News in the digital age

Fenton’s chapter encapsulates the benefits and the detriments of the digital technology advances within journalism. He acknowledges that the key reason for this contemporary transformation is due to the changing nature of technology. An important point Fenton refers to throughout this chapter is the idea that the internet has created speed and space for interaction and participation of audiences to drastically develop. This has had a direct impact on journalism as a practice.

The new speed of digital journalism has enhanced ‘audience reach’ as the space for multimedia formats allow for news to presented in captivating ways. This is due to all forms of news being broadcasted online, specifically the news that lacks appeal for the mass audiences and therefore does not make it into mainstream media. This benefits the news in digital age as discussion of social and political issues are now more accessible for those who may never have been previously interested. This new multidimensional view on the world’s affairs offers audiences comparisons of news formats, demonstrating the validity of different articles.

The only issue I see with audience’s using the internet as their default news source is citizen journalism. Citizen journalism is the idea that any individual can be a journalist if they are equipped with the necessary tools. Citizen journalism and mainstream journalism are both mutually fluid. This questions the reliability and objectivity of the news output online. However, Fenton views this as a positive enhancement of democracy.

Contrastingly, Haak, Park and Castells view the journalistic practice to be declining in quality in the height of digital media. They link this idea back to the concept of citizen journalism, arguing that accuracy is lost as the public have not developed the same skills and knowledge that journalists have gained throughout years of experience. The authors state that there are “fewer facts checked” (Haak., et al 2012: 2925) has this heavily impacts the legitimacy of the output of stories for the citizen journalists. To an extent, I agree with the authors’ perspective, however, I acknowledge that citizen journalism can have positive effects on democracy.

A modern example of positive citizen journalism is the public’s use of live video streaming. In 2013, Guardian launched their site GuardianWitness where readers could submit stories, videos and photographs. This raw and honest footage is a positive enhancement of democracy as it allows citizens to form their own opinion and views on scenarios from the facts. The common citizen, spontaneously recording/photographing a shocking situation and uploading onto their social media platform will very rarely have an agenda. It’s an accurate representation of what has happened in the moment without media outlets being able to manipulate or edit the footage to suit the tone of a story.

To summarise, digital technology has benefited the journalism industry massively. It has allowed businesses and media outlets to reach a wider audience and continue to generate revenue through online advertisements whilst news content is free. The variety of online news platforms now means that political and social affairs can reach a new audience that was difficult to reach through traditional print techniques. Also, the digital advance has seen a rise in citizen journalism which creates a new and honest perspective of current affairs and stimulates conversation and engagement with the public. Bibliography:

Fenton, N (2009), News in the Digital Age. (Chapter 50) In: The Routledge Companion to News and Journalism. London: RoutledgeFile

Haak., B, Parks., M, Castells., M (2012) ‘The Future of Journalism: Networked Journalism’ in International Journal of Communication Vol 6 feature 2923-2938