Technology and the internet age has influenced the journalism world greatly in the past decade. The internet medium has surpassed print as a more utilized source for news consumption, while broadcast still reigns supreme. According to Professor Alan Goldenbach of the Phillip Merril College of Journalism at the Univeristy of Maryland, the technological influence has had both positive and negative influences. Essentially, the role of the internet in the news has brought information to the broadest spectrum of people to date. Back when print and broadcast alone were the means of obtaining information, “we really couldn’t reach that many people,” said Goldenbach, who further discussed how he would post an article at The Washington Post and not only would residents of the D.C. metro area be available to read his work, but people in Chicago, Seattle, Johannesburg Beijing, and basically anywhere with internet in an instant. By expanding the potential audience, journalism increases its capability to inform the masses, which is the primary goal of news. However, the downside to the technological influence in the media world takes a hit at the personality of journalism, attacking the more local focus of the news, taking the community aspect out of journalism, which aims to isolate certain communities and appealing to a smaller scale. Goldenbach also discussed that psychologically, people also tend to approach news differently when they take it from an electronic device such as a computer or a cell phone, as opposed to a print source such as a newspaper or a magazine. “You would have a little more patience to read the pages in a broad sheet newspaper. You may not have the patience to sit and stare at a screen, whether it’s a desktop screen or an ipod screen. What that has forced journalists to do is to make stories shorter, and with that, some of the depth of reporting is taken away. One of the skills journalists need to provide is more than what people see.” Goldenbach discussed how it is easy to convey a small story in a 140 character twitter story, like “There was a fire in the barn,” or “there was a shooting downtown,” within those 140 characters is no explanation, context, or depth, which are vital aspects of the news story.
For the future, the technological influence in the media world must be taken seriously into consideration. With a broader spectrum of viewers and readers comes a greater responsibility. As Goldenbach discussed, the internet age has taken away much of the personality of journalism, so in future teaching of journalism, the community focus needs to be highlighted, while also emphasizing the importance of branching out, observing more stories outside one’s own community. While community focus is important, there are also important stories that occur outside of one’s own backyard. The psychological problem also needs to be taken seriously into consideration. Studies need to be done that focus on why people are or are not able to focus on a backlit screen as opposed to a print sheet. The technological influence has changed the way this topic is being taught as well. Glancing at the class list within the Journalism college and the University of Maryland, one notices a common trend among each section: an emphasis on technology. Classes such as Online Journalism and Multimedia Skills focus on technology’s role in conveying news. The school also emphasizes the consolidation responsibility of the journalist, which is to say that prospective journalists are responsible for knowing multiple facets and methods of reporting and taking in news, such as audio, print, and video, and experience is incredibly vital. Also, taking into consideration the statistic that shows how internet has surpassed print as a more used medium of news consumption, a certain amount of focus needs to aim at making sure print does not go under completely. While there are plenty of jobs being created that aim to make the internet a better place for the news, print already reputable and powerful and important in society, especially during this transition period in which journalism is in the midst of.
As many view journalism as being in the middle of a crisis, the actuality of the situation is that journalism is undergoing a serious and vital transformation, not unlike society as a whole, allowing itself to keep up with the times by adopting a broader audience and taking the means and efforts necessary to satisfy and inform its multiplied audience.
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