ASSIGNMENT- NEW MEDIA

            EFFECT OF CITIZEN JOURNALISM ON TRADITIONAL MEDIA


Technology is the making,modification, usage and knowledge of tools, machines, techniques, crafts, systems and methods of organization in order to solve a problem, improve a pre-existing solution to a problem, achieve a goal or perform a specific function.

In recent times of technological development, the printing press, the telephone and internet have lessened the physical barriers to communication and allow humans to interact freely on a global scale. Moreover, technology has affected the society and its surroundings in a number of ways. In many societies, technology has helped develop most advanced economies and has allowed the rise of leisure class. Many technological products including weblogs, social bookmarking tools, wikis, and micro-blogging tools have helped to promote communication all over the world.

The introduction of web 1.0 and 2.0 is another typical example of technological development and the invention of the printing press made it possible for scientists and politicians to communicate their ideas with ease leading to the age of enlightenment.The use of the term technology has changed significantly over the last 200 years.

Social media on the other hand is the future of communication, a countless array of internet based tools and platforms that increase and enhance the sharing of information (http://www.newmedia.org/what-is-new-media.htmlnew-media.html).

Facebook, LinkedIn, webcast, twitter and YouTube are created online communities where individuals can share their personal information as much as they desire with other members. Social bookmarking tools and new sites such as delicious, reddit, and others make finding images and information increasingly simple by assigning individual sites.

New media essentially is cyber-culture with modern computer, technology, digital data controlled by software and the latest fast development communication technology. Most technologies described as new media are digital and often have characteristics of being networkable, dense and compressible, interactive and impartial, such as internet, website, computer multimedia and games. The modern revolution enables everybody to become journalist at a little cost and with global reach. New media is therefore a global system that transcends national borders and institutions and allows people to gain knowledge by the press of few buttons. The emergence of blog streams is a reflection in society’s awareness of the importance of information dissemination.

New media is a 21st century catchall term used to define all that is related to the internet and the interplay between technology, images and sound (Introduction: what isn’t new media?; www.newmedia.org/what-is-new-media.html) Mass media has at least three important roles to play; to inform, influence opinions and educate. 

These distinctive features of traditional media have been challenged by new media which is changing participation habits of the audience. Traditional media has served as a companion as well as an important source of information for the audience. All these worked until a decade ago when new media emerged with all the advancement of technological innovation. The old media also known as legacy media are traditional means of communication that have existed since before the advent of the medium of the internet. 

The concept of citizen journalism also known as public participatory, democratic, guerilla or street journalism is based on the public playing an active role in the process of collecting, reporting, analyzing and disseminating news and information.  Courhuey C Radsch defines citizen journalism as an alternative and activist form of news casting and reporting of functions outside mainstream media institutions.

Citizen Journalism actually refers to the wide range of activities in which people contribute to the production and most importantly the distribution of information or commentary about news events. Today, there are sites limited to non-professional reporting such as NowPublic, CyberJournalistand some of the traditional media companies are featuring the citizen journalists. For example, CNN I-Report, in which ordinary people report on issues happening around them to CNN. (www.educause.edu/eli).

Citizen Journalists are amateur writers who write about occurrences in their environments. These journalists are not necessarily trained, neither do they write for the financial gains although it can motive them, they just do it for the love of it. They are not restricted or governed by anybody. They are at liberty to write on any subject in their own language on any social media.The audience chooses the sites they are interested in and not necessarily just any source. This makes \

The manufacturing and production of hardware and software are largely focused on making the hardware that supports new media, while “softer” enterprises like news agencies, programmers, and artists adapt their crafts to the flow of the electronic current.

Print Media Corporation may go extinct in the near future. Although many people do still read online news produced by traditional outlets, they feel that these same traditional outlets are too slow. Hence the prevalence of mobile devices, smart phones, tablets and the like which have constant internet connections combine with the growing popularity of social networking sites like facebook, twitter, reddit, skype, and others has made it possible for people to produce and share news themselves. These users are therefore able to document the news as it happens in real time and thus reaching a large number of people. However, readers of these news posts are engaged by way of commenting and contributing their views and opinions on the topic while still sharing with others. When users post news and videos to social media sites they are not sharing their information and thoughts with a void without being heard and engaged with. Instead other users interact both positively and negatively to the information being shared, which provides citizen journalists with immediate gratification and feedback for their efforts. (How Social Media Is Supporting A Fundamental Shift In Journalism; JasonDeMersMay 08,2013).

These days, most of the traditional media houses have moved to the electronic world to meet the changing trends of citizen journalists and the society. Most of the traditional media especially the print news houses have moved to the internet and thus have websites and social media pages such as Facebook, twitter, LinkedIn, MySpace and so on,(http://www.manovich.net/LNM/Manovich).

REFERENCES

1. Definition of New Media - http://www.newmedia.org/what-is-new-media.html

2. Manovich, Len (nd) The Language of New Media- http://www.manovich.net/LNM/Manovich.pdf

3. Kelly, J. (2009) Red Kayaks and Hidden Gold: the Rise, Challenges and Value of Citizen Journalism. Reuters Institute for the Study of Journalism, RISJ Challenges. University of Oxford – https://reutersinstitute.politics.ox.ac.uk/fileadmin/documents/Publications/Red_Kayaks___Hidden_Gold.pdf

4. The Rise of Citizen Journalism – http://socialmediatoday.com/chris-measures/1430031/rise-citizen-journalism

5.How Social Media Is Supporting a Fundamental Shift in Journalism http://www.huffingtonpost.com/jayson-demers/how-social-media-is-suppo_b_3239076.html

6. Newman, Nic (2009) The Rise of Social Media and its import on Mainstream Journalism

        GROUP 9

MATILDA OWIREDU                                                           tourghananow.blogspot.com

VERONICA AMOAH                                                           tourtoknow.blogspot.com

MARIAN AMA BOSOMTWE                                              sanitationandyou.blogspot.com

RACHEL PINTO                                                                   allabouthousingghana1.blogspot.com

NORA KUSSEH

norkuss.blogspot.com