Survival of the Fittest: Journalism in Today's Society

The evolution from word-of-mouth to physical newspapers to the Internet and television has enabled the communication of ideas, daily events and discoveries to become almost instantaneous. Thus, journalists and the general public have both been able to educate and inform others predominantly via the Internet. But what differentiates a journalist and blogger? What is the role of a science journalist? Rather than writing on Darwin's theory of evolution, science journalists themselves are struggling to survive in a society where science journal publications are dwindling and population of bloggers seem to be proliferating. How do journalists adapt today to changing technologies, norms and tastes? The invention and integration of telecommunications and the Internet today gives the common person access to an unlimited amount of resources and information. Some argue that journalism is becoming an obsolete profession as the lines between a professional journalist and blogger continue to blur. Does a steady paycheck and education ensure a level of morality and ethics in reporting and commenting on what is happening in the world today? Or are journalists expected to follow a set of norms and responsibilities based on their degree in higher education and published articles? If journalism is the fourth check on government, who or what ensures that journalism is providing accurate, unbiased information for the population?

Based on the notion of bounded rationality where individuals do not have the time to optimize on total information as levels of complexity and uncertainty rise and costs for searching alternatives increase, people are bounded in a constraint by information. Paradoxically, it is simply impossible for everyone to sift through all the information available on the web today. We lack the time and resources to assess every source and fact. Although it is optimal for everyone to go directly to the source to read a new science discovery publication or research on climate change, in reality, people turn to news corporations and journalists to succinctly report on what is going on the world today. 

Because of their education and ties to prestigious, reputable news organizations, journalists, rather than bloggers, are the most realistically optimal way for people to learn about current events. For instance, people do not read NASA’s satellite reports to predict the weather. Rather, they turn on the morning news to watch the weatherman on channel 5 news to forecast the weather conditions from a giant interactive screen for the next couple of days.  It is a matter of convenience, but the public also generally trusts news sources like the NY Times, BBC, and Associated Press to provide them with consistent, accurate news based on their reputation in the past. Thus, I argue that the role of journalists today is not obsolete or dead, but in a world of overwhelming information it has shifted to being the facilitator for news who help inform the population. When there is an outbreak or epidemic, journalists are often the first ones to provide accurate information and steps on precautions the people should take. Certainly, fluctuating knowledge, artificial time and limited resources make the need for journalists to present information without falling prey to group think, emotions, and self-interest more important than ever. Instead of focusing on what sells in the short-term of events and the overtake of bloggers, journalists should embrace their role as a legitimate source that will help the population stay informed to make smart decisions and to form their own opinions evaluating world events and problems. 

How Twitter Told the World Osama was Dead

The fact that Twitter was virally spreading the death of Osama Bin Laden before some major news sources and the President’s announcement showcased the evolution of journalism from the newspaper to the Internet. The advent of the Internet as a global system of interconnected networks has redefined how people consume the media and news. The Internet enabled accelerated forms of communication through instant messaging, forums and social networking.

When analyzing the Twitter phenomenon, one wonders the usefulness of communication that is limited to 140 characters. But the events following the Bin Laden’s death proved that Twitter is a part of journalism, the fourth estate of government. One of the defining characteristics of Twitter is its ease to use. Posts are remarkably easy to post to and people often post things they discover on Twitter before posting it to a blog. Twitter is engaging enough for people to find value in its services, especially journalists. For instance, the first official announcement that speculated something big had taken place was made by White House Communications Director Dan Pfeiffer who tweeted on 9:47 that “POTUS to address the nation tonight at 10:30 Eastern time.” Journalists and news agencies who caught whiff of this began to speculate Bin Laden’s death and were ready to be on the scene of the announcement. With credible sources, Twitter provides accurate information with the advantage of instantaneous or “real time” breaking news coverage. This was seen in the first tweeter Keith Urbahn, former Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld’s chief of staff who leaked credible news on Bin Laden’s death at 10:25 on Sunday May 1^st.

Indeed, twitter, reddit, digg, and other Internet sources have made it possible for ideas, news, and events to diffuse throughout society much quicker than the traditional oral and physically written communication. The Internet and other advanced technologies such as mobile phones and radio have given people an opportunity to express themselves in ways that can only be done with such technology. Although mass-media techniques can fall prey to advertising, propaganda, and misinformation, this development has enabled common citizens to participate in the collection, report, analysis, and dissemination of news and information. For instance, facebook users can use their home feed to find an article that another friend has posted and gain news through a relevant, legitimate source.

These new media technologies and practice have impacted the approach to citizen journalism where people report news from their own communities in both the developed and developing world. Using simple media technologies such as hand cameras, mobile phones and internet blogs, people can upload photos, voice recording, and videos at their own convenience. Citizens without any substantial professional media training are now able to participate in reporting events and practicing a form of journalism. With the news media and involvement of citizens using various tools like Twitter to report their own news in their own way, one can argue that news has become global everywhere and has become a check on what big corporations, government, and public figures can do.

As the forms of media change to become more efficient and timely, there is a strong call to improve the quality and content so that professional writers and journalists can stay in demand. Rather than fighting the dispersion of blogging, journalists should embrace this technology to their advantage to ensure greater transparency in information gathering and other alternative methods of publicizing news. Journalists are now more accountable for their audiences who now have the opportunity to respond to articles posted on the Internet. This exercises the people’s freedom of expression as well as the right to participate in journalism and news.

Mobile Phones: A Bane of Society?

When Google announced its new credit card app last May, it buttressed the trend that mobile phones are increasingly becoming more technologically advanced and expanding into other competitive businesses. Iphones, androids, and blackberry phones have become more than modes of communication and are part of the social weave in society's fabric. With more computational power than the previous generation’s advanced computers, smart phones can act as an Internet browsers, maps, social network sites, and games that connect users.

But the increased popularity of mobile phones and text messages has, in many cases, substituted physical communication and face-to-face interactions. For instance, when I was out to dinner with a friend last week, she spent half the time bbm-ing, proving her nickname as a “crackberry addict.” Cell phones are a means to connect with other people, but it can lead to alienation and disconnection from the real world. Mobile phones can also give a false sense of security as people begin to see them as a status symbol for wealth and socializing. Using a phone to text or call amidst a busy street can prevent one from feeling alone in a place of anonymity.

Although mobile phones increase the quantity of communication, this simultaneously leads to a decrease in qualitative aspects of personal, social, and business related conversations. Couples who use the mobile phone as a tool to carry out their relationship can result in misunderstandings. The predominance of texting over talking has become a means to avoid awkward emotional situations. In today’s society, body language and facial expressions have been replaced by texts using smiley faces and abbreviations such as lol, brb, btw, nbd, rofl, etc. Although these shortened phrases are convenient to type, this may potentially result in poor grammar, writing, and in-person communication skills amongst the younger population. 

But, it is impossible to deny that mobile phones hold great promise for the developing and developed world. The social functions mobile phones can become a tool for economic development. For example, ads in smart phones encourage spending and are a means to stimulate the economy. Looking up local businesses and restaurants on a phone can help entrepreneurs flourish and gain publicity through customer reviews. Though many of us use our smart phones to check the weather and go on social networking sites, people in developing countries and rural areas utilize mobile phones to facilitate safe money transfers, organize government protests, and start businesses. Not only are mobile phones a “symbol of economic development or productivity,” but they also represent an outlet for “self-expression, agency, and social connection” (Donner 99). Mobile phones represent one aspect of how the world can truly become inter-connected through telecommunications.

With “commercial wireless signals cover[ing] more than 85 percent of the world” and over 5 billion people owning cell phones today, mobile technology potentially holds the power to prevent people in the developing world from being left behind.

Sources:

Donner, J. (2009). Blurring livelihoods and lives: The social uses of mobile phones and socioeconomic development, Innovations, 4 (1), 91-101.

Hughes, Dana. “How Cell Phones, Mobile Devices, iPhones Save Lives in Poor Countries.” ABC News. 10 June 2011. <http://abcnews.go.com/Health/GlobalHealth/cell-phones-mobile-devices-iphones-save-lives-poor/story?id=13805616>