increases the chances of reaching the target audience more accurately than using mainstream media (Dahlberg & Siapera 2007). Convergence: where old and new media collide According to Jenkin’s convergence cultures, the old and the new media is the place where informed people and those who are not so informed get to share information without any inhibitions. This leads to interdependence as people then have to depend on the old media that is comprised of professional information seekers to confirm or deny any reports that are shared on the new media. Jenkins also notes that technological change does not result in the drastic shift of sources of information from old to new. It means that the two move closer together until they find a convergence point. This does not necessarily lead to conflict. The role of the new media is to unite virtual communities and letting them share information. Jenkins notes that the digital platform is characterized by convergent of information, participatory opinions, and commonality of purpose (Nguyen 2008). According to Jenkins, convergent is the point at which the two platforms meet and share individual characteristics that facilitate sharing of information. The convergence leads to collective intelligence where people with similar sentiments have a platform for sharing their sentiments (Nguyen 2008). The people are brought together by a common purpose or commonality of opinions on the new media platform and they share the information. The participatory culture of new media allows users to share information, evaluate, express ideas, and compare information through the new media. The space for sharing information is not limited to space and presence (Bivens 2008). The digital media erodes the traditional role of traditional role of journalism such as editorial gate keeping and integrity. This because what was traditionally censored by the editorial team, can easily be shared with, and accessed by millions of people as quickly as possible. Engine Optimization, computational Journalism, and network Journalism allow journalists to learn what is happening in real time. These also present new sources of information for journalists, making it easier for journalists to access information without having to move physically (Bivens 2008). News is not the best purveyor of information as the digital media shares information in real time. The role of news is to delve deeper into a news item and to confirm any reports shared on the digital media platform. The news media also makes news items that are important, but not widely shared on digital media, accessible to more people. Newsroom practices have changed with the rise of digital media. The news rooms are increasingly depending on the digital platform as the sources of information as well as platform for sharing information. News rooms are now forced to delve deeper into a matter that is reported on the digital media in order to remain relevant (Bivens 2008). Additionally, the news room practices now use convergent skills in their reporting practices with the use of digital media. The news rooms now share news both on traditional and digital media platforms so as to cater for the different audiences. The digital platforms have allowed journalists to perform better by having more sources of information, meaning that there is more access to news information. The digital platforms also allow journalists to collect views on different matters, making the reported information more informed than before. Citizen journalism is the practice where by citizens actively participate in gathering and reporting information. This is, however, unlikely to replace traditional journalism because the role of traditional journalism has shifted from just conveying news to confirming news on digital platforms through citizen journalism (Gillmor 2007). Moreover, there is still a big population of people who do not have access to the internet and still need to be informed. Citizen journalists also report those matters that are important to them only. This means that traditional journalists will remain relevant so as to report on matters that are of importance to more people. Mobile witnessing is the same as citizen journalism. This is because citizen journalism involves reporting what one witnesses are a particular time. The citizens gather the information witnessed and report it via the digital platform. Mobile witnessing is thus, the source of information for citizen journalists (Gillmor 2007). Citizen journalism has changed since 2005 given to the rise in accessibility of the internet. People are now bolder than they were in 2005 and the availability of better electronic devices has ensured that people can also share videos and photos as part of the reporting (Bivens 2008). Photo journalism has also become a popular form of citizen journalism. Digital Journalism - a boon to investigative journalism? The case of Wikileaks Wikileaks is part of existing journalism. This is a form of investigative journalism that uses the digital media platform to share information as opposed to traditional forms of media. Wikileaks is part of investigative journalism that involves searching for information that is not available in the public forum as a way of uncovering matters that are meant to unfairly to protect some people. This is the form of journalism that wikileaks takes and shares the information gathered on the digital platform (Sifry 2011). Wikileaks presents a new dimension of investigative journalism that involves sharing information through the digital platform. It also introduces investigative journalism to online sources of information that are the new means of communication (Sifry 2011). This means that investigative journalism diversifies and goes into new forms of media both in researching and sharing information. Wikileaks also introduces the aspect of investigating information shared as an aspect of the espionage activities of government. The main idea is to look for other sources of information in investigative journalism other than human informants. According to Bradley Manning, the rise of the freedom of speech and protection of witnesses ought to be respected when it comes to releasing confidential information. Investigative journalists must, however, maintain ethical standards by ensuring any reported information is factual and can be proven. This is because the desire for sources of information to remain anonymous may lead to some journalists giving out false information as they are not allowed to reveal their sources. It is, therefore, the role of investigative journalists to maintain ethical standards by ensuring that any information released is factual (Leigh & Harding 2011). Forced transparency reduces the ability to access information, while also protecting governments from having highly confidential information shared in the public sphere. Financing the news in the digital age: who pays? News Corporation is the largest media outlet in the United Kingdom. The corporation dominates print and news media. This is especially through the use of its newspaper and television networks. Following the ethical issues that faced the media corporation in 2013, the corporation’s credibility has drastically reduced and this has had an impact on its role as a preferred source of information. The corporation owns social media accounts that it also uses to share information with its audience (Clark 2010). This makes it have a command in print media and electronic media. News Corporation faces the challenge of remaining the most popular platform of sharing information, making it lose some of its advertisers who opt for new forms of media that are cheaper. Given the new means of advertising and reaching a wide population using the digital platform, New Corporation has the challenge of finding new ways of generating revenue. This is being countered by using the corporation’s website for advertisements purposes (Clark 2010). This enables the corporation to carry more advertisements and remain profitable despite the cheaper cost to consumers, of the platform. Journalism can survive without forming a conglomerate. This is because journalism can remain relevant by standing alone, only by identifying its target audience and using the most efficient means of communication to reach this audience. This means that journalism will now involve having a purposeful way of communicating so as to remain relevant. People are willing to pay for digital news based on the ability of the digital platform to deliver news as fast as possible and maintain high ethical and precision standards. The digital platform also must provide more information, especially the news that cannot be delivered via the traditional forms of media. Sousveillance: taking part and challenging power Souseveillance is the act of recording an activity that one is participating in by using small, portable devices. This can be in the form of hierarchical or personal sousveillance, depending on the intention. The power changes as overt sousveillance involves revealing one’s identity, and thus, can compromise a person if sensitive information is recorded and shared (Bakir 2010). However, covert sousveillance also affects the power of sousveillance as it enables the person recording the information to gather as much information as possible, when people are in their most natural form. Sousveillance can impact on the role of journalism as a watchdog as it provides more information than surveillance. This is because surveillance can lead to less participation by those being investigated and thus, yield little information. Sousveillance enables journalists to collect more information than surveillance. Universal sousveillance through web 2.0 would work to destroy the existing power structures as it would lead to people engaging in proper conduct for fear of being exposed (Bakir 2010). This is because web 2.0 is very powerful and easily influences opinion. The disruptive political impact of sousveillance in convergence cultures The capture and execution of Saddam Hussein involved a lot of strategic political communication as it required the American government communicates the information before sousveillance sources could access the information. It also involved ensuring that those involved had no chance of conveying the information through the digital platform as it would jeopardize the operations (Hill 2008). The government had to thus, ensure that those who were absolutely necessary to the operation had access to information. However, the sousveillant footage jeopardized the strategic communication by providing parallel information to what had been shared with the public. People were able to share their opinions widely, leading to the unpopularity of the execution. The release of sousveillant unofficial mobile footage was facilitated by convergence of culture as people from different cultural backgrounds had access to the footage through their mobile phones. The ability to use the mobile phone to connect to the internet enabled people to share the video widely and across different cultures (Hill 2008). This shows that it is not possible to regulate information shared based on national values and decency. The use of the mobile phone to share information and the introduction of applications that facilitate privacy makes it hard to track what people share. Sousveillance disrupts strategic political communication as it gives off information that is now shared by strategic political communication (Hill 2008). Political manipulation of journalism in the digital age: chaos, blogging and trust The media environment in the Israel- Lebanon conflict was hot. The media took sides and different media organizations reported the events based on political affiliations. The media houses also did not give other people a chance to share their views. The journalism environment produced by the media houses was the kind of journalism that focuses on giving facts based on political affiliations without giving room for other opinions (Kalb & Saivetz 2007). Converged journalism challenges information control in military states by ensuring that the people in the states have other platforms of sharing information apart from the traditional media. This is because the information is shared in real time and can reach more people within a short period that traditional media. The new age presents challenges for politicians of the necessity of war as people can discuss the issues that affect the society and refute the government’s decision. The sources of information are also diverse and not controlled by the politicians, making it hard to convince the public (Kalb & Saivetz 2007). The youtube effect has enabled people to share information in real time about the actual actions as they happen. This was one of the biggest factors that influenced the Arab spring as people in other countries were able to view the actual action on the ground. 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