After this weeks lecture on citizen journalism I thought I'd go into a bit more detail in this area, in particular what effects the online revolution of produsage has had on traditional newspaper formats.
It has been a daily ritual for many for years, reading their morning newspaper over a cup of coffee or on the way to work, however, over the past couple of years, the Internet, through citizen journalism, has increasingly generated more news, with increasing quality and credibility, having a dramatic effect on the traditional newspaper. Citizen Journalism is the act of citizens openly publishing their own media content, such as stories, images and videos, immediately made available and open for public discussion and further improvement (Bruns 2008a). Bruns (2008b, 2) has identified that citizen journalism "fundamentally disrupts the industrial journalism model by employing its users as journalists and commentators". This is evident through some significant newspaper figures.
Circulation and readership figures for newspapers have been declining significantly over the past few years. This is not helped by a decrease in advertising revenue, as well as from classifieds, most of which has transferred to the Internet. Some are going as far as saying that "the most useful bit of the media is disappearing". Over the last couple of years hundreds of newspapers have closed their doors because they could not compete with the rise in the Internet and a drastic decline in their readership numbers. Only the largest newspapers have survived, but even some of them are starting to struggle. Ironically, most newspapers now have websites as well as the printed version. Examples here include the online version of the Times and the Courier Mail.
So the signs seem to be obvious, blaming the Internet. However, some argue we are wrongly accusing the Internet, seeing newspaper decline has been part of a 20 year trend (which is longer than the average person has had Internet access). Some believe the real cause for the decline is 24-hour cable news, while others say it was the change in rules governing telemarketing. Axel Bruns (2008b, 2) has also identified that citizen journalism "better resembles a conversation than a lecture", which could indicate that there is hope for traditional journalists yet. There's no denying however, that the Internet now plays a major part in the slow death of newspapers.
Don't get me wrong, I love the Internet! I spend hours on end on it, and my home page is news site ninemsn.com. Studying media it is interesting to look into the effects of the Internet on other media. I also believe that citizen journalism is a great way for our voices, opinions and beliefs, which were quiet before, to be heard. However, I belief some news should be left to the experts. I wish to someday work as a journalist, but if citizen journalism continues to increase I might be out of a job. Therefore, moral of the story is, do keep buying newspapers so. Oh, and you'll get less spam and annoying epileptic flashing ads while you're reading too...
Reference:
Bruns, A. (2008a) KCB201 Virtual Cultures: Week 10 Podcast: Citizen Journalism. http://blackboard.qut.edu.au/ (accessed May 8, 2008).
Bruns, A. (2008b) Produsage: Towards a Broader Framework for User-Led Content Creation. http://blackboard.qut.edu.au/webapps/portal/frameset.jsp?tab=courses&url=/bin/common/course.pl?course_id=_29175_1
(accessed April 30, 2008).
It has been a daily ritual for many for years, reading their morning newspaper over a cup of coffee or on the way to work, however, over the past couple of years, the Internet, through citizen journalism, has increasingly generated more news, with increasing quality and credibility, having a dramatic effect on the traditional newspaper. Citizen Journalism is the act of citizens openly publishing their own media content, such as stories, images and videos, immediately made available and open for public discussion and further improvement (Bruns 2008a). Bruns (2008b, 2) has identified that citizen journalism "fundamentally disrupts the industrial journalism model by employing its users as journalists and commentators". This is evident through some significant newspaper figures.
Circulation and readership figures for newspapers have been declining significantly over the past few years. This is not helped by a decrease in advertising revenue, as well as from classifieds, most of which has transferred to the Internet. Some are going as far as saying that "the most useful bit of the media is disappearing". Over the last couple of years hundreds of newspapers have closed their doors because they could not compete with the rise in the Internet and a drastic decline in their readership numbers. Only the largest newspapers have survived, but even some of them are starting to struggle. Ironically, most newspapers now have websites as well as the printed version. Examples here include the online version of the Times and the Courier Mail.
So the signs seem to be obvious, blaming the Internet. However, some argue we are wrongly accusing the Internet, seeing newspaper decline has been part of a 20 year trend (which is longer than the average person has had Internet access). Some believe the real cause for the decline is 24-hour cable news, while others say it was the change in rules governing telemarketing. Axel Bruns (2008b, 2) has also identified that citizen journalism "better resembles a conversation than a lecture", which could indicate that there is hope for traditional journalists yet. There's no denying however, that the Internet now plays a major part in the slow death of newspapers.
Don't get me wrong, I love the Internet! I spend hours on end on it, and my home page is news site ninemsn.com. Studying media it is interesting to look into the effects of the Internet on other media. I also believe that citizen journalism is a great way for our voices, opinions and beliefs, which were quiet before, to be heard. However, I belief some news should be left to the experts. I wish to someday work as a journalist, but if citizen journalism continues to increase I might be out of a job. Therefore, moral of the story is, do keep buying newspapers so. Oh, and you'll get less spam and annoying epileptic flashing ads while you're reading too...
Reference:
Bruns, A. (2008a) KCB201 Virtual Cultures: Week 10 Podcast: Citizen Journalism. http://blackboard.qut.edu.au/ (accessed May 8, 2008).
Bruns, A. (2008b) Produsage: Towards a Broader Framework for User-Led Content Creation. http://blackboard.qut.edu.au/webapps/portal/frameset.jsp?tab=courses&url=/bin/common/course.pl?course_id=_29175_1
(accessed April 30, 2008).
5 comments:
Kathy, you have posted an interesting subject here. There are many things to argue about and both have the strengths and weaknesses. Overall I still agree that the Internet sharing the news is much quicker and consistent. Newspaper has a lot of limitations, there’s a couple which I can name out which is newspapers are mainly discussing on local issues. For example the Sunday mail for Queensland, most of the news that is talked about is usually within the barrier of Australia. There is minimal information about anything across the world, whereas the “internet” has escaped and explored beyond the box to obtain information from the world which are then accessed from multiple users. The internet includes multiple features such as audio and video to enhance interactions therefore making the news more effective.( http://books.google.com.au/books?id=fBniIogpWM8C&pg=PA15&lpg=PA15&dq=internet+news+dominate+local+newspapers&source=web&ots=05nR-sPoT3&sig=HCP3lrkyv-sEt1-H3tL2opPT7mg&hl=en#PPA16,M1, Internet Newspapers: The making of mainstream medium, Xigen Li). Users can access the information anytime of the day allowing browsing through more information of what the newspaper can offer.
Another weakness from newspapers is that, they require trees to generate paper. This causes more forest to be demolished for the sake of newspapers to be published, Where internet doesn’t need to rely on nature to publish. These are the two main subjects of why the internet is dominating the newspaper markets, one being it’s more effective and convenient hence it’s a better and healthier environment.
There is an online book call Internet Newspapers: The Making of Mainstream as a Medium, written by Xigen Li. This will be essential for you to extend the work and backup your referencing. The book discusses different features on why internet news is dominating local newspapers.
Sunday, 11th May 2008 3:11pm
The rise of the newspaper as a marketable commodity in the 1800s was largely due to popularity of the “news of the day”, made possible through the new medium of print newspaper (Pogorelic, 2006). Newspapers became a primary source of general information a but over the last 40 years we have seen the emergence of new media delivering news and entertainment to the consumer: specialist magazines, radio, television, CDs, DVDs, ipods and the internet. Newspaper readership has been declining but, as Katty S points out, there are benefits to the hard copy paper (no glaring pop-up ads).
As with all media in this technological age newspapers are working hard to reinvent themselves. Rupert Murdoch’s address to the American Society of Newspaper Editors emphasises the willingness of the industry to meet the challenge of the digital era:
"It is a monumental, once-in-a-generation opportunity, but it is also an exciting one, because if we’re successful, our industry has the potential to reshape itself, and to be healthier than ever before"
(Murdoch, 2005).
I think this signifies that the daily newspaper is not becoming any less relevant. By adopting and embracing new technologies daily newspapers will not just remain relevant but will in fact thrive as we move further into the age of digital and online media.
Don't worry Katty, I think your job will be safe!
References:
Murdoch, R. (2005). News Corporation. Retrieved May 12, 2008, from http://www.newscorp.com/news/news_247.html
Pogorelic, V. (Date Unkown). Repositioning print news in an online environment. Retrieved May 12, 2008, from http://wwwmcc.murdoch.edu.au/ReadingRoom/VID/vanessap/oneA.html
As soon as I read this post I had to sympathise with you Katty. I also have a newspaper online as my homepage (smh.com.au) but it’s just not the same! As well as the online newspaper, I have my morning ritual of coffee, banana bread and the newspaper. If I don’t go through this ritual my whole day seems a bit off centre…
I also thought that newspaper readership was on a decline but after having a bit more of a search it seems all it not lost! While most US newspapers are claiming massive declines Australia was actually on an increase in late 2007. According to the The Age its readership was up 2% and The Sunday Age was up 9% while The Australian was had increased its readership by 12%. This is not to say that online newspapers haven’t been successful with “News Ltd and Fairfax's main newspapers increasing between 60% and 122%” (Hogan, 2007) and theaustralian.com.au by 46.1% for the year.
This doesn’t take away from the fact that new media is having an effect on traditional media channels but after considering the above I have to agree with isha that your job is safe!!!
Reference:
Hogan, J. (2007). Victoria a robust market for newspaper readership Retrieved May 13, 2008 from, http://www.theage.com.au/news/business/victoria-a-robust-market-for-newspaper-readership/2007/11/15/1194766868327.html.
From the moment that I read your post I could not help but largely agree. Perhaps the most prevalent and affected traditional news media in this day would be the newspaper. The daily printed newspaper, once the most important channel of information relied heavily on the dominance of its central role among the mass media. However, the emergence of new age communication vessels such as radio, television, and online mediums such as open source and citizen journalism have all added to the newspapers loss of dominance.
Yes, I too consider ninemsn.com as my news homepage and cannot help but engulf the celebrity news on perezhilton.com daily, but even so, it is important to note that I, like many others, still like to spend my breakfast hour reading the print-copy Sunday Mail. As Hartigan explains, newspapers are far from dead so I must disagree with your quote that 'the most useful bits of media is disappearing', they are still very much present but face today's challenge of becoming part of the online scene.
You only have to look at News Corporation’s purchase of MySpace in 2006, and Prime Minister Kevin Rudd’s election campaign on Facebook to calculate the value of online publishing. I agree in whole that the online revolution of produsage has had an impact on traditional newspaper formats, but warn that they have little choice but to reinvent themselves as the digital media age continues to dictate the future (Hartigan, 2007).
Reference:
Hartigan, P. (2007). Online Age Revolutionising Traditional Media. Australian National News Wire (AAP). August 7.
http://gateway.library.qut.edu.au/loginurl=http://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&dc=anh&AN=74C252985&site=ehost-live
(accessed May 12).
I found your blog interesting and I feel there is definitely a market for both the print media and cable news and internet news.
I myself am fan of sitting down and enjoying reading the paper on a Sunday morning.
You mark the internet and cable television as two of the major reasons for the slow demise of this classic news medium. However I believe that another trend is adding significantly to this, that being the mobile phone. In a society that is constantly on the move and also short on time the ability to read all the latest news headlines on your phone as you are on the go without the hassle of a large spread sheet of newspaper is quite handy. I personally am a big fan, and use this convergent technology regularly.
A product of the convergence of technology, the mobile phone these days is a fine example of new media at its innovative best.
Jenkins (2006, 2) refers to, “the flow of content across multiple media platforms, the co-operation between multiple media industries, and the migratory behaviour of media audiences who will go almost anywhere in search of the kinds of entertainment experiences they want”.
This convergent technology enables instant further research on topics of interest, leading to an interactive media consumption experience.
Who knows in the future you may find yourself as a journalist, but not at a newspaper rather a in New Media outlet catering to online distribution.
Reference
Jenkins, Henry. (2006) Introduction: “Worship at the Altar of Convergence" in Jenkins, Henry, Convergence culture: When new and old media collide, New York: New York University, pp.1-24
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