Online and Research Journalism
Online and Research JournalismJOUR933 - Online and Research Journalism
Assignment 3: Reflective Essay
1. Discuss the impact of commercial pressures on print news media investigation at the local level. ( Study Program, Week 9 )
We perceive the daily press as an important platform in our democracies because it acts as a watchdog, informs, comments and scrutinises, and gives access to individuals and groups to have a public debate. For various reasons traditional mass media are likely to continue to dominate the political discourse, and as a society we wish newspapers to keep their special role in this.
Newspapers as carriers of content have had to yield various functions in the past century to radio and television services, and now there are other categories of information that might migrate, this time to the net. The printed paper risks losing revenue generators such as classified and personnel ads, and thus runs the risk of becoming less profitable. Unexpected competitors such as search engines and free homepage services, as well as the online directory services of television stations, now fight in the same arena for the user's attention and the limited advertising money available. New services, such as interactive features, guides to information sources and community building are new to newspapers, as is the continuous production cycle that the Internet requires.
The information that seems to be given away so abundantly on the Internet is largely free. Throughout the interactive process, we are also able to influence the information on offer, or create our individualised version.
However, is the information on offer as free as it seems? Users 'buy' information with their attention and data about their preferences and interests. They are rewarded by membership of a 'club' and free individualised information. Marketeers and publishers are working side by side in this field.
A resulting reason for concern could be the changing financing models for the media. A printed newspaper sells advertising on the basis of circulation numbers. In other words, it sells the number of readers that could potentially see a particular ad, and does not account for the fact that readers skim through and skip large portions: no matter how superficially they are going through the paper they might, after all, see the ads nonetheless. On the Internet, however, ads are sold by the actual number of readers that get to see them. Also, because of the different information access models online, this means that only those stories that actually get read will generate saleable page views.
The newspaper bundles content, and in that way cross-finances. Online the paper is separated, segmented, and each article has to earn readers to make it profitable. What if the information that we value highly in democratic terms (such as political analysis, background information and commentary) turns out not to be read as often as we would like? What if it can only be produced as the result of cross-financing?
Economically, the option of multiple revenue streams means that the publishing industry as a whole will need to turn to a database model, by which generated content can be marketed and sold in different formats. This offers interesting new opportunities for the press, which has enormous advantages in its legacy of trusted content, a well organised news production model, and access to both readers and advertisers, but it also means that the press needs to invest substantially in research and development. Long-term strategies are needed and require large financial commitments, which may be hard to come up with for small individual newspapers. At the same time, however, the Internet allows for audience involvement and for the creation of new media products. Through its low barrier to entry, it offers publishers the opportunity to develop additional revenue streams based on their core product, the collection and analysis of information. The interactivity of the medium has proven to be attractive for many, drawing the audience away from television to return to a largely text-based medium.
Even with widespread access to interactive new media - be it via the Internet or new applications such as digital television, datacasting services and other electronic means - the printed newspaper is the medium that is accessible to the highest percentage of society. This is because of its user friendliness, and relatively low cost.
The move of newspapers to play an important role in the development of online services should be welcomed. Centralised access to the trusted information and services an online newspaper might offer could be a valuable contribution to the distribution of quality information needed in the democratic process, and in addition could reinforce the bond citizens feel with their society.
The interactive consumption of news and information tends to stress short, browsable information. In the avalanche of information, aimed at the consumer from every likely source, it becomes even more important that traditional media organisations like newspaper publishers uphold the tradition of fairness and objectivity in reporting, to counterbalance the vested interests and public relations efforts of companies and public bodies.
On the Internet the pressure and competition might more closely resemble those in the commercial television markets than the printed press, including the effort to gain access to an audience that can easily hop from one news source to the other. As television prefers easy-to-follow problems and short soundbites, shocking images online can draw crowds. The present Internet audience tends to pick and choose from many sources and is not faithful to any one provider.
Mass media can also become even more important in a fragmented market, as mass events or stars now become the focus of enormous audiences desiring unity and shared experiences. Information overload and diversity of sources will result in a growing interest in recognisable brands.
The selection and personalisation that the new media make possible should not be heralded as the only desired way to consume news. Even though the use of the online resource can point out which categories of news are read (down to the very items themselves) most readers do not expect online newspapers to be any more or less personally relevant than their printed counterparts.
Readers indicate that online news might best be selected just as traditional reports are, on the basis of professional standards of newsworthiness, not as measured against individual scales of personal interest. I suggest that news, to such readers, is defined as what appears in a newspaper or on a newscast, not as what matches their standards of personal interest:
The democratic problems that have been noticed, such as waning interest in the political process and lack of trust reflected in lower voter turn out, may be a reflection of many developments in society. The fact that newspapers and other media play an important role does not imply they could offer solutions in solving these problems. But the importance and relevance of the press is based on their success in achieving significance in this process, and in remaining a prime place for considered public debate, connecting citizens to their society.
Sources
Abramson, Jeffrey B., F. Christopher Arterton, and Gary R. Orren. The Electronic Commonwealth: The Impact of New Media Technologies on Democratic Politics. New York: Basic Books, 1988.
Hertsgaard, Mark. On Bended Knee: The Press and the Reagan Presidency. New York: Farrar, Straus and Giroux, 1988.