The media is a strange beast. I have taken a strong interest in it since around my mid-teens. It is a powerful information sharing tool which - at its best - provides thorough, insightful, and accurate information to the masses. This information should be thought-provoking and within the public interest. At its worst it can be deceitful, unbalanced and self-interested. Overall, it is hard not to view it as ‘dominant’.
Have a think about exactly how much the media – and the standard of journalism - affects our daily life. As a whole, it dictates what - and to what extent - we know about the world we live in. Our communities, governments, authorities, militaries, sporting teams, culture makers must all stand up to media scrutiny - and indeed stay within the media to remain relevant.
The evolution of journalism through the ages is a phenomenon really – an entire industry devoted to sharing information with the world. On the face of it, what a simple yet potent concept! Wikipedia tells us journalism is “the discipline of collecting, analyzing, verifying and presenting information regarding current events, trends, issues and people”.
I imagine the first forms of this were carvings on cave walls and stone tablets. Language developed and humans might’ve begun to change drawings into words. Words became effective, even compelling, and began to be used in scriptures by scholars, and royalty.
The first newspaper to be published that we know of was the Acta Diurna in Rome in 59BC (Bellis, M). I reckon there may have been some government bias in the writings of the Acta Diurna...
The World Association of Newspapers claims to represent over 18,000 newspapers and publications globally, as well as 15,000 online sites! Think about that scale...
It is an enormous industry, and universities offering journalism courses tend never to have problems filling spots with a huge number of school leavers every year desperate to explore this exciting industry. But things are not as they always have been. The evolutionary path is about to take another twist.
Today the various forms of media and information sharing available to everyday humans is astonishing. The ‘news’ as we know it is changing. Not the content… the industry. Hard copy newspapers that we grew up with are under threat of extinction in the age of the internet. Are physical newspapers viewed in the same way as household telephones once were? I.e., taken for granted?
What sort of effect will this have on the way we gather information? Journalistic standards; will they become better or worse with a new online focus? These are the topics I want to sink my teeth into. I implore you to leave a comment and join in the conversation. Make your opinion heard… After all this is a form of media in the 21st century – and we the people are more integrated into it than ever before.
Bellis, M, Timeline of the Newspaper Industry, About.com, viewed 10th Sept 2012, http://inventors.about.com/od/pstartinventions/a/printing_4.htm
About WAN-IFRA, WAN-IFRA, viewed 10th Sept 2012, http://inventors.about.com/od/pstartinventions/a/printing_4.htm
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ReplyDeleteI love love love journalism, originally wanting to study it after high school but then ended up doing psychology (my parents said I could be whatever I wanted to be - I could be a doctor or a lawyer!) What a very exciting time to be in the industry with the added dimensions of social media and the world wide web in general! It may be a bit ol' skool but I much prefer reading a hard copy of the newspapers rather than digital, just doesn't have the same feel (just doesn't feel right to not take up the whole dining table) xoxo
ReplyDeleteHi, Adam
ReplyDeleteMedia is the most interesting topic currently, because I have many friends who are studying media communication and I heard lots of stories about the industries. Obviously the internet has great affect on our daily lives including the conventional publishing or the way we gather information. It is a good opportunity for customers to choose the way looking for information, however the media industry has faced the most serious challenge nowadays. But from my point of view, the traditional publishing or media will still exist, but will lost many existing customers as well as market share. Unfortunately this is fact we can see nowadays.
Cheers
David Liu
How fascinating Adam! You mentioned that media should be thought-provoking. You have certainly provoked some thought into how I have viewed the history of media and how it has changed over time and will continue to evolve. I look forward to reeding more ;)
ReplyDelete