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Evolution
of Journalism in the Digital Age
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Summary of Mike Gasher's "Interactivity" Traditional
journalism differs from on-line journalism in their content and presentation.
On-line journalism today is not simply transplanting text from the traditional
newspaper to the web. On-line journalism involves condensed stories,
hypertext and interactivity. |
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ESSAY The evolution
of print did not occur in an overnight surge of changes but over a long
period of time facilitated by the changes in technological advancements.
These technological advancements and evolution of print also affected
the changes in the societal functions of print media. Gutenberg's
invention of the moveable type revolutionized the print medium and aided
in the advancement of technology in the production of other forms of
print media. Now, in the digital age, the quick diffusion of new technologies
has increased the popularity of computers and the Internet. This has
caused more producers of print media to turn to the Internet as the
new medium for journalism but not necessarily abandoning print. Print
media has not died; instead it adapted to coexist with their on-line
counterpart. On-line journalism is the result of the evolution of print
and more specifically in the evolution of journalism through mediamorphosis.
The evolution
of online journalism fits into Fidler's idea of mediamorphosis where
the old media in this case are traditional newspapers and magazines
and new media is online journalism. On-line journalism has extended
journalism beyond the limitation of print, providing more opportunities
for convergence with the inclusion of interactivity by the addition
of hypertext, audio, video segments, feedback and other content that
would otherwise be impossible to include in a print medium. (Gasher
2002, 260) The notion of online journalism being interactive produced
journalists on the web such as "backpack journalists" who
present the news non-linearly with multimedia components - which is
essentially what defines "converged journalism". This method
takes full advantage of the Internet as an online journalism medium;
taking into account that interactivity is a major driving power in new
media. (Stevens, 2002) Internet not only made online journalism more
interactive but also to evolve from print journalism being one-to-many
(mass media) to online journalism being many-to-many (non-mass media). The change
in the technology available has changed not only the medium in which
print is presented but also in the layout of print. Tabularity, which
is seen in the layout of print journalism, is even more apparent in
on-line journalism. The length of the content has also been decreased
since audiences of the web today tend to read in fragments. They scan
websites instead of reading them linearly. They also dislike long paragraphs
and having to scroll down a page. (Morkes and Nielsen, 1997) In traditional
newspapers, there is usually re-direction to another page for a continuation
of a certain article also applies to on-line newspapers but in the form
of hypertexts. Indexicality refers to these hypertexts that point the
audience to another web portal or destination. It's a linear Internet
experience where the user moves in an "A to Z sequence" (Gasher
2002, 260) but audience reading is still in a fragmented fashion. Hypertexts
not only direct audiences to other websites but also enable audiences
to "create their own news packages". (Gasher 2002, 260) The
social function of online journalism has shifted more towards the direction
of surveillance and interpretation while still fulfilling functions
in socialization and entertainment but not as in great extend in the
context of online journalism. People are now capable of being their
own gatekeepers. They have more control over what kind of information
they want to consume without limitations of agendas set by institutions.
Consumers are no longer spoon-fed information. Audiences of today also
have become prosumers - the producer and consumer of the content. (Wurman
2001, 8) If the audience wants to create his or her own online magazine
or news site, they have the ability to do so with the Internet. The social
function of interpretation is also more emphasized with audiences' ability
to have more geographic mobility with the variety of online journalism
and is "no longer restricted to local newspaper and television
station for news abroad." (Gasher 2002, 261) Marshall McLuhan's
statement about the newspaper can be applied to how online journalism
reinforces the idea of the world being a global village. The evolution
in the print medium affects the evolution in societal functions. Journalism,
until the advent of the Internet, has been presented in paper form and
societal function was concentrated on surveillance. Now, the medium
has changed into the Internet, thus changing the societal function of
journalism online is still surveillance but with the added importance
on interpretation. Online journalism has evolved from traditional print
media to a future that is leaning towards convergence through interactivity,
and in the process, shifting the societal function of journalism. |
| WORKS
CITED
STEVENS, Jane (2002).
"Backpack Journalism is Here to Stay." GASHER, Mike (2002).
"Interactivity", in Mediascapes: New Patterns in Canadian
Communication Edited by Paul Attalah and Leslie Regan Shade. MORKES, John and
Jakob NIELSEN (1997).
© October 2002 Joyce Tanjuakio |