Online journalism is revolutionising the way news is reported
and read. The rise of the Internet has irrevocably changed the way audiences
interact with the news – stories are posted the moment they break and readers
are becoming more accustomed to searching for and reading the news online. This
Annotated Bibliography will explore this present issue regarding the future of
‘traditional’ journalism by examination of four texts presented using different
mediums, expressing both similar and contrasting opinions.
Franklin, B. (2008). The future of newspapers. Journalism Studies, 9(5), 630-641.
The author, Bob Franklin, is the Professor of Journalism
Studies at the Cardiff School of Journalism, Media and Cultural Studies, and is
the founding Editor of the journal in which this article is published. In this
journal article, Franklin offers important insights into key debates concerning
the ways in which journalism and newspaper publications are evolving under the
influence of technological, cultural, economic and political changes. Franklin
addresses a number of questions seeking to increase understanding of the roles
of newspapers in the contemporary media landscape, by offering a theoretical
and subjective examination at how the availability of online newspaper
editions, citizen journalists and tabloid journalism are reshaping culture and
mass media. Franklin constructs an interesting argument in his article
suggesting that “impact of the Internet, as a factor explaining the decline of
the traditional newspaper market, has perhaps been overstated” and that online
news is not simply to blame for the decline of print media (2008, p. 632). The
significant use of cross-cultural examples and scholarly perspectives adds
credibility to the opinions expressed by the author thereby offering a unique
and substantial contribution to the understanding of online news. This article
is appropriate for scholars, researchers and students studying journalism and
mass communication and will be of interest to anyone examining how people use
the web as a source for news.
Fagan,
D. (2012, May 19). Readership shows how we’ve changed. The Courier Mail, p. 58.
In
this article, David Fagan draws upon his experience as the editor-in-chief of The Courier Mail and The Sunday Mail and provides an
experienced perspective on the future of newspapers and traditional
journalistic practise increasingly confronted with social media and online news
sites. This work was compiled following a speech he presented to the University
of Queensland Business School and American Chamber of Commerce and it is highly
persuasive and based upon personal, albeit practical, experience. Fagan begins
by suggesting that social media is not a new phenomenon and that good media has
always been a ‘social’ act. Citing diverse examples, he explains how the forms,
practises and mediums of online news have emerged as a result of the
traditional structure and practices of existing media coupled with newly
available technical capabilities. This is a perspective that is similar to
Franklin’s (2008) discussed above. The author devotes particular attention to his
personal experience with the newspaper, proffering a graph demonstrating that while
there has been a modest decline in print readership, digital subscribers
(through the iPad app, Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest and direct viewings) have
more than compensated. Fagan concludes his article by assessing the
implications digital news has for the future of journalism and offers advice to
journalists regarding the importance of providing a diverse range of news
platforms for readers.
Collins,
S.J. (2012, March 29). Socialised media. The
Global Mail. Retrieved from
http://www.theglobalmail.org/feature/socialised-media/156/#
Sarah-Jane Collins, the author of this article, constructs an
interesting argument in the matter of online news having worked as a journalist
for The Age as an environment,
science and technology writer. In this work, Collins addresses a number of
questions seeking to increase readers’ understanding of the role held by online
media and social networking in the contemporary news landscape. Her approach
yields analytical insights into the current relationship between more
traditional forms of reporting and the current mediums for online news,
devoting particular attention to the factors that have influenced online media
development. Beginning with an examination of the changing news cycle, Collins,
using a quote from The Age editor-in-chief
Paul Ramadge suggests that online journalism is revolutionising the way news is
reported and read - stories are posted the moment they break, audiences are
increasingly influencing the stories they receive and thus readers routinely
expect a collaborative approach to news. Collins continues by highlighting the
belief that social media, in particular Facebook, is what drives the news cycle
and cites the KONY2012 campaign video as an example of the power and scope
through the integration of news, advertising and social media. The author
concludes with her predictions for traditional journalism and news reporting,
suggesting that the future is an online one; a perspective shared by Fagan and
Franklin above. Collins’ article makes a substantial contribution to the
understandings of online journalism and social media, covering both the development as well as the impact of Internet-based
news.
Slaven, K. (Producer),
& Aedy, R. (Presenter). (2012, May 18). Journalism 2.0: The
future of journalism [Audio podcast]. Retrieved from
http://www.abc.net.au/radionational/programs/mediareport/journalism-203a-
the-future-of-journalism/4023422
This podcast, presented by Richard Aedy and produced
by Kyla Slaven, emanated from the Sydney Writers’ Festival and was subsequently
broadcast on Radio National’s program Media
Report. Aedy, having been a radio journalist and broadcaster for more than
two decades, lends credibility to his discussion of how the digital age is
changing both journalism and journalists and whether easier access to
information will lead to greater government and corporate accountability.
Unlike the other two articles discussed, Aedy’s approach, aided by the
discussion with two guest speakers, takes a much more sceptical approach regarding
the growth of online news believing that producing Internet news content is not
a complete nor constructive form of journalism. Heather Brooke, a guest
speaker, expresses her concern that online newspapers are indeed detrimental
because advertisers are no longer interested in broadsheet and classified
advertising. As the discussion continues, Aedy provides an insightful account
of how popular digital communication has changed the relations of production
and consumption, in addition to the effect that it has on political and
cultural participation citing Julian Assange and WikiLeaks as an example. What
is most effective about this discussion is that Aedy consistently focuses on
the shifting boundaries between popular and professional journalism as a result
of the redistribution of news functions.
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