Assignments - Traditional media versus Mainstream media

Group Members
Sampson Kwaku Martey - virtualmediatoday.blogspot.com
Georgina Emefa Kwashie - parksand gardens13.blogspot.com
Aisha Ahmed Alfari - yeerisislamicmarriage.blogspot.com
Akua Amina Boahen - boahensdiet.blogspot.com
Priscilla Lynda AS. Obeng -priscyobeng.blogspot.com

Not to long ago, journalism was something reserved for a select few with the training and resources to break and proliferate compelling news stories - a system that many still consider to be the most accurate and reliable way to get their news. However, that basic idea, and crucial societal function, is experiencing a fundamental shift.

As daily Internet usage becomes increasingly universal, suddenly people have started going online, specifically to social media networks like Reddit or Facebook to get their news and print media syndications have begun to die off as a result. Nearly 60% of people use Facbeook as a recurring news source while magazines like Newsweek struggle to move a substantial number of magazines. The abandonment of print media was referred to as one of the biggest shifts in journalism and media outlets were forced to adapt to changing trends or face extinction. However, in light of recent events, it seems clear that people are not only changing their mind about where to get their news, but also who delivers it to them.

Citizen journalism refers to a wide range of activities in which ordinary people contribute information or commentary about news or events (citizen journalism; www.educause.edu/eli). Without the participation of the citizenry, there would not be anything called citizen journalism. The traditional media which hitherto was the sole custodians of news and information did not allow audience participation and this made the audience dormant. The traditional media is known for its legacy in the old ways of disseminating information to its audience. It involves the use of various media such as radio, television, newspapers or books. The information delivery is one way with little or no audience participation.

The social media is referred to as the means of interaction in which users create, share, and/or exchange information and ideas in virtual communities and networks. Examples of these virtual communities include: Facebook, Twitter, and LinkedIn. These sites would not have been made possible without the development of web 2.0 technologies. Web 2.0 technology, which is an improvement on web 1.0, brings on board user generated content. This encourages users to be interactive with technology. The new media is defined as a 21^st century “catch all” term that is related to the internet and the interplay between technology, images and sound. (Newmedia.org/what-is-new-media.html). The new media has the characteristics of being manipulated, networkable, dense, compressible, interactive, and being often digital in nature. It does not include feature films and television unless they contain technologies that enable digital interactivity. (www.newmedia.org).

The new internet or social media has allowed the development of devices that enhance user interactivity. This new development is what has given rise to the ever increasing population of citizen journalists. It is very possible that the near future may witness the extinction of print media corporations; in favor of digital media corporations. Though many people still read news online that has been produced by traditional outlets, many users are now expressing that they feel the traditional outlets are 'too slow' or that their reporting has 'too much of an agenda'. While this attitude towards traditional media has been around for a long time, the prevalence of mobile devices that can record pictures, video and have constant internet connections, combined with the growing popularity of social networking sites have actually made it possible for people to produce and share news themselves .The term new media has been used contextually from time to time. It’s a cloud of technologies, skills and processes that change so quickly that it makes it a bit difficult to define. Cell phones in the 1980s were called new media but today this same term can apply to only a few digitally interactive cell phones such as Samsung Galaxy, Windows phones and Blackberry Phones. Certainly the new media has been an improvement on the old media and has improved on daily human interactions.

The activities of citizen journalists with the help of the social media have in a way affected the dominance of the traditional media outlets in terms of content and production of news information. What goes into information gathering and dissemination in the traditional media house entails a lot, it involves a lot more people than individuals who have the benefit of the new media. Now, the news making process is much easier than it was. The citizen journalist does not require a camera man, sound engineer, an editor, a writer and all that it takes to generate news; simply put the citizen journalist can be all this himself.  He or she uses tools that make it easier for him to upload news related content to the web.

The new media encourages audience participation than the traditional media houses. Applications such as blogs and wikis have made it possible for individuals to generate discussion. User friendly applications have helped formed virtual networks which people create and share news content with their virtual followers. People nowadays do not wait for the next day’s dailies to catch what is in the news; They rather jump on to social networking sites to check the news.

There’s only one way for the traditional media to survive and that way is to adapt to this new trend. They have also taken advantage of the new media to encourage users to submit content. CNN i-report invites comments from viewers. The BBC has a dedicated social media staff which is responsible for these contributions and check the veracity of the content submitted by these users. The traditional media houses have embraced this challenge by also operating online, training online reporters and engaging in crowd sourcing. Major news networks have online pages, facebook pages, twitter pages and blog accounts that feed the online market, The BBC for example out-doored 60 blogs in 2005 including that of ace political reporter, nick Robinson. Mechanisms have also been put in place to filter the news that comes in as libel laws cover internet. The BBC invited images of the dramatic snowfall in February to see what readers were expecting. 

Reference: Lecturers Handout (Mr kwodwo boateng)