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New Media Trends

 by Kendyl Salcito

Journalism is evolving rapidly in a “mixed media” of traditional newspapers and broadcast stations

combined with a “new media” of on-line journalists.

These developments in journalism are driven by vast economic and technological changes. Some of these

trends have profound ethical import for journalism. This section provides a brief description of some trends

that impact on journalism ethics.

roliferation of news media

First came cable television. Then satellite. Soon online versions of newspapers augmented the news media scene.

Now millions of bloggers, countless web sites, web broadcasts, and “podcasts” have become mainstream. All make

up the “bod” of toda!s news media, and there is no visible end to this proliferation. The main ethical implications are

threefold" increased competition has effected the #ualit of news reports, the public has heightened its demand for

transparenc, and the news world!s understanding of copright has ceased to suffice.

Newsmakers face increasing competition to cover all the pertinent stories and reach sources before their competitors.

$NN and website news have resorted to wall%to%wall, &' hour coverage to ensure that the can provide the stor to

their readers(viewers as soon as it occurs. The danger is that speed will prevail over accurac, and )ournalists will

e*change their ethical motives as fact%checking truth%seekers for the love of breaking a stor %% an stor.

+owever, an increase in competition also has led some news organiations to distinguish themselves from less

responsible outlets b being more transparent about how the do their work. -ournalists who want to set their articles

apart as truthful and comprehensive have begun giving the public access to their sources. Studies are e#uipped with

margins of error, assertions are backed b supporting web links, and anonmit granted to sources is thoroughl

e*plained.

hile some )ournalists turn to transparenc to )ustif the claims in their reports, others have resorted to a much more

careless form of writing, dubbed “)ournalism of assertion.” /an blogs and independent e%ines, lacking an engrained

sense of dut to the truth or to readers, have developed a )ournalistic stle of unsubstantiated opinion. 0deas are

accrued and then restated, without regard to their origin or factualit.

The fact that information can be so easil accessed and then redistributed on the internet has lent itself to et another 

trend" #uestioning the value of copright. According to 1iers Fawkes, co%creator of 1SF2, a collaborative trend%

reporting site, copright has lost its value. “A blogger!s )ob is to spread ideas,” proclaims Fawkes. “The ma be our

ideas or the great ideas of others 3 but blogging gives an unparalleled wa of passing those ideas on to others . . .

the reason we write is not to control our ideas, not to look clever. e write to add our ideas to the global discussion.”

!hanges in news media audiences

The proliferation of news outlets means that audiences can read and watch their news on various channels and web

sites. 0n other words, media audiences have fragmented. No longer does an overwhelming ma)orit of $anadians sit

down in the evening to watch one or two ma)or T4 newscasts. 1eople get their news updated throughout the da,

when the want it. The surf the web to find the stories that interest them. Some describe these niche audiences as

impatient, “remote control” audiences, who want the information the!re seeking without dela and without additional,

unsought news.

0n response, more and more news outlets cater to smaller and smaller demographics or “niches.” The risk is that

 )ournalists will no longer seek to provide the public with comprehensive accounts of the da!s top stories from man

areas of life, but will focus narrowl on “niche news” that is of interest to narrow sectors of the population. An

additional danger is that the public will no longer come together, through the news media, to deliberate over common

issues. 0nstead, the public will fragment into man special%interest audiences.

!onvergence of media

The fragmentation of the news audience has prompted some ma)or news organiations to attempt to “re%assemble” a

large news audience b providing news across man media platforms. /a)or organiations such as $NN in the

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5nited States and $anest in $anada seek to own and provide news via a convergence of their newspapers,

television stations and web sites. /eanwhile, )ournalists are urged to embrace multi%media reporting %% the abilit to

report for print, broadcast and the internet.

"usiness #alues

 As newsrooms become small parts of large corporations, there is a danger that profit%seeking and economic

imperatives ma cause newsrooms to compromise their ethical standards. 6usiness values, such as the need to

meet the demand of investors and advertisers, ma trump )ournalistic integrit. Since man news companies arepublicl financed corporations, newsroom owners or their senior staff ma feel the pressure of investor%friendl

#uarterl reports. 0nside the newsrooms, )ournalists ma find themselves in conflicts of interest %% reporting on

economic and other issues that ma have a direct affect on interests of their news corporation.

Some of the positive and negative effects$

Far%reaching change usuall has positive and negative effects. The same is true of recent trends in )ournalism.

Some positive effects of change"

7 0nteractivit" 0ncreased abilit of the public to activel search for their own information and to interact online with

news web sites

7 0ncreased public access to different forms and tpes of media8 access to a greater diversit of content

7 9educed “gatekeeping” powers of ma)or news organiations8 less power to set the news agenda or manipulate the

public!s understanding of events7 New and powerful stor%telling methods through multi%media technolog

7 $onvergence in news ma mean more resources to probe issues

Some negative effects of change$

7 9ise in “)ournalism of assertion”" unsubstantiated opinion and rumor which harms )ournalistic credibilit8 lack of

restraint among online writers

7 1ressure to lower ethical standards and sensationalie stories

7 1ublic complaints about how a “ubi#uitous” media violate personal privac

7 $onfusion about who is a )ournalist, when anone can publish

7 :thical “vertigo” regarding news values, newsworthiness, credibilit. hat standards are appropriate for this new

“mi*ed media”;