Regets 1 William Regets Mrs.

Drumm

English 111

November 18, 2013,

Technologys effect on Journalism

The days in which readers get their information solely from old journalists that write in ones daily black and white newspaper are dead; The mornings where someone would put on a robe, have a cup of coffee in their hand, and walk out to the curb and pickup the morning press is on life support. Make way for the future, or the present, whichever way one might look at it. Blogs are the new age. Blogs are whats hip, whats cool, whats popular. Blogs are what the cute girl in the coffee shop whom one is to scared to talk to is on. Blogs are where people go to first instead of CNN to get their news. And not just the daily news but, more importantly, up to the minute news. Hourly news. Now one doesnt have to wait until morning to get that dinosaur of a newspaper to see whats going on in the Middle East. Technology has made accessing information easier than ever. By the click of a mouse or by a tap on ones cell phone you can have up to the minute news when its convenient for you. Whenever its convenient for them, they are able to see what is going on in Washington, or what their friends are doing on social media. Dont think for a second that there are not consequences for these liberties bestowed upon us.

Regets 2 Everything is not all rose petals, and we certainly arent living in LALA land. The realities are very scary for the professionals in the journalism and printing businesses. They are fighting a losing battle to keep their livelihoods afloat; its sink or swim time for them, either adjust and progress into the next chapter of journalism or drown like every other old journalist who was too ignorant to change their ways. Technology has made it easier to get information, and it has also hurt a lot of companies at the same time. Journalism in magazines and newspapers has become too stuffy and dry over the years. It hasnt evolved enough over time to attract a younger, broader audience. When journalists are writing their pieces for their respected employer, they have deadlines. Expectations brought on by the bosses. Journalists are expected to write interesting pieces in order for people to keep reading their work. Day-by-day weekby-week, this is their job. They are not allowed to speak their minds to the fullest extent. Why, because they are representing a business, and everything they say represents their employer. They say something that may not be politically correct or in line with what everyone else is saying and there is a chance that they can be fired or punished. So, why even run the risk? Enter bloggers. Bloggers do not have impossible deadlines to satisfy. They dont have to rush out sub-par work in order to appease their boss. They are their own boss. They make the rules; there is no one telling them what they have to write about or what should or shouldnt be said. Bloggers work at their own pace. That is the beauty of blogging. We are all humans, and we all have our own thoughts and ideas that dont conform to societys rules for being politically correct. On the

Regets 3 Internet we are allowed to cuss, and we are allowed to express how we are really feeling at that time. Kaus a former writer for The New Republic and Newsweek (408), said it best Bloggers get to go off half-cocked, trust their instincts and change their minds later if therere wrong (409). Writers have to love this style of writing, right? If they write something for a newspaper or a magazine, once its printed, its out there for the world to see; you cant take it back. With ones own blog one can go back and edit it and make changes. By trusting ones instincts and writing what one may feel ,because it comes off as more natural to your readers and therefore more heartfelt. Isnt that what journalism and writing should be all about? Online, Youve got tens of thousands of potential columnists writing for free, fueled by passion, operating in a free market where the cream rises quickly(406). Every article and headline shouldnt be the same. I want personality in the pieces I read. I want to know that the piece I am reading, by the writer who is writing it, is inspired by his work and enjoys his job. With technology being at the forefront in everyones homes and pockets. I can pick and choose who and what I want to read. If Im on vacation in another country, I am capable of picking up my phone and looking up an article written by my favorite writer. No matter where we are we have all of this at our disposal. People are no longer tied to just one newspaper. We are living in an age where we are flooded by information. And everyone is allowed to have a blog and express his or her opinion. We dont have to have a degree in order to log on the Internet and voice our concerns or deepest thoughts. On May 2, 2011 when Seal Team 6th raided Osama Bin Ladens compound in Abbottabad, Pakistan the first person to break the news

Regets 4 was Sohaib Athar, who sent out a series of tweets talking about helicopters flying in over the compound, windows rattling hard, gun fire, and he even heard the helicopter crash. This wasnt a big news network that broke this story. This was an everyday person just like ourselves tweeting about what he saw, and thats it. Little did he know, he broke the biggest story of the year. This is one example of how technology is changing the news and journalism communities. Everybody is a blogger now. Everyone has their opinions and wants to express them. The definition of blogs is best summed up by Welch when he says for the first time in history, given the average Jane the ability to write, edit, design, and publish her own editorial product (402).. Over a billion people have some sort of social media account, whether its Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, or the countless other. So, in essence, that makes everyone a micro blogger. Social media has made it easy for people to speak their minds. Facebook is great for expressing opinions; its easy for our friends to engage in that form of communication with us. People dont need to pick up the phone and call us anymore. We dont have to be personable anymore. We choose when we want to reply and whom we reply to. There is no doubt that social media has fundamentally changed the way we communicate with one another.. Moises Naim talked about Chinese soldiers shooting Tibetan refugees that included monks, women and children (424). This sparked an international outcry after a video of the incident was posted on YouTube, for the world to see. International news operations employ thousands of professional journalists, they will never be as omnipresent as millions of people carrying a cell phone that can record video(424). And that may end up

Regets 5 sparking a movement or at the very least give them some perspective in their lives. We are living in a global world today. It is so easy to communicate with someone across the world. Before, it would take days, weeks, or months; now it only takes a few seconds. Media has changed so much over the years its scary to think about where we will be in five years or even twenty years from now. There was once a time where, DC was in many ways an amiable place. The political parties had enormous power and old bulls ran the congress with an Iron hand. To get along you go along (399). The press for the most part avoided scandal. Everyone in Kennedys press corps knew about the presidents affairs, but would not think of writing about them (399). Times are so different from that time period its scary. If that happened in todays world, everyone would know about it the second after someone found out. Its hard to keep secrets in todays world. The new emotional media are the friends of the ideological purists, not the go-along and get-along types (399). If one tells someone something, it could end up on Twitter the next minute. Technology has made it easy to communicate with a mass amount of people within seconds. Walter Cronkite was once upon a time the most trusted-man in America. That was back when Americans trusted the government and believed in the American dream. In the modern world, with all this communication at our fingertips, we can catch liars and cheaters. We are now living in the technology era. With all this advancement, we are sure to have some setbacks, right? The newspaper is slowly dying. There have been so many newspapers go out of business simply because they dont have the readers. No one is purchasing a bulky newspaper when its so easy to go

Regets 6 online and get our news. A few years ago, they stopped printing the box scores of baseball games in newspapers across the country, a tradition that has been going on for many years. Fathers would go out get the newspaper and the first thing they would do is turn to the sports section to check out who won and who didnt, to find out if their favorite player did anything notable. Why did they do this? How long will they last in this fast-paced world? The biggest newspaper in the world the The New York Times has even had to evolve. They are now more of a hybrid newspaper. On the Internet and the newspaper, they are scrambling to find ways to generate revenue in order to stay afloat and relevant. Think of all of the job losses. This resonates further than what you might think. With all of these newspapers shutting down almost at what seems like every other day, there are many people affected by this. First, the writers themselves, then we have the Editors. Next we have the people who work in the factory, physically creating this newspaper or magazine for us, and not to mention all the lowly assistants, and janitors of these buildings where they are employed. That is a ton of families. We think thats a lot of people to lay off, but think about if all of them have families to feed. They may not be so excited for what the future holds, unlike the rest of us. The fact remains that technology isnt going anywhere. Its here for good. Welch sums it up best for me. He says, Bloggers are basically oblivious to such traditions, so reading the best of them is like receiving a bracing slap in the face. Its a reminder that America is far more diverse and iconoclastic than its newsrooms. (404). This is true. America is so diverse and different than it was

Regets 7 forty years ago. People are so much more outspoken and opinionated in todays society. Technology has had such a big impact on journalism and news media today, and it will never ever be the same as what it once was. Smolkin, who wrote The Expanding Blogsphere said that Social media and blogs have fostered public involvement in politics and enhanced political dialogue (408). The difference between blogs and professional media companies are that We are edited: were not opinion as much as we are analysis, and we dont report rumors (412). That is in fact what TV news stations do have going for them. Because it is just more natural to trust CNN or FOX news rather than the blog or Twitter feed we read. They are bigger and probably have many more sources at their disposal. Blogs and social media are most definitely not going anywhere. Caryl Rivers, Matt Welch, Rachel Smolkin, and Moises Naim fundamentally believe that technology has forever changed that landscape of journalism and media. Blogs, and the Internet are here to stay forever. What will be interesting is whether or not magazines and newspapers will be able to compete. As it looks now, though, is that blogs and social media are competing with TV news channels like CNN. Newspapers and magazines are in the rear-view mirror.

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Works Cited
Smolkin, Rachel The Expanding Blogosphere Exploring Relationships: Globalization and learning in the 21st Century. Boston Learning solutions, 2013, 407-414, Print Naim, Moises The YouTube Effect Exploring Relationships: Globalization and learning in the 21st Century. Boston Learning solutions, 2013, 423-425, Print Welch, Matt Blogworld and Its Gravity Exploring Relationships: Globalization and learning in the 21st Century. Boston Learning solutions, 2013, 400-407, Print Caryl, Rivers The New Media Politics of Emotion and Attitude Globalization and learning in the 21st Century. Boston Learning solutions, 2013, 398-400, Print