BY RESHOKETSWE MLANGENI
We live in a rapid changing world and a more technologically advanced one. One of the evident aspect of the above world we live in is digital media. It is so prevalent in many ways but predominantly in a form of social media. In fact one would be forgotten to think that it is the only way of news consumption in present-day. People are always looking forward to the next available minute to check it out due to its usability like the interaction that it allows between media-users and journalists. Like any other thing, digital media have its own positive and negative impacts in communities of which mine is no exception. However, when looking at its impact on news, its advantages far outweighs its disadvantages.
We live in a rapid changing world and a more technologically advanced one. One of the evident aspect of the above world we live in is digital media. It is so prevalent in many ways but predominantly in a form of social media. In fact one would be forgotten to think that it is the only way of news consumption in present-day. People are always looking forward to the next available minute to check it out due to its usability like the interaction that it allows between media-users and journalists. Like any other thing, digital media have its own positive and negative impacts in communities of which mine is no exception. However, when looking at its impact on news, its advantages far outweighs its disadvantages.
Digital media is instant because it allows journalists to
break news as they happen. This phenomenon did away with the culture of waiting
for the next news bulletin hour before a story could be broke. This keeps the
community abreast with the happenings of the world and the country as they take
place without delay.
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| Digital have taken over the consumption of news in my community. |
The interaction between media-users and journalists was
able to change its landscape through social media. It is no longer a top-down
pattern where journalists are feeders of news to media-users and media-users
are only the recipients. Today the pattern is a bottom-up one where media-users
can also feed journalists with news. Media users are able to give story tips to
journalists via social media. Not only does digital media facilitates communication
between media-users and journalists but also allow for self-publication of news
by individuals on personal blogs.
Citizens are now able to act as journalists in their own
rights by blogging. Their advantage is that they serve as supplementary journalism
to mainstream media. Through blogging journalists are also able to track down
people who witnessed certain events first-hand. In this way they are able to
get comments from the horse’s mouth. At times, bloggers break stories before
the commercial media could break them.
Digital media brought about a new face of journalism.
Unlike in the past, media users do not only rely on video reports by news
television stations. Bystanders who witnessed certain events can share their
videos with news television stations for wider audience reach. This allowance
of media users to engage with journalists encourages citizen journalism that in
turn alert citizens to always be vigilant about their surroundings. Videos,
text and still graphics are easily incorporated into a single story report
because of digital media.
Journalism is not dull anymore instead it is multifaceted
in days of digital media. With everyone always ready with their cell phones in
their hands, illicit activities are not things people could easily away with
anymore. An internet connection only is enough for one to break news and let
the world know of what is happening. Sometimes local stories make their way to
international news. Journalism is convenient to people and fun to engage with,
thanks to digital media. One cannot start to imagine journalism without digital
media anymore because it brought new face of news gathering, news consumption
and news dissemination in the 21st century.
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