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New media technologies have altered consumer perceptions and expectations of news services; however such technologies have become increasingly relevant in relation to the way journalists themselves function as professionals in a digital world.
Advancements in digital technologies have dramatically altered the practice of journalism (Herbert, 2000: 2). Satellite and video phones, the Internet, digital audio recorders and laptop computers allow instantaneous communication between most destinations in the world (Tapsall, 2001: 14). The outcome is multi-media journalism – a convergence of new media technologies, ultimately resulting in a change in the manner in which journalists of the twenty-first century deliver the news.
The ability for journalists to utilise new technologies, communicate and access information from any location has had wide-ranging consequences on journalism as a profession, in particular news gathering and delivery. Such technological developments have resulted in a changing role for journalists and the need for multi-skilled journalists to operate in changing newsrooms (Alysen et al, 2003: 225).
The Australian Journalists Associations Code of Ethics defines journalists as:
‘Journalists describe society to itself. They convey information, ideas and opinions. They search, disclose, record, question, entertain, comment and remember. They inform citizens and animate democracy. They give a practical form to freedom of expression. They scrutinise power, but also exercise it, and should be responsible and accountable’ (Tapsall, 2001: 5).
The early twenty-first century has proved a period of great change for journalists. The emergence of new technologies has resulted in a changing role for journalists and ultimately in the redefinition of the term journalist. As a result of rapid technological change, journalism as a profession has progressed significantly.
The earliest known journalistic forms materialised in ancient Rome in the 1st century BC, when Julius Caesar ordered that hand-written news bulletins be posted daily in the forum (Microsoft Encyclopedia Encarta, 2003: ‘Journalism’). Since that time, providing information to public audiences has become an essential element of modern democracy and has undergone dramatic technological changes.
The printing press, in short a mechanical tool for printing text on sheets of paper in mass, revolutionised and firmly established the profession of journalism. The first printed newspaper, originally produced from wood blocks, was invented in 1041 in Beijing, China (Microsoft Encyclopedia Encarta, 2003: ‘Journalism’). In the 1450’s the printing press was modernised by the German inventor Johann Gutenberg. Gutenberg developed a mold for casting type accurately and updated the printing press based on presses used in winemaking (Wikipedia: ‘Johann Gutenberg’). This innovation significantly altered the manner in which journalists of that time delivered the news as it allowed for the faster and wider distribution of information.
The profession of journalism was again transformed during the twentieth century as newsreels and radio developed and provided current information to large audiences during the Second World War. However, the early twenty-first century has proved perhaps the most significant period of change for journalists.
While early journalists functioned in information poor societies, new technologies have created a modern day informaton rich society. The Australian Bureau of Statistics found that the average Australian spent fifteen minutes a day reading a newspaper or magazine (Alysen et al, 2003: 16). While a 2001 ACNielsen population analysis found on average Australians spend more than three hours a day watching television (Alysen et al, 2003: 17).
As new technologies have enhanced news gathering practices, the expectation of superior quality news coverage has likewise increased - the impact of which is that journalists must become more creative in the manner in which they deliver the news (Tapsall, 2001: 18).
The need for multi-skilled journalists has become increasingly relevant in this digital age. New technologies have resulted in journalists having the capacity to participate in more of the technical functions of reporting than they have done in the past (Alysen, 2003: 225). Digital technologies have established the emergence of the video-journalist, broadcast journalists capable of both filming footage with portable digital cameras and editing their stories using desktop software (Alysen et al, 2003: 225).
It is also essential that journalists are familiar with common computer programs, the Internet, and editing soft-ware as they must be capable of computer assisted reporting (Herbert, 2000: 2). Computer Assisted Reporting, otherwise know as CAR, involves using computers to aid in the news gathering process. This technique has fast become the journalists preferred method of researching stories. (Cox, 2000)
Digital advancements have proved important in relation to the immediacy of news, as journalists are able to broadcast live from any destination and are able to send images and video footage directly to newsrooms, via video phones. This allows for the comprehensive coverage of late breaking news stories. Such technologies also enable journalists to edit audio and video materials on location, through the use of wireless laptop computers and transmit these materials to the newsroom instantly using the Internet.
Such technologies have redifined war journalism and changed the manner in which war corrospondants report international conflicts. There has been a dramatic progression from the original televised conflict of the Veitnam war to the real time coverage of the 2003 war in Iraq. Laptop computers and video phones have ensured that live broadcasts from war zones have become uncomplicated and common practice (Young, 1992: 45). While such technological advancements are advantageous in that they allow for increased mobility for field reporters, ensure regualr updates and keep the public well informed, concerns exist regarding censorship and the accuracy of information. (Young, 1992: 45).
Developments in portable satellite technologies have dramatically altered established practices within newsrooms worldwide. Changing technologies have enabled media organisations to easily distribute resources, audio and video footage and stories within newsrooms and across networks of newsrooms (Alysen, 2003: 223).
The development of new technologies such as satellite, wireless and digital communication services have dramatically influenced the practise of journalism. These technologies have enabled news organisations and television networks the advantage of rapid transmission of information through virtual and online outlets. The news environment has been significantly altered by digital and online journalism, as news organizations now have the ability to gather, produce and transmit information readily and instantaneously to the public.
The development of online journalism has been a gradual process. As new technologies are developed and become more readily available, news organizations have incorporated the use of these technologies to enable, faster, more accurate and non-stop news coverage on the internet.
“Beginning in the mid 1990’s, the news media latched onto the ability of the World Wide Web to illustrate news stories once left to magazines, newspapers, and television news programs� (Cohen, 2002: 532). News organizations and television networks built virtual news-stands carrying up-to-the-minute headlines allowing instant access of information by the public.
Flew (2002: 99) stated that due to the implementation of digital media by various media organizations, three benefits resulted, these are,
The development of online journalism has had multiple benefits to both the organizations that implement these technologies, and to the consumers. Not only does online journalism deliver higher quality media, it also provides a greater range and diversity of formats.
“Mark Deuze, an assistant professor at the University of Amsterdam, a center of communications theorists, identifies four types of online journalism, these include, mainstream news sites, search engines such as yahoo and google, media watchdogs and media discussion groups and lastly ‘share and discussion’ sites� (Reuven, 2002: 38).
The first type of online journalism is mainstream news sites. Mainstream news sites offer a selection of editorial content and also a moderated form of participatory communication. Some of these online news outlets include sites such as CNN and the BBC. Search engines that assimilate news from existing services for subscribers and also offer links to various mainstream news sites represents the second type of online journalism. Personal websites and blogs are also included in this category.
The third type includes is made up primarily of sites that discuss media content and act as a media watchdog. Lastly, the fourth category consists of ‘share and discussion’ sites. These provide place for exchanging ideas “often centered around a specific locality/community, or a particular theme such as worldwide anti-globalization activism or computer news� (Reuven, 2002: 38).
Ted Turner’s establishment of the Cable News Network (CNN) in 1980 started a revolution that changed the way journalism and news services were viewed and transmitted. Turner transformed CNN from a small UHF station broadcasting from Atlanta, into a twenty four hour global news program. Turner’s plan was to build an all-electronic newsroom, its systems tied together by computer and satellites. Today CNN broadcasts across the globe in nine languages over the Internet, radio and television.
One of the latest technologies introduced by CNN is the new laptop-based digital newsgathering system. “The system combines new lightweight cameras and advanced satellite and internet communications technology, enabling correspondents to file stories faster and more efficiently than ever before to a variety of media platforms, including television, wireless, radio and internet� (CNN Switches on Digital Systems for Correspondents, 2004: 12). From its provincial beginnings to a twenty-four hour international news organization, CNN has always been at the forefront of journalism.
The digital age has enabled journalists to implement the latest digital technologies such as satellite communication and computer assisted reporting, providing consumers with real time news and stories and far greater diversity then ever before. One particular example of “the effect the digital age is having on journalism is starkly seen in the way photos can now be in the paper within minutes of being taken.� (Herbert, 2000: 98) Once a photo is taken on a digital camera it can be sent through to the newsroom via phone or satellite, and can immediately be inserted online.
Another primary technology that has been implemented by journalists in this digital age is that of computer-assisted reporting. Journalists now have the ability to access information almost instantaneously to add dept and context to articles and stories, through the use of online databases, satellite technology and even through digital cameras. Computer-assisted reporting helps get reporters beyond anecdotal research to a place where they can be more critical in their thinking and more definitive in their findings.
Other technologies that have been adopted by journalists include digital broadcasting, wireless technology and interactive online services. "Digital communication and technology is one of the most exciting, rapidly expanding fields of study and practice throughout the world, as witnessed by the increasing number of websites and users of the internet." (Ludlow, 1996: 11) Due to the development of these technologies, information can be transmitted, gathered and accessed quickly and effortlessly. Technologies of digital journalism are ever changing and expanding.
Improvements and advancements in satellite technology have enabled journalists to produce and transmit images and footage live to various news mediums. The development of this technology has proved invaluable for journalists reporting from remote areas, in particular war coverage. Satellite technology was primarily and effectively used throughout the war in Iraq, to transmit images from the battlefield direct to the public.
News organizations and networks such as CNN, ABC and the BBC implemented the use of a satellite videophone in order to maintain and transmit constant, live coverage of the war in Iraq. The videophone is a new technology that had previously never been implanted in news coverage. The device is made up of a camera, transmitter terminal and dome-shaped antenna that provide live over- the-shoulder views from the battlefield. These images that are captured by the videophone are instantaneously transmitted through the use of satellite to online news outlets, and televisions.
The development of digital journalism has radically changed the way people access the news. The introduction of the internet opened the way for the creation of an entirely new medium of journalism – online journalism.
Online journalism presents users with the unprecedented ability to chose when, where and what news they will receive. The traditional news media of broadcast, print and radio all broadcast, publish or air their bulletins at the time they chose, in the order they chose and to the depth they chose. However, online journalism allows the user to access the news at any time from any computer or personal device with an internet connection. Once connected, the user can select the stories they wish to view and can easily access further information on the story if they so desire.
These developments have given the user an unprecedented amount of interactivity when accessing the news. People have always interacted with the media however, interactivity is far more flexible in online journalism (DeWold, 2001: 102). Users can sign up for an online newspaper and be regularly emailed stories about their interests, Online journalism also gives the user unprecedented possibilities in responding to the story. After reading a story the user can email the journalist to tell them what they though of the article, join a chat group to discuss the article or post a comment on a feedback page.
Studies into how users digest content on online journalism sites show that users consume the story in a completely different way to users of traditional journalism media. In the early stages of online journalism many sites where attached to news outlets who simply posted their print story or the script of the radio story onto the page. This proved to be ineffective as writing for the online world is vastly different from writing for the printed page (DeWolk, 2001: 90). Author Martha Sammons pointed out in her ‘Internet Writer’s Book’ that people read off the computer screen thirty percent slower then they read off paper. Also, people do not read carefully online, rather they scan. If they cannot quickly and easily find the information they are after they promptly leave the site (DeWolk, 2001: 90).
To complement this, online journalism developed its own style of story construction. Presenting the story in chunks allows the reader to quickly scan the story and single out the passages relevant to them (Ward, 2002: 148). Presenting information in the form of bulleted lists, tables, graphs or other clear graphic elements allow the reader to get the information they want quickly (DeWolk, 2001: 92). The writing towards the end of the page should not conclude the story but rather should compel the user to link onto other pages connected to the story.
In broadcast, print and radio the story is presented to the user in a linear fashion. The journalist decides how the story should be constructed and it is presented to the audience in the manner chosen by the journalist. The user would then hear, read or view the story from start to finish giving the user the option of either consuming it or not.
To a certain extent, the journalist can try to guide the user through the story but ultimately the result rests with the user (Millison, 2004). The hypertextual nature of online journalism allows the user to read the parts of the story they wish to, link onto other pages within the site, play audio grabs or view short video pieces. To encompass this, the journalist must construct the story to be non-linear, allowing the user to be able to easily follow the story as they want to.
Online journalism is the place "where television, radio, and the new media forms of the internet collide" (Hall, 2001: 6). This Convergence Within Journalism is likely to change everything journalists think they understand about mass media (DeWolk, 2003: 85)
Immediacy has always been a fundamental element of journalism as the very nature of the new is that it is ‘new’. Broadcast and radio were traditionally the most immediate form of journalism as, should a major story break, they could interrupt their programming with a bulletin. However, they are still constrained by deadlines and cannot explore the story in too much depth (Gunter, 2003: 48). Print journalism allows story depth but often the story is not reported until the morning after. Online journalism provides perhaps the best arena for distributing news quickly (DeWolk, 2001: 51) as it presents the immediacy of broadcast and radio with the depth of print. However, this has presented a problematic question for news organisations that run both a traditional and online outlet – whether or not to break a story on the online site before broadcasting or publishing it.
Advances in technology have enabled extreme changes in journalism; in the way news is gathered, transmitted, received, and interpreted. These changes enable rapid collection and transmission of data that would once have been impossible to receive. Because technology has allowed an ease of journalism, various ethical concerns arise which effect news gatherers and society.
For centuries journalism has been one of the main ways in which society receives news. As technology has advanced, so to has the ability of journalists to report from further and further a field. This frequency of news being transmitted from remote areas around the world often effects the decisions made by politicians. A prime example of this phenomenon is politicians’ use of the news coverage of wars. Journalists’ use of new media technologies such as digital, satellite and wireless technologies have enabled the instantaneous transmission of news from remote areas around the world, giving politician’s relevant, real-time information on developments in world affairs. Johanna Neuman, foreign editor of USA Today, argues that a reliance on this instant information that has shaped the decisions that politicians make.
While Neuman argues that new technology in media is shaping politics and international affairs, others argue that politicians are also making use of new technology in the dissemination of what they consider to be news. Around the globe politicians are employing what is often referred to public relations, spin doctoring or journalism. Advances in new technology are making it infinitely less difficult for these politicians to air responses via these news outlets to the public.
These tip-sheets, newsletters, articles and "news-digests" can be found not only on political web sites, but also in sources such as The Note from ABC, NBC's First Read, the Washington Wrap from CBS, and CNN's The Morning Grind.
In many cases journalism and news in its various forms is monitored and regulated by a governing body, quite often being the leading political party. Many governing or regulatory bodies aim to monitor the media and ensure it is unbiased and inoffensive, whilst being accessible. For example the mission of the Australian Press Council is: “To help preserve the traditional freedom of the press within Australia and ensure that the free press acts responsibly and ethically.� (The Australian Press Council Online) In some countries there are strict guidelines set out for journalists to adhere to and often monitoring and censorship of news.
In China the leading Communist Party closely monitors the media and journalists, editors and publishers have been sent to labor camps or jail for publishing stories which don’t abide by the government’s standards. Recently the Chinese State Administration of Radio, Film and Television issued a statement saying that on-air personalities shouldn't wear "over-fashionable or exposing clothes," hairstyles may not be "too colorful" or "queer." (Johnston, 2004: Online) According to the State Xinhua News, Chinese authorities want to make the media "less sexy and violent" and more compatible with Chinese social values. The Chinese government monitors the internet and has sent some internet publishers to labor camps, and according to media rights group, Reporters without Borders there are currently 2,800 text messaging monitoring centres in China. (cited in Glover, T, 2004, Online)
Through the development of new media technologies such as digital cameras, satellite phones, and laptop computers journalists, in particularly photojournalists have found it much easier to send news images from the field – no matter how remote, to the news room and into our homes. Photojournalists can easily use their equipment not only to capture and transmit their images, but to manipulate these images to create the desired effect. Cheryl Johnston, author of the text Digital Deception, American Journalism Review, acknowledges the temptation that is borne from new technologies for journalists doctor images. Johnstone uses the case of Los Angeles Times photographer Brian Walski. While covering the unfolding war in Iraq in 2003 Walski took two photographs of a British soldier standing in front of a crowd of Iraqis. Unhappy with the photographs he used his lap top to super impose one photo on top of the other. He then emailed the photo back to the Los Angeles Times where it was run prominently the next day. Walksi was later caught out and fired. (Johnston, 2003: Online)
New media technologies in journalism enable journalists to report from remote areas of the world. Television news flashes show journalists reporting live from the scene of the event, whether it is a refugee camp in Rwanda or a local shopping centre in your neighborhood. A question of ethics has been raised however in the case where News Corporations and television stations are constantly covering events, for example in the gulf war. Joanne Ostrow questions the quality of this constant coverage, and argues that it simply tried to credit itself on being live from a war zone. She accused journalists of "flag waving":
Other questions of ethics are raised in relation to live coverage and the use of technology as a gimmick. Steven Barkin, author of the book American Television News accuses some forms of news networks of using technology to create hype and for self-promotion, in cases where live repots and helicopter-based coverage are all there for show. He accuses the newscast of self promotion in their use of cars and vans and satellites as billboards for their networks. (Barkin, 2003: 67)
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