How are the various Ideals of Journalism Impacted by the Business of Journalism?

Journalism, at it’s core, is based around a strong set of ideals which a good journalist should work with in their minds at all times. Some of the ideals of Journalism include ethics, loyalty, and delivery of the truth and nothing but the truth.

It is expected that journalists conduct themselves a certain way, put time into extended research and fact checking to maintain the integrity of their work. 

The “Business of Journalism” is forever changing due to convergence, the rise of the digital era and social media accessibility, and fierce competition in the field.

Now with the rise of smartphones fitted with cameras and sound recording capabilities, journalists are expected to report breaking news in real-time as it is happening. It’s almost like a race to see which news company and/or journalist is first to get the scoop.

This puts a major impact on the traditional ideals of journalism – especially in regards to ethics, extended research and fact checking. Nowadays it’s not uncommon to see particular journalists/news organisations in hot water after something has been published that could be considered defamatory, misleading, or factually inaccurate.

This, in-turn can create expensive legal battles and can tarnish the reputations of individual journalists and their affiliated organisations.

How does convergence impact journalism?

The definition of convergence is “the occurrence of two or more things coming together”, and in this day and age, media convergence is the way of the future. It allows more traditional forms of media such as print (newspapers, magazines) and broadcast (television, radio) to converge with more modern platforms online. Journalists and consumers alike are utilizing the rapidly advancing technologies to make the distribution and consumption of news as convenient as possible.

Convergence impacts the journalist as it requires them to adapt their stories to be read in a newspaper, viewed on a screen, listened to on the radio etc… This means journalists are now expected to be skilled in multiple different platforms rather than just working in the single medium. This allows their work to be reached and received by people consuming news in an array of different ways. It also creates a greater sense of immediacy with content being published on-the-go and in real time as news is breaking/events are happening. There is also the added bonus of multimedia content such as photos, videos, and sound recordings being uploaded with ease to accompany news stories.

Convergence is simply the world of journalism readjusting to new technologies and welcoming new and improved ways of delivering the news.

   

 

How common or widespread is the use of multiplatform journalism in the media?

In 2016, what is known as “Multi-platform journalism” is now a common practice. Journalists are expected to be multifaceted and utilize every resource provided to them to gather, curate, and deliver news. The days of more traditional journalism in which organisations could dedicate themselves to just one medium are well over. Multi-platform journalism is all about multitasking and convergence culture, which is facilitated by new technologies. Journalists nowadays are expected to utilize technology such as smartphones, tablets, and have a strong presence on social media websites such as Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram. This ensures they can connect with as many people as possible; creating a larger and more diverse audience.

In the article “A Day in the Life of a Multi-Platform Journalist”, CNN Asia’s technology correspondent Kristie Lu Stout describes how critics of multi-platform journalism are describing journalists nowadays as “overburdened hacks”. She then goes on to disagree with this statement, and believes a good journalist should be able to successfully integrate many newsgathering tasks at hand into one single position.

Multi-platform Journalism has become so widespread that it is now considered the “norm”. News stories are now being given different faces, different manifestations, and the ability to grow in a way that wouldn’t be possible with only a single platform.

Sources used: http://ubiquity.acm.org/article.cfm?id=384263