How Traditional Journalism is Changing - Case Study Example

Is Digital Media Changing The Face Of Investigative Journalism? Is Digital Media Changing The Face Of Investigative Journalism? Abstract This research will show how traditional journalism is changing as a result of the rise of digital technology. The research will show how digital technology is changing the face of investigative journalism. The research will show the positive and negative effects of digital technology on investigative journalism. It will also show how compromise is being reached through introduction of digital mapping. Introduction According to franklin 2013, digital journalism offers a critical forum for scholarly discussions, analysis, and responses. It also offers the implication of digital technologies on economic, political and cultural development in relation to the practice and study of journalism. Digital technology is changing the fundamentals of investigative journalism by introducing new practices which hitherto were not there. Body Kaul (2013), says that Information technology has brought both positive and negative changes to various professional fields by altering their various aspects; journalism included. Availability of computers, internet access, and mobile technology are some of factors that have made it possible for digital technology to affect the investigative journalism (125). Consequently, questions like; is digital media changing the face of investigative journalism? Below are some of the positive and negative reasons in support of the above statement: Positive change in investigative journalism According to Harper (2014), Rise of social media should not be considered as the death of media. It should, in fact, be a welcome to the media personalities because it offers easy and faster transmission of information to the audience. Nowadays people don’t depend on print media for information like they used to. They are also expected to choose what they read and contribute to the same. This is called social media revolution because it allows the audience to read what the read through like in social networking sites like twitter, Facebook, etc. Gearing (2014), says that investigative journalism can benefit a lot due to the formation of synergies as a result of merging both investigative journalism with digital technologies. This is illustrated in the below diagram (p.67). She continues to say that investigative journalism can use proven theories like network theory whereby journalism can be reframed as a node in the network society. This way, digital media like social media can be connected with investigative journalism and be helpful to investigative journalists. This theory can be used to explain the connection between digital media and investigative journalism and how they both relate with their audience. This is illustrated on the diagram below (Gearing, 2012, p.61). According to Pohle (2014), Digital technology has led to increasing in the number of platforms publishing investigative journalism. In developed and developing countries, there have been unprecedented increases in the number of investigative online publications that have been availed to the audience. Most incidences that are aired in these publications are usually picked up by local news website and mainstream media and consequently find their way to social media. One such case is one which happened in Jordan whereby detailed abuses of people with disability were brought to light. The king of Jordan himself had to intervene in order for the offenders to be brought to book. She goes on to say that its use has led to improvement on people being vocal even in countries where the government monitors information given to the people like in China, Nicaragua, Guatemala, and Nigeria. In this countries’ investigative journalist are hindered in their work since giving out of sensitive information like corruption, human rights, energy, environment, and health could lead to the journalist being fired or victimized. Worse still, they could be expelled from the media industry (Pohle 2014). It should, However, be noted that this does not mean that the government does not put censorship on the digital material since these countries still have restrictions on their digital information. Digital journalism has given investigative journalism an edge especially in countries that do not allow freedom of information like Egypt, Jordan, Lebanon, and morocco. Due to lack of proper laws governing empowerment of investigative journalism, the people of such nations usually air their grievances through social media platforms. This is because investigative journalism in these countries is hindered by the activities of the government (Pohle 2014). Chan (2014), says that Digitization of information has also been useful to investigative journalist since it can give them a large pool of resources to research from. They can use these sources to validate a piece of information to ensure that audiences receive credible information. Unfortunately, this has not been the case with many investigative journalists which have contributed to the plagiarisms and gave of unverified information. She also goes ahead that to say that digitalization of information has helped the minority to air their grievances although it has not encouraged the practice of covering sensitive information in a restricted or biased manner. Presidential candidates have also been able to use the social media in their campaigns in the recent past. Normally such coverage is usually left to investigative journalist. The conclusion to this is that it has revolutionized political activities.. (Chan 2014). Negatives impact of digital technology on investigative journalism Lowering of journalism standards; Chan (2014), says that digitization of media has played a major role in the way news materials are gathered and disseminated. He however, states it has also contributed to decline of investigative journalist due to increase of plagiarism in journalistic work whereby journalists fail to acknowledge their sources. News sources are also not fully verified for validity and ethicality that contributes to the news provided being substandard. Research has shown that in developed countries United States American and United Kingdom as well as developing countries like China, India, South Africa and Brazil. Plagiarism, violation of copyright law or quoting without attribution was found to rampant in all this countries (Chan 2014). Digitization has also contributed to data insecurity and as well as of infringement of personal privacy. This mainly happens when digitized information and illegal interceptions of conversation are stolen and exposed to the public by the use of digitized media. Countries experiencing this problem mainly include Eurasian countries like Russia, China, and India. In Africa, Kenya and morocco are the once practicing this since they have greater internet connectivity. A good example was when the State Department leaked information through WikiLeaks. This is seen as bad investigative journalism (Chan 2014). Working conditions of investigative journalism are also deteriorating. This is because nowadays they are being subjected to long working hours due to increasing in work volumes. Digitization has contributed to large news’ volume and faster production of news. Consequently, the journalists in this age involve themselves in gathering information, writing articles, shooting and editing images and videos etc. they also have to assume new roles in the face of current financial constraints affecting media houses (Chan 2014). According to Dragomir & Thompson (2014), effects of digital mapping have affected investigative journalist: digital mapping was at aimed at controlling the content delivered to the audience to ensure that users give verified and non-plagiarized information. Conclusion We can, therefore, conclude that digital technology has played a major role in shaping modern investigative journalism. This is from the way journalists research news materials, how its transmitted in print, images or videos. The modern day journalist also has to come prepared because of the different roles they have to play like writing articles, collecting information from the ground as well as editing of videos and images. It’s also worth noting that whereas many people may complain that digital technology is putting investigative journalism out of work, it offers a lot as people are more informed because of it than they were before. Journalists are also able to research better than they used to in the pre-digital age due to having the expansive database to research and verify information from. References Franklin, B.(2013).Digital Journalism. Cardiff School of Journalism, Media & Cultural Studies,1 (3) 6. Oct. 2013. Retrieved from http://www.cardiff.ac.uk/jomec/research/journalsandpublications/journalismpractice/ Kaul, V. (2013). Journalism in the Age of Digital Technology. Online Journal of Communication and Media Technologies,3(1),125-143 Harper, R.A. (2010). The Social Media Revolution: Exploring The Impact On Journalism And News Media Organizations.Student Pulse.2 (3), Retrieved from http://www.studentpulse.com/articles/202/the-social-media-revolution-exploring-the-impact-on-journalism-and-news-media-organizations Pohle, A. 2014.( 2014). How Digital Media Affects Investigative Reporters Worldwide. the investigative fund. Retrieved from, http://www.theinvestigativefund.org/blog/2041/how_digital_media_affects_investigative_reporters_worldwide / Dragomir, M. & Thompson, M. (2014). Mapping the worlds digital media. Global Investigative Journalism Network. Retrieved from. http://gijn.org/2014/09/15/mapping-the-worlds-digital-media/ Chan, Y. 2014. Journalism and Digital Times: Wider Reach and Sloppy Reporting. Global Investigative Journalism Network. Retrieved From http://gijn.org/2014/09/16/journalism-and-digital-times-wider-reach-and-sloppy-reporting/ Ward, S.J.A. Digital Media Ethics. University of Wisconsin, Center for journalism ethics. Retrieved from. http://ethics.journalism.wisc.edu/resources/digital-media-ethics/ Dragomir, M. & Thompson, M.(2014) Mapping the World’s Digital Media. Global Investigative Journalism Network. Retrieved From http://gijn.org/2014/09/15/mapping-the-worlds-digital-media/ Gearing, A. (2014).Investigative Journalism in a Socially Networked World. Pacific Journalism Review 20(1) pp.61-75 Read More