We're killing the newspaper!

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).

Music, Movies, TV - a Pirate's Booty

Aye, me hearties!
It's a pirates' world out there.

What happens if you miss the Ugly Betty episode of the season and no one has remembered to record it? You go online and see if it is up on the website, but what if it's not? Chances are, you either bite the bullet and wait for it to be released (fat chance, hey?), or you search for it online and within an hour it's saved on your computer and you're ready to go! Thing is, you've just become a pirate. And not the Keira Knightly or Johnny Depp kind either.

Online or Internet piracy can be simply defined as the act of stealing or illegally distributing content, such as software or music, using the Internet. It all started with the launch of a file-sharing computer program called Napster in 1999, which condemned the media industry to a war against the inevitable frenzy in digital downloads. Music and television are particularly hard hit, with small file sizes and as good quality as if you'd bought the CD in the store or watched the show on TV. Pirated movies, which are often of lesser quality and much larger in size, are also affected. Between 2005 and 2006 the number of illegal movie downloads doubled in the US, movie piracy, despite their size, becoming more popular than ever. Although Napster was shut down a year after its release due to legal issues, it had already set the stage for online file-sharing, resulting in the emergence of hundreds of programs such as Limewire, Ares, BitTorrent, and eDonkey.

In recent years the rise in file-sharing computer programs have encourage more piracy, which has in turn been increasingly putting pressure on media industries, the music industry even considering raising digital-music prices. In some cases, online albums now cost more than physical CD's. However, wouldn't raising prices of content spur additional illicit downloading? In fact it does. Mid-2007 The Australian published an article stating that illegal downloading of tracks had increased by 7% between 2006 and 2007. This follows a previous article in the same newspaper, regarding Australia as one the biggest market for pirate downloads, arguing that the "Internet offers a bootleg" for impatient fans who are not willing to wait for US shows to air on TV in their country months later.

Funnily enough, it is believed that movies uploaded onto the web are leaked from inside the industry. These movies were either on the Internet before its actual release, had text indicating they were copies of a pre-release DVDs, or showed evidence that they were yet to be edited. It's enough for anyone to proclaim "shiver me timbers".

In my opinion this online piracy revolution was inevitable. Increased accessibility and ridiculously overpriced CDs and DVDs have made downloading content very attractive. I feel this is a threat to the media industry that if not looked at properly, could be the downfall for some. In my opinion the media industry needs to reinvent itself to adapt to new media technologies within the 21st century. I'm not saying CDs and DVDs are the past, however companies need to reformulate their original structures, incorporate the Internet, and stay lucrative for them, the artists, Johnny Depp, and the fans. Savvy?