The changing face of news journalism

I’m going to be honest. News journalism terrifies me. The speed at which breaking news is posted online and broadcast on radio and television is, to me, ridiculous. 

Yes, I agree that it is completely necessary to have that speed to communicate with an audience when it comes to the news. However, I feel like I need the space to be able to ensure accuracy in my work the first time it is written. 

Marissa Calligeros, a journalist for brisbanetimes.com.au, discussed the importance of speed and accuracy on Friday, and how online journalism is evolving to attract a larger audience.

With the ever-growing popularity of social media, it is becoming an increasingly important tool to reaching your audience instantly. Google Maps, photo galleries and, something I had never thought about before, raw video all make people feel as if they are involved in breaking news. The combination of all of these elements draw in your audience and encourage them to stay on your article.

As always with journalism, Marissa reminded us that the deadline is NOW. When it comes to breaking news, you need to be able to have at least two sentences up in two minutes. 

So while I don’t think that news journalism is for me, it was interesting to hear what it is like to work in a breaking news environment. Who knows, maybe I will have a change of heart.

Changing opinions on radio journalism

Throughout my senior years at high school I was so passionate about becoming a radio journalist. Not because I had a great interest in the news, rather because I really loved music.

Since then, I have clearly learned that being a radio journalist is not about seeking out cool new tracks to play for my listeners. It is about engaging listeners through multiple platforms. And not really about music at all. 

After having these dream-crushing realisations, I was not completely turned off the idea of radio journalism. In fact, it has become even more appealing. Not only is it broadcasting breaking news, but having discussions with listeners and co-workers about current issues and events. Furthermore, as Spencer Howson, radio broadcaster and presenter at 612 ABC Brisbane, discussed last Friday, radio in the traditional sense is only part of his job description. The rest is based online and in social media. 

As I have previously mentioned, I am not the greatest with Twitter and social media in general. However, there are a couple of good points that Howson made regarding social media. Firstly, Twitter can encourage sources who might be reluctant to comment to come on air. And secondly, Twitter can be used for off-air engagement with listeners as well as social media nuts, broadening his audience.

One thing I cannot agree with Howson on is his warning to students to show bias in personal tweets. What is a radio journalist without an opinion? How can you have productive discussions if you are merely stating facts? Nevertheless, I do understand that making derogatory or controversial comments can affect employment prospects. 

While my perception of radio journalism has changed, it is still something I would like to pursue in the future. However I’m not entirely sure if I could get used to hearing my own voice recorded…

Harsh realities of being a journalist

As a journalism student, it is far from comforting to be told that news organisations are massively culling the number of staff they employ in order to cut costs.

Just look at this article  posted on the Sydney Morning Herald website. In June 2012, Fairfax was to shed 1900 staff, generating savings of $235 million by June 2015.

John Grey, a recent victim of job cuts at The Courier Mail, told us about the harsh realities of being a journalist in this day and age. I have mentioned previously that print readership has decreased significantly in recent years, which of course can only lead to the need for large news outlets to reorganise their structures and look at different platforms to communicate with readers. 

However, it seems as though this has been taken a step to far, with outlets moving to centralise jobs and therefore, centralise news. Grey discussed how a parent company would now share most content and provide only a small amount of local news. 

Which seems odd, seeing as in his former newsroom he could see the top ten stories being read at any time, and, more often than not, people were looking at local news stories. 

As grim as the future of journalism sounds, there will always be a need to communicate the news. I can’t say that I am looking forward to practically fighting to the death for my first job, but I will get there, eventually.

Jumping on the social media bandwagon

I am sure I am not the first to say I don’t like Twitter. I don’t understand hashtags, I don’t understand tagging people, and above all, I don’t understand why people need to update the Twitter-sphere in 140 characters or less. However in my first tutorial in Online Journalism, I began to appreciate the value of Twitter, along with other types of social media, in a news environment. 

As Dave Earley stated on Friday, the readership of print media is decreasing due to the ease of accessing news online. News is becoming increasingly social, local and of course mobile, with smart phones and tablets allowing readers to access news at their convenience. Earley quoted a statistic saying that phone and tablet use has led to a 42% increase in web news traffic. 

Personally, I find it much easier to look up news on my iPhone or computer rather than buying a newspaper. As a student, I rarely buy a newspaper as it is another unnecessary expense. After some research of my own, I have decided upon three key strengths of social media broadcasting the news, allowing it to have the upper hand over print media. 

1. Social media is always first.

Popular sites including Facebook and Twitter can reach an enormous audience instantaneously. For example, take the moment when Lauren Jackson was announced as the flag bearer for Australia for the Olympics opening ceremony. The announcement was made early in the morning on 27 July, meaning it had missed the deadline for the morning newspapers. Journalists attending the function were able to post tweets seconds after the announcement was made, informing millions of people worldwide. 

2. Social media has the ability to attract an audience that may otherwise not be reached.

Earley discussed how social media has the potential to be a large driver of readers to news websites. Links, photographs, witty headlines and more can be used to direct readers to a more in-depth story published by a news organisation. This links directly to my third point:

3. Social media can be used for self-promotion.

There’s nothing wrong with a bit of self-promotion! News.com.au is a great example of an organisation that utilises social media to promote stories as they are published. Headlines and links are published on various social media outlets, directing their audience to the full story on their website. This is certainly one aspect of social media that I will be taking advantage of as an emerging journalist!

While the Twitter-sphere may be filled with tweets about what people are having for lunch or celebrity gossip, I am beginning to understand why it is time to wholeheartedly embrace social media. In a world where we are slowly losing readership of print media, it is vital to make the change to digital and social media in order to thrive in such a competitive environment. As the semester continues I hope that I can finally get a grasp on hash tags, tweeting and tagging and learn how to use it to my advantage. 

In the meantime, head over to my Twitter to see how I’m coping with new technology!