Assignment #3: New Media and the Future of News

Social media has definitely altered and will continue to alter the way people get their news. Today, people seem to be more interested in what is new in the lives of their friends and family than what is going on in the world. I even see this pattern in my daily routine. When I have lots of time, I often look at news stories on news websites as well as check my Facebook account to see what is new in my friends' lives. However, when I have a busy day (which is occurring more and more frequently as the school year progresses), I find myself still checking Facebook but not checking news websites. Many people get their news from Facebook and other social media. It seems that if an event in the world is important, Facebook statuses and posted links will reflect that. For example, I found out about the Johns Hopkins shooting through my friend's Facebook status. Something like this event that does not have a direct impact on my life would have easily gone unnoticed by me unless I had seen a post about it on Facebook. I feel that news sources will respond to the rapid growth of social media by making news even more accessible to social media users. Perhaps they will be able to put headlines and/or links to breaking news stories where the advertisements are traditionally put on social networking sites. I wouldn't be surprised if these headlines and links were tailored to the user as the ads are today.

I have also noticed that at the bottom of most, if not all, online news articles, there is the option to post a link to the article to Facebook, Twitter, and a few other similar sites. This method of allowing readers to share what they have found will also continue. As mentioned in class, many people are more likely to read an article if those they know and trust have read it and recommend it. This is especially true when there is so much news all the time.

Social media also changes the role of the reporter. Now, everyone can be a reporter if they want. Every time someone updates their status on Facebook or Twitter, they are technically being a reporter since they are "reporting" what is going on in their life. However, the increase of social media also makes it necessary that reporters for actual news sources focus on the truth and are sure to report events accurately. With so many people reporting all sorts of events through social media, it will become increasingly important to have truthful and accurate articles from legitimate news sources so that people will be able to either share the truth or be able to find sources to either reinforce what is coming from social media or squash rumors that are often spread all over the internet through sources like Facebook or Twitter.

Even if news delivery methods change, I do believe that there will still be a need for traditional journalists. Like I said, even if news is being spread through social media most of the time, it is still essential that we have news sources that tell us the truth about what happened or didn't happen. While I often discover breaking news through Facebook, I almost always turn to a legitimate news source to verify the information I learned on Facebook.

I also do not think bloggers will replace traditional journalists. While blogs are becoming increasingly popular, they are usually based on the opinion of whoever is writing them. Thus, the accuracy of news on blogs varies. Also, bloggers would have nothing to blog about if it wasn't for traditional journalists who write the stories bloggers use as their sources. Without traditional journalists, bloggers would have to do a lot more research and work to find things to blog about it. Such an increased workload would definitely detract from the popularity of blogs. I feel that the draw to blogs is the fact that anyone can post whatever they want and do not need to verify any of it.

I found the discussion of information overload very interesting. We truly do live in an age of information overload and it covers more than just citizen journalism. Everywhere you look there is some type of advertisement or other communication occurring. For example, Yahoo is a favorite of mine. I often go there to find breaking news stories or just interesting articles that relate to my life. However, sometimes I choose not to visit the site because of the extreme amount of information on the page. There are often 30+ articles listed at the top of the page. It is often quite overwhelming and as a result I sometimes miss the important stories because I don't want to take the time to sort through it all.

Blog Assignment #2

What is journalism for and what is its role in our society?

Journalism serves a variety of purposes. However, one of its most basic purposes is to inform people about things that have happened but that they might not have already known about. For example, today a man killed himself and his mother at Johns Hopkins Hospital. While this story does not directly have an affect on me, it is still something that is tragic and presents problems in our society. If stories had not been written on this incident, many (other than those who live in the Baltimore area) would have never heard of the event. But because it was written about, our society can now make changes that will hopefully prevent such a tragedy from happening again.

According to our textbook, The Elements of Journalism, "the primary purpose of journalism is to provide citizens with the information they need to be free and self-governing" (12). As we have often discussed in class, one of the first things that happens when a democratic system of government is abolished is the removal of the freedom of the press. Once this happens, the government is able to get away with more since there is no one to hold it accountable to the public. Which leads me to another purpose of journalism: to keep the government in check. Without journalism, it is extremely difficult to spread ideas or to hold the government accountable for its actions.

Journalism's role in society coincides with the above mentioned purposes, but its most basic role is to keep the public informed. Even today as journalism has reported more on celebrities, sports, and movies than important world or national events, it is still serving its purpose to inform the public. Yes, the latest celebrity relationship is not essential for survival, but it is still information. In class we discussed the almost innate human need for information. Thus, journalism fulfills this human need by providing us with information about a variety of topics from the upcoming midterm elections to the latest movie releases.

Blog Assignment #1

What is the purpose of journalism?

Journalism has been around for quite awhile and today the definition is becoming more broad than ever. With recent technological advances, virtually anyone can be a "journalist". Through blogs especially, anyone can write whatever they want whether it is true or not. However, I feel that the purpose of journalism is to preserve democracy and inform the public of the daily events and occurrences that will affect them. Another purpose of journalism is to give a voice to the voiceless not just the most powerful few.

Journalism in the United States is what it is today because of the First Amendment. Freedom of speech is a critical part to our democracy. Without it, democracy cannot endure. Journalists help inform the public of what goes on in Washington D.C. and helps keep politicians honest.

Journalism will surely continue to evolve. However, the purpose of journalism will continue to endure as journalists continue to dedicate themselves to preserve these purposes.