How modern journalism is changing the world Without our knowledge, we humans would be no better than unintelligent animals. Journalists provide us with all of our knowledge on current events and occurrences around the world. With the boom in information and communication technology over the last two decades, the world of journalism has changed immensely. Today, we know about events across the world in real time. Mainstream media provides 24-hour news and regularly updates us with news and information from even the most remote parts of the world. Furthermore, social media sometimes leads to even faster dissemination of information.
All of this has led to a massive increase in the demand for journalists. In turn, this has made courses in journalism far more popular than ever before. To keep up with this demand, many top universities today offer related programmes. Additionally, they are modifying the syllabi of such programmes in order to better capture the impact of modern technology on journalism and thus enable their students to be better prepared for real world challenges. If you are interested in a career in journalism, then you must be curious to know how technology has transformed journalism today and, in turn, how modern journalism is changing the world. Let us therefore take a quick look at the three biggest changes that modern journalism has brought to the world.
Journalism is ubiquitous today, and the supply of news is far more widespread. In an earlier era, the latest news was only available to a privileged few in society. News agencies could charge high premiums for providing the latest news. Only the rich could afford such services. Modern journalism has changed this system completely. Today, the latest news is often first available on social media, and mainstream media then reports these posts. The net impact of all this is that today’s citizens are more aware of the news than ever before in history. A better informed society is one that can make more rational decisions. This has made it more difficult for deceitful governments to manipulate people.
The smartphone has greatly reduced privacy and lifted the veil of secrecy. You must have heard of several cases where ordinary citizens captured incidents and events on their smartphones and then circulated videos via social media. This has made it more difficult for those with vested interests to manipulate the truth and paint incidents in a more favourable light. The truth is there for all to see. In such a scenario, many mainstream media channels are trying to move away from traditional models and tap into the power of smartphones and social media. This will provide greater flexibility to its journalists and will enable them to cover news more quickly.
Censorship is no longer successful. When information is available freely and in plenty, then censorship cannot survive. Dictatorial regimes can no longer simply suppress unfavourable news and continue unaffected. Today’s citizens are better informed and hence are less tolerant of oppression. Dictatorship and oppression are on the wane, and democracy is on the rise. This is the most important way in which modern journalism is changing the world. What must be noted here is that as people get used to receiving more and more information in real time, they will have ever greater demand for further information and analysis. This means that the demand for professionals can only go upwards. Therefore, a career in journalism is easily one of the most attractive career choices today. |