Amongst the different types of services provided online, news is a major component. News is ... The main difference between alternative news blogs and.
News in digital media and mass media Evolution of news down the ages The oral traditions of the monastic orders gave way to written forms of knowledge in the ancient times .Then in the middle ages these stored information and knowledge gave way to print format through the invention of the press. Thereafter this new form of dispensation of information and knowledge has become popular and especially from the eighteenth century with the popularity of the press. In the later part of the nineteenth century, the new invention called telegraph led to faster dissemination of information and was used extensively by newspapers. The twentieth century saw a boom in electronics leading to inventions of radio and later television. Both these electronic mediums were able to give information and knowledge faster and were more animated mediums with a distinct entertainment value. With the flourishing of these two mediums more so of television has led to a gradual decline in the prospects of newspapers. The news format of television is attractive, immediate and vibrantly visual leading to greater credibility and attention of audience. However, print media industry has not experienced a major depletion of readership rather new readers have been able to offset the loss of erstwhile readers. With the advent of the twenty first century, a new digital form of communication has emerged. With networked computers a plethora of services were made available to such consumers who had access to them. Some of the basic services made available were news, information and entertainment. This digital media has within a short span of time increased phenomenally as people accessing digital services have increased manifold. Amongst the different types of services provided online, news is a major component. News is updated fast and immediately. The formats are user friendly leading from headlines to details and even allied news if the user desires. The chances of interactivity are very high if the user desires to give opinion in form of feedback. This interactivity has been successful to some extent in weaning away younger audience from the traditional mass media to new digital media. “They are in danger because younger audience are deserting them for the immediacy and interactivity of the internet”( Freedman,2010.,p.35). News making in different mediums The rise of digital media has affected news production in a big way. Earlier both technology and economic means were in the hands of the editors who acted as gatekeepers to which news would filter through. “The exploding multi-channel environment the technology to manipulate it, and the internet with its endless options and direct sources all give the consumer the choice previously made by news editors”(LeeWright,2010.,p.73 ). Internet provides not just the opportunity for the dissemination of news but allows vast scope for uploading information through multifarious sites by
interested individuals or groups and not just by big news corporations which are unable to have absolute control on news content both in selection and distribution. “The process of news journalism has been profoundly affected by new media, not just in the technology available to its gatherers and to its editors and distributors but to its consumers and their modes of consumption” (Lee-Wright, 2010, p, 77). Due to technical alternatives and varied news content in digital media allow the users to pick and choose news and at their own pace and time whereas information flow is regulated to some extent in different mass mediums. This digital medium is easily accessible and highly interactive; many issues whether global or local find takers with clear idea or preference for such issue unlike in mass mediums. The main difference between alternative news blogs and mainstream news is that alternative news is largely produced by non-journalists who are not backed by corporate interests (Adams, 2006). There is also greater empowerment of the user, demassification of the media content markets and potential to be more personal (Flew, 2009).However many interested individuals or groups with vested interests or bias may manipulate this platform. Also it may be noted that often less important news or ones with proximity to users or more entertainment value may get more positive response unlike mass media where news priority is often set by news editors. Online journalism challenges the fundamental role of a traditional journalist in the communication process. Though the individuals are in position of making their own news judgements, the role of the gatekeeper is not totally redundant (Singer, 2006). In any newspaper during process of news production the journalist who collects the news cannot be sure if this report/story would be selected and if selected how their work will be presented. The journalists at the news desk have to continually write or rewrite stories but only a few of these stories are actually published as there are few editions in a newspaper. Television and radio on the other hand have to speed up news production process as they have an hourly news bulletin and with an hourly deadline looming large additions are made to existing news stories along with incorporation of newer stories. Though radio and television are very swift at breaking news but due to constraint of time are unable to give details excepting important news. The digital medium has no deadline per se as the immediacy factor overrides every other consideration. Sometimes a news or information is uploaded as the story is developing with live feeds. Though the stories are initially sketchy but are fleshed out with more information at later stages. The position of invisible news net where stories are placed in time and space to lead to the concrete and the particular rather than the abstract and universal is challenged by online media Deadlines can be done away with and the geographical space can encompass a vast area ( Singer, 2006). Sometimes information is supplemented by users themselves (i.e., citizen journalists) who upload their side of the stories in feedback spaces. One of the exciting developments of modern times being citizen journalism (Adams, 2006). News content provider
News content in its present form came into being in the last century. The industrial revolution was the precursor to the mass media industry, from the collection of news, editing to its final distribution. The traditional mass media have followed the set pattern of mass production for mass consumption. National newspapers along with national broadcasters and telecasters all over the country supply the same standardized content at the same time or within a scheduled time period. This has led to a certain stifling of creativity and individuality in news content production with a very distinct difference between news content producer and news content receiver. “Twentieth century mass media were characterised by standardisation of content, distribution and production process. These tendencies towards centralisation and standardisation in turn reflected and created the possibility for control and regulation of media systems for professionalization of communicative and creative processes.”(Lister etal 2009, p.32). The advent of new digital media in news content production has led to a change in this process. Growth of digital media has given an immense boost to the varied ways that news content may be accessed. Any person from any part of the world can get to read online newspapers or magazines, if they so desire or listen to news from internet radio stations. Different types of news contents are accessed via internet. However it has to be understood that internet has increased the accessibility to news content and has very little influence on the types and amount of news content to be presented to audience. Most of the content found online has been available in similar forms in the mass media. It is not easy to get fame by publishing on the internet without the cooperation of the traditional mass media (Mc Quail,2005). For example, news on television is telecast and also uploaded on the internet and is available through video streaming. In case of news papers the articles are all available in the print version and are identical in most cases. However it may be noted that due to paucity of time and space respectively in electronic media and print media, it is not possible to give details in all cases but in the digital version it may be possible to elaborate a little more. But specific characteristics like interactivity have not been exploited to the fullest extent. Very rarely are the web editions of mass media updated at frequent intervals and formats like interactive reporting is rare. In fact news content specifically for internet is infrequent. News content, specifically made for the internet-such as real time stories that are updated during the day –is scarce and new content formats-such as interactive reporting are even scarcer.(Wurff,2008). However there are many news related sites of the internet that many news related sites of the internet that may use characteristic features of digital media like newsgroups, discussion forums and feedback columns. The function of news publishing has changed in the era of the internet. Simply reporting is not enough to succeed online. Online journalists need to be community organisers as participating in established online communication is the way forward. (Niles, 2010). Some of the leading newspapers with the online editions like Telegraph (UK), New York Times (USA), The Times of India, The Hindu, The Hindustan Times etc have robust presence in the social networking sites like Twitter to
reap benefits of the community environment, the links to stories in the newspapers websites are posted in Facebook and Twitter (Dutta,2013). News groups has the quality of unending text conversation in which the messages respond to and comment on previous messages (Lister etal 2009). Distribution of news and information The internet offers itself as a vehicle for news net not just in the form of network technologies or as a store house of information, or as a means of diverse forms of communication but also as a cultural space with its own rituals and norms (Trench & Quinn,2003). Production of news content for any medium is a static cost whereas using any medium for the distribution of the news content is the variable cost. The news content can be distributed by any medium like television and internet if the format is video or radio and internet if the format is audio. Basically expenses are minor when digital media is used to distribute or redistribute news content. By and large, internet technology reduces the cost of content reproduction and distribution but not the costs of content production (Wurff, 2008). This use of internet of digital media as distribution channel is very convenient for media organisations as at very little extra cost an additional medium is available for distribution of original content along with the medium the message was made for. Accordingly, we see that media organisations use the internet as a cost effective, additional promotion and distribution channel to serve existing and some new audiences (Wurff, 2008). An important reason for new producer‟s unwillingness to invest in exclusive news content only for digital media may be due to the fact that many types of news related contents are uploaded regularly by webloggers and by groups on social networking sites who may not have any business interests at all. Competition from sources with no profit motive could be the basic cause for news networks not spending a lot on news content. Hence the role of news organisations is not very proactive online. The general trend, therefore seems to be that newspaper publishers use their websites as tool to attract and maintain good relationships with print subscribers and sell additional services such as access to archives (Wurff ,2008 ). Nowadays the content of news is mostly in digital form. News is produces from information upon such a platform which may be used in print, audio, video or internet. This news content may then be published e.g. in a newspaper or epaper without any changes in the different formats. Idealistically the production follows the strategy „one source all media‟ whereby a journalist creates the content once and then publishes it in a newspaper, for broadcast or online without any alterations (Kung etal 2008). Also it has to be kept in mind that news media industry has to have reliability and trustworthiness amongst its users and it has been the case that audience tend to believe the news from established sources, so as such well-known media houses with both digital and non digital news platforms are the ones to be accepted in the long run. The credibility of the e-paper is associated with its brand image which is not built in a day. Users tend to trust
online versions of established media organisations more than some which are relatively new (Singer,1998). Concluding remarks It can be understood that news collection and processing is similar for both mass media and digital media. However production of contents exclusively for internet use is not done very significantly in news media industry. Digital journalism has the skill to broaden different types of news available and improve the value and quantity of news coverage and increase the interchange between producers and consumers of news. Networked new media can transform journalism because it is interactive, on demand, customizable; possess the ability to incorporate combination of text, images, moving pictures, sound; can build communities based on shared interest and also offer wide space of reportorial depth, texture and context which is not possible in any other medium (Pavlik, 2001). It is important to understand that with advent of digital media and its easy accessibility and interactivity has led to the audience becoming more proactive in the society and getting involved in all kinds of social, cultural and political domains, which does not negate journalistic aptitude of the media persons but makes it an opportunity to hone their skills further. The public sphere no longer solely belongs to the media thereby invoking speculations of death of journalism in online communities. However, a closer look into the process highlights the crucial role of journalism, one that is responsive and reactive, in the information age (Nguyen, 2006).Ultimately, objective news reaching the audience in time is of paramount importance for both the media professionals and news consumers and it has been seen that news from tried and tested sources (media groups) both in digital media and mass media attract greater audience due to credibility of such sources.
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