I. Do newspapers matter in the digital age?, A TED talk by Lisa DeSisto
In this talk, the speaker is emphasising upon the true meaning of ‘journalism’ and how is it affected by digitalisation. With the advent of digitalisation, people are seeking more news and information than ever before. There are multiple devices people regularly use to obtain news, and they go through multiple news sources as well. In no time, the journalistic stories are reaching to different parts of the world as a piece of information, and it became a possibility with availability of the Internet. At the same time, the way society has been reacting to the journalistic coverage in local and overseas spaces is holding immense importance in the digital era. In particular, the pattern in which a consumer and audience is acquiring information and making use of the ‘news’ through different mediums, is drawing journalism more closer towards their goal of being credible and reliable. Although digital technology has reduced the audience of print newspapers, online journalism has enormous opportunity to grow its power. It is a collective effort of reporters, editors, and web developers to publish a journalistic story. In the video, the CEO of MaineToday has provided a transformative view of journalism, and their objective to be tied in public issues, telling stories which essentially has magnitude of impact on people and society. There has been a shift in number of viewers on print and digital means to consume news, and the social media is amplifying the journalism to a great extend.
This talk is providing a holistic meaning to news consumption in the age of digitalisation. The viewers will get a brief idea about the impact of digital technology on the journalism. There are a few examples of how a news is covered and treated by the audiences which is strengthening the practice of online journalism.
Source: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DBo1mFKV2F0
II. Yellow Journalism and Journalists’ Right to Non-Disclosure of Source, A. Vanaik, Economic and Political Weekly
With the advent of digitalisation, everyone has the capability to become a reporter and cover a story. Yellow journalism encourages scandalous stories converted into news, and in this digital era, journalism ethics, protection of sources is becoming a serious concern because there is no end to public expression. This paper is arguing to keep the yellow journalism and a journalist’s confidentiality to sources segregated from one another. The protection of sources is a bond of truth between journalists and their sources, whereas, it is argued whether the sources should be disclosed in order to tackle the yellow journalism. The intertwined journalists’ rights and responsibilities are taking a toll on fundamental rights to privacy of sources and press because the sensationalised issues are not always accepted by the people. It becomes a matter of court judgement and journalists become crucial mediator in such cases. This article gives a vision to journalistic work and reactions that comes afterwards. It becomes a matter of struggle and democratic rights of a journalist. Through this article, a reader can familiarise the different facets of a journalists, their writing/coverage, questions on their sources, all in the context of yellow journalism.
Source: A. Vanaik. “Yellow Journalism and Journalists’ Right to Non-Disclosure of Source.” Economic and Political Weekly, vol. 22, no. 42/43, 1987, pp. 1789–1790. JSTOR, www.jstor.org/stable/4377630.
III. “From Luckless Tribe to Wireless Tribe: The Impact of Media Technologies on War Reporting.” The War Correspondent, by Greg McLaughlin, Pluto Press.
There are different fields in journalism and the reporters who work in those fields tend to have specific responsibilities. In the book “The War Correspondent”, there are ten chapters focusing on war journalism and war reporting and a larger discussion on war correspondents. It also examines how a war reporter is depicted in the wider culture, such as its representation in films. Looking at this particular chapter, it describes how digital technology and social media is facilitating the message to audience. It is stated by Channel 4 News that the “Egyptian revolution was planned on Facebook, organised on Twitter and broadcast to the world via YouTube. The global news channels, above all Al Jazeera, became a massive amplifier for the amateur reports and videos, spreading the revolution’s impact across the world.” (McLaughlin, 63) It is essential to know the important new dimensions of journalism, this paper brings forward the global crises reported live, and how this feature of ‘live’ has resulted in advanced strategic communication. The paper has chronologically arranged sections starting from telegraph, photograph, news reel film and war, radio, television, and lastly, the citizen journalism and social media. The paper is providing the impact of social media in reporting of conflict, and how the instant communication on social media is becoming a source of raw information which is affecting journalism to a great context. The readers through this paper will learn about the timeline of various mediums used by journalists for war reporting, and can evaluate the transition from traditional methods to new form of media in digital era.
Source: “From Luckless Tribe to Wireless Tribe: The Impact of Media Technologies on War Reporting.” The War Correspondent, by Greg McLaughlin, Pluto Press, London, 2016.
IV. Google Glass: Privacy, Journalism, and the Dawn of Wearable Technology, 2014
“I hijacked technology for journalism.” — Robert Hernandez, Faculty in School of Journalism, USC Annenberg.
In an interview with ReasonTV, Robert Hernandez describes how he has used the digital tool ‘Google Glass’ as a tool for reporting. He plans to incorporate this tool for the purpose of storytelling and to create the content and experience through wearing and utilising these glasses. One of the objectives is to create journalistic information and provide the news with more concrete outlook. It is easier to optimise existing news stories, and as an end goal, Hernandez aims to create and present stories through Augmented Reality which is emerging technology. In this prospect, the glasses are a starter to this target. These glasses also advance the job of a reporter, through which it is easier to contact the sources and avoid awkwardness or shyness between a reporter and the source. The source is also aware of his privacy because he/she will always known when the Google Glass is recording. Thus, the technological advancement are important in the digital age, and Google Glass is an example of how journalists are making best use of it in their journalistic process or process of storytelling. I recommend this video because this tool is effective and there could be many other digital tools which can be inculcated or invented for to advance the journalism.
Source: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lWkb4G378j0
