On death dow - The end of news as we know it?

 As the 21^st century powers on, it seems that those who fail to adapt to the rapid advances of technology are being left behind. Indeed, the rising star of the Internet may spell the end for journalism as we know it. 

Above: Image sourced from Google Images.

The changing face of journalism in the 21^st century has seen some interesting developments. We have seen the continual rise of online as a news medium and the fall of some traditional news forms, including the humble newspaper. With newspaper readership in Australia falling to record lows in recent years, some individuals, like Roy Greenslade, have predicted the eventual demise of print journalism. Greenslade states, “Popular newspapers, the mass newspapers, are dying and will die. They have no future whatsoever” (ABC 2008).  Print journalism’s former audience is now embracing new technologies to source their news, determining what content they want, how they want it and when they want it. Has our favour for online content ultimately been to the detriment of print journalism? Partly. However, online is not, perhaps, the sole cause of print’s dwindling audience. Indeed, society is more information hungry than ever before, yet the journalism industry has failed to adapt to their audiences’ increasing demand for online content. Some media groups have approached the rise of the online ‘news sphere’ with trepidation. Media mogul Rupert Murdoch confessed that his own media conglomerate, News Corp, was too slow when it came to recognising the power of the Internet (Doran, Holland and West 2011). The journalism industry is operating under a business that no longer reflects the needs of its users.

Is it all doom and gloom when it comes to the relationship between journalism and the online world? Can journalism and online ever really get along? Kim Porteous, multimedia editor for The Sydney Morning Herald, believes that newspapers and online news can successfully coexist. Porteous offers this advice for modern journalists: “The web has changed the way we read and the way we consume news. Tailor your journalism to it. Explore the new ways of producing serious…journalism” (Porteous 2010). The media should realise that new technologies like the iPad have dramatically affected the way that news is consumed. Therefore, news should be adapted to suit these new technologies, rather than simply taking articles written for a newspaper and placing it online in the same format. Journalists should “tailor their reporting to capitalise on the web medium” (Porteous 2010).  Technology should be used to journalism’s advantage, not to its detriment.

As more and more citizens are turning to online to source their news, it has become clear that, in order to survive, the journalism industry must adapt a new business model; a model that understands the changing face of the media in the 21^st century. After all, isn’t it adapting to changing societies that has allowed journalism to survive thus far? By listening to its audience and embracing new technology, journalism may live to fight another day. 

References:

Australian Broadcasting Corporation (2008). Roy Greenslade in Conversation with Margaret Simons. Accessed 12/8/11 <http://fora.tv/2008/05/01/Roy_Greenslade_in_Conversation_with_Margaret_Simons#fullprogram>

Doran, Holland and West E (2011). Journalism: the good, the bad and the ugly. CMNS3420 presentation. Viewed 24/8/11.

Porteous, K (2010). Can newspapers and the internet get along? Accessed 25/8/11.
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