The Imminent Death Of Journalism

Abstract

The paper explores various challenges that are facing journalism profession. The article provides a reflection of the process of declining of the journalism industry and the influencing factors leading to the decline of the industry. The document explains the challenges caused by the commercialization of news. It also discusses the effect of modernization and technological effects on the journalism industry. The article outlines the effects of globalization on journalism.      

Introduction

The journalistic notions are shifting from professional operations to duty and responsibility of personal or individual operations. The unprofessionally disseminated data and information have been characterized by a lack of factual reporting, accuracy, and balance. Though more information and data is presented fast and over a large population through digital devices and social media, the content of news may not present full picture as in the case where a journalist reports. Other venues of disseminating and breaking news usually offer partial, partisan or deliberate distorted views of events. The easily accessed information has led to a lack of insisted facts such as who, what, when, where, as well as why a given story occurred. The current actors are eroding the professionalism revealed by journalists. The proliferations of free news which are highly substandard are replacing the journalists. The journalist’s integrity has been threatened. The cost of gathering news in more elaborate, detailed, and organized data has been overlooked by the current digital methods of acquiring, accessing, and disseminating information.

Over View of Challenges

The declining trends in Journalism are major circulations that are set to continue. The journalism industry faces unprecedented uncertainty. One of the major challenges is the rise and introduction of the internet as well as high competition arising from the internet. Another challenge is associated with the commercialization of news through aggregation of the online search and social media which has greatly transformed how news is produced, disseminated and accessed. The death of journalism profession was predicted long time ago (Xie, & Huang, 2010). The consumption of news from media such as television, radios, and newspapers has been greatly affected by the commercialization of information via the internet. The introduction of digital media has discouraged the value and work of journalists thus reducing their possibility of survival. The rise of social media platforms, as well as the ubiquity of the online news and opinions, is one of the challenges to professional journalists who act as main distributors of scarce and limited information. The rampant pace of accessing data and information has led to the distribution of non-organized digital coverage of major news for more than a decade. The process in which the growth and dissemination of news such as Indian Ocean tsunami of 2004, the Hudson River plane crash of 2009 as well as the 2011 raiding of Osama bin Laden compound at Abbottabad in Pakistan reveals the growing power of social media that overcomes the potential of journalists (Xie, & Huang, 2010). The digital world has led to the rise of non-professional individual playing the role of journalists. The sale of crucial and critical data and information has contributed to the commercialization of information through purchasing information from the public. In the current technology the eyewitnesses, publishers, authors, and the youth have become the main sources of information. The role of journalists in breaking the news has been taken by individuals who act as the major breakers of new stories.

Challenges Facing Journalism Profession

Most of the news providers such as journalists encounter volatile environments while searching and obtaining the first-hand information. However, due to decline consumption of their searched information individuals have led to a reduction of their efforts by considering and preferring other sources of information. Other methods of accessing information have turned the struggles for journalists and assumed their input powers to effortless. The easier methods of getting information have become one of competing avenues for relaying information across various platforms. The allowed viewing of data and information, as well as viewing of news in different technological devices, has led to the high disintegration of journalism capabilities. The users of information can easily print the news as well as obtain them from handheld devices in cheaper, quicker, and comfortable methods. The journalism environments of working which are usually risky, tedious, and tiresome require high capital returns, respect, and high rewards, however, the rampant rise of competitive environments through the Internet, such as digital media, and social media has changed the value and respect of journalists (Xie, & Huang, 2010). The work of a journalist is freely disseminated through unauthorized sharing of news information and selling their information illegally.

Individual have failed to trust and rely on journalists, they have shifted their attention to new media. Most of the internet platforms have commercialized the distribution of information leading to the personal marketing of news. Copy and paste blogs that contain breaking news are increasing with time causing prolonged demise of journalism operations in the news market. The internet platforms have given blog owners chance to personalize their contents aiming at targeting particular and specific audiences. While the journalist generalizes information for the interest of general public, competitors narrow down to target individuals, corporate, groups, and interests of particular industries. The trend has made journalists less popular. The news organization and relevant gatekeepers are encountered with the insecurity of accessing important data and information. The journalist’s stored information is under threat of getting stolen and distributed freely. The responsibility and duties of journalists protecting some local news, organization news, individual and personal privacy has become inevitable. The journalists who have professional knowledge in deciding the news net worth and the sections required and appropriate for the audiences has been ignored. Platforms such as the social media is a platform that enables consumers to decide and define what counts as news and distributes that information in the form of photos of events that are attractive and valuable according to the individual viewpoint.

Initially, the role of journalists included segregating and disaggregating news information to the general public. Social media platforms have disrupted the normal operations and trends of determining what news should be released. Journalists have ever acted as the main aggregators of the news through determining the order in which combination of general news is presented. The professional journalists provided ways in which information could be presented through covering areas such as sports, business, entertainment, and advertisements. Currently, the aggregating role is increasingly being taken over by various online-based services such as Yahoo, Amazon, Google, and Microsoft (Xie, & Huang, 2010). Such platforms have attracted many consumers thus rendering the effort of journalists minimal and almost inappropriate for the current generation. The proliferation of online portals has manipulated efforts of journalists through aggregating news information for free.

Competition Differences

The internet and other modern handheld devices had brought inevitable changes in the journalism. The consensus reveals that consumers are reluctant to pay and wait for news alone. The journalists had a way of ensuring that consumers acquire their best. They tried their best in ensuring that interests of consumers are provided through supplementing news with sports coverage, gossip columns, family and social matters. Competitors have recognized that consumers are much interested in sports. The internet blog owners and providers have provided access to news as well as the provision of access to various sections preferred by consumers such as the articles and news to read. They also provide news of interests such as sports. The nature of the internet is more friendly, interesting and appealing to consumers. The journalist’s news is relatively boring time consuming and require the consumer to read or stick to the news programs streaming within a given duration. The internet news provides a better competitive advantage such as sports being more fan, with little interesting issues in current affairs.  The journalist guided news has a particular beginning and the end (Xie, & Huang, 2010).  They have limited coverage of contents. However, the online blogs have detailed contents that guarantee continuous searching over a long period. The internet is infinite making a reader stay in the internet for long following several links and interesting affairs within the entire platform. The journalism field is facing a lot of differences especially in dealing with issues such as virtual reality. The innovations required matching the technologies that facilitate operations with virtual reality through investing and innovating the emerging technologies.  

 Most of the consumers link journalism professions with negative motives such as considering the levels of trusting journalists and other individuals. The journalism industry is associated with lack of transparency by some consumers thus making the sector gets fewer individuals who can work and be trusted in the organizations. Most of the individuals accept police gospel as truth as well as trusting lawyer higher more. The effects outweigh the relevancy of the data and information presented by the journalists. The fact that professional standards provided by journalists are highly ignored and assumed as less important possible harm are caused leading to violation of journalistic standards (Van Der Linde, 2010). The law and the rulings provided by the organization require journalists to provide high-level accountability. The various laws that govern journalists require news editors as well as reporters to provide flawless reports which are effective in all communities in the market. Such laws and conditions have led and contributed towards having reported on all communities being less influencing as a result of law being more persuasive and condemning journalists on all matters concerning reporting. The lawyer’s rulings have made the society to believe that journalists are purveyors of unworthy contents of news and information in the society. The police have created an ongoing crisis with most of the news anchors thus painting a bad picture that portrays a bad image of journalism profession (Van Der Linde, 2010). However, the effort of the journalists to convey data and information which is most prurient in the society is affected by the influence of authority and power from judicially. The journalists are believed to be arbitrators of the truth who should be linked with the production of measured, thoughtful, and exact information as gathered from other areas of general public services.

The community has been engaged with other sources of information. The society is touted to have a deep connection with diversified information concerning data and information obtained from different sources of information built and planned by the competitors. The community has been made to engage in deep connection with hearsay information obtained from diverse information processing locations. The community has lacked time for authentic listening that is intended to build a deep relationship with journalists for ensuring effective trust and faith with information provided by journalists (Van Der Linde, 2010). The community has already acquired negative influences from through other individuals working in collaboration with the outside residents. The outcome is the less trust on the journalists making their impact in the society law and less influential. The time and efforts developed in an attempt to ensure creative thinking has caused journalists miss use resources to please the community that has divided loyalties from competitors. Most of the community focus and concentrate on pictures, photos, and motions rather than voice. The time spent by authors in composing creative stories as well as facilitating opportunities to tell great stories has contributed to journalists lacking methods and methodologies for engaging the audiences. Time spent in reading by the audiences is considered difficult and time-consuming. Many individuals’ audiences have opted to ignore the composed stories for smaller summarized and highlighted stories for effective and efficient operations. Competitors such as electronic news, and messaging platforms such as mobile phone vendors, have increased the potential of aligning news resources according to audience interests and preferences (Van Der Linde, 2010). The trend has led to the continuous abandoning of journalist long stories about the summarized articles.

Technology  and Commercialization

Many individuals currently prefer data and information which is highly compressed, summarized, precise and concise. The time required to check and analyze several news contents is minimal and limited. Due to scarce time resource audiences have preferred most of MDDI messages as well as information streamed through a hand held devices. The news information streamed by various individuals in media is usually based on particular time and specific duration (Van Der Linde, 2010). The journalist programs are fixed and scheduled to take place in a pre-planned process. The nature of conveying information in such tight and guided schedule makes it difficult for audiences to align with the timed schedules. In the process, most of the individuals prefer subscribing for alternative sources of news and information. The subscriber based service providers guarantee simplified access to new by subscribers instantly and on a daily basis. The subscribers are updated immediately when an issue occurs. Such real-time operations provide audiences with assurances of getting first-hand information earlier than others. The subscriber service providers have greatly challenged journalism industry through absorbing many of audiences who are much interested in receiving instant updated news as it occurs (Van Der Linde, 2010). The most competitive advantage is that the subscriber services ensure that the news received is in the form of text-based thus ensuring recipient can view it at his most convenient time. The news information is also available as archived data for future references or better updates.

The above commercialization of news information through composing text messages has led to the high blow on journalism. Most of the business individuals, technology intellectuals as well as other audiences have abandoned scheduled operations and time-based news delivering and opted to subscribe for almost real-time news updates. The competitors’ strategies have reduced the ability of journalists engaging in normal business operations and activities since most of their audiences have greatly decreased. The trend is likely to continue through opting to use other methods and especially the new technologies in an attempt to commercialize the dissemination of news to various organizations fully. The proliferation of Smartphone and other portable devices have contributed to rising of another option that has greatly challenged the journalists. The organization and companies such as Google, Microsoft, IBN, and Amazon have provided cloud computing services where news can be obtained. Individuals can access news through their Smartphone mobile device. The modern handheld components have facilitated easier archiving of selected news for future references. Cloud computing platforms enable the audiences to obtain updates anytime, anywhere, and for any duration of time. The information is also available for audio and visual thus providing better and improved quality news.

The news controlled by various online cooperates have minimized the requirements for journalists. The cloud computing news archiving providers makes use of eyewitnesses to facilitate the effective and efficient gathering of first-hand information from sources. Cloud computing news analysis makes use of data mining techniques which have greatly reduced the need for journalists. The information can be gathered and get sampled automatically via computers. The analyzing tools such as OLAP, advanced news analytic tools, and data mining tools are applied instead of the journalists (Kuruvilla, & Ranganathan, 2010). The technique reduces the risks encountered by journalists while trying to get information from various sources. However, the technology also makes the provision and existence of journalists to be having no relevance in the society. More accurate, as well as well-defined information is collected from various databases such as social media posts, emails as well as other alternative sources of such data and information. High-level confidentiality, trust, and reliable data are guaranteed through analyzing all posts generated by the individual eyewitnesses who spread it through sending, posting, liking and commenting most of the social media platforms. The technology has taken advantages of eye witnesses and uses them as first journalists without their consent. The operation makes everyone involved play a role of a journalist in his way.   

Other operation includes the development of mobile applications such as news app. The systems facilitate the easier acquisition of news from various sources thus guaranteeing users of immediate and real time acquisition of information. The operation has enabled individuals to walk with news and have a portable platform that accesses news in real time. The users have a high capability of reviewing the previous news as well as storing a specific news offline. Individuals with such capability have the potential of gaining easier access to different types of media thus providing most convenient and diversity of getting information from all forms of communication (Kuruvilla, & Ranganathan, 2010).  The most improved advantage of news applications over journalists is the capability of being able to download news data and information. News apps enable mobile phone operators download and print any amount of news required in a hardcopy. The capability enables the users to strongly depend on the printed copy as the major and central source of data and information. The current technology has greatly improved as well as created big competition for journalists. The technology can easily create a high potential for ensuring that journalism industry role for printing and providing hardcopy materials has greatly reduced.

Summary

The death of journalism Industry is highly contributed by the proliferation of the internet as well as the social media. The industry has faced challenges in trying to work with traditional methods which have faced a lot of challenges regarding rapid growth of the technology. The journalism industry is experiencing such as point of termination as result of ignoring strategies that guarantee growth and development of the entire industry with time. The journalism professions were the gatekeepers and most reliable professions in the provision of effective and efficient dissemination and production of news (Kuruvilla, & Ranganathan, 2010). However, the current trends in technology, as well as the challenges from competitors, have led to the reduction of journalist capabilities in influencing the organization. Although journalism was one of the most effective and efficient profession in guiding, formatting, and organizing news they have performed poorly in automating the industry according to requirements of the current digital age. The journalism industry has potential and future hopes of accessing and improving the quality of their operations. However, there are existing individuals that are performing in the journalism industry. They have advanced to modern ways through implementing crowdsourcing of information, carrying out analytical investigations, and applying real time updating methodologies. The major concerns of the current journalism trends are ensuring that they have implemented clear concern in sustaining the impartiality of such models.

Conclusion

Despite the existence of more available sources of outsourcing information, the internet based sources of data and information such as dissemination of false information highly characterize social media. Due to the presence of divided community the information obtained can lead to the creation of high cohesion as well as threatening other community with the invalid news. There the role of journalists is vital and crucial in verifying and validating social media stories. The globalization has been noted as a major issue that has greatly affected the journalism operations. The modernized archiving trends such as cloud computing has become one of major methodology for ensuring collaboration between different news applied in the daily life.                

   References                            

Kuruvilla, S., & Ranganathan, A. (2010). Globalisation and outsourcing: confronting new human resource challenges in India's business process outsourcing industry. Industrial Relations Journal. 41, 136-153.

Van Der Linde, F. (2010). The necessity of a media literacy module within journalism or media studies curricula. Global Media Journal - African Edition. 4, 212-227.

Xie, S., & Huang, J. (2010). Opportunities, restrictions, and challenges for Web TV in China. Chinese Journal of Communication. 3, 421-434.

Sherry Roberts is the author of this paper. A senior editor at MeldaResearch.Com in custom nursing essay writing services services if you need a similar paper you can place your order for college essay writing services.