Issues in multimedia journalism

Economic models can be used to determine the content of news and its form of delivery. Stories that increase circulation and therefore increase profits to the firm are the driving force.

“News content is clearly a product as information is transformed into a public good through the marketplace.” (Hamilton 2004 p8)

Stories will vary in length, accuracy, style and focus making them highly differentiated products and ultimately responding to consumer demand.

The media market is driven by consumer desires which surprisingly can conflict the ideals journalists are taught for example a journalists core role is to honestly inform the public, however if the content is not entertaining to the majority of the audience i.e. some political affairs, it will not be published, as it is likely to hinder profits.

CLICK HERE TO VIEW A SLIDE SHOW ON: THE NEW ECONOMICS OF MEDIA

This means published information is information consumers are willing to pay for and not what journalists personally view as newsworthy, for example the use of celebrity to create brand positions to boost sales and create expectations about the way the firm organises and presents the information is common.

Online news is increasing news circulation whilst decreasing costs as it is accessible without marginal costs, unlike print news which includes variable costs, such as printing and distribution costs. The production costs for online news are fixed, meaning they do not vary depending on how many people view the website. A decrease in costs means an increase in profits, so long as, the audience numbers remain unchanged or greater, which is evident through the rise of convergence to online news consumption click here to view growing trends.

Overall individuals will consume news in a form that satisfies their individual preferences and where the benefits of consuming that form of news outweigh the costs of doing so. Since online news is fast, accessible, interactive and immediate the benefits are substantial for the individual and outweigh any costs involved.

Click here to view Journals on Media Economics

It seems incredible, in a world where we are witnessing such drastic change to the media industry from citizen journalism to job losses, that the institutions training the reporters of tomorrow aren’t necessarily providing students with the skills to survive beyond their courses.

New York University journalism student Alana Taylor wrote this embed report for MediaShift criticising the university and her professor for not sufficiently covering new media:

I was hoping NYU would offer more classes where I could understand the importance of new media, what it means, how to adapt to the new way of reporting

Some establishments are incorporating online and multimedia subjects, like our university, and, realistically, it is difficult to conceptualise what the ideal new media journalism course would consist of.  Here is a list of the things Mindy McAdams, university lecturer and blogger, believes journalism students need to know right now.  But the difficulty is, with the rate of technological advancement how do we ensure content is relevant and avoid overwhelming students?

This is an article discussing whether new media can really be taught.

Perhaps we should also be looking toward the media industry itself to invest in training for journalists and increase their own profits.  Here is an interesting interview with the BBC’s Manager for Online and Informal Learning on how they are approaching the need to educate staff.

Below is a video of Paul Bradshaw, a journalism professor in England sharing his views on not only how to ensure students succeed in the ‘media market’, and whether we should be preparing them for a career in newspapers considering the current media landscape.

 The term ‘mojo’ refers to mobile journalism. This is where reporters go out and gather stories relying solely on a mobile phone to record, film or capture a story.  Mobile phone devices today are equiped with digital camera’s, voice recording systems and video camera’s. They can also readily access the internet which allows reporters to post their stories online almost straight away no matter where they are.  In this information age people want their news more readily which mojo journalism can provide by being able to print stories online straight away.

This form of reporting is very popular in Scandinavia, the UK, Europe, the US and Africa. Othe developed countries such as Australia however don’t utilize this form of futuristic reporting yet because of high mobile internet and call charges.

Barth-Nilsen along with National broadcasters in Norway plan to use mojo content for mainstream platforms such as television and are running trials to see how it performs.

The Reuters news agency equipped it’s journalists with a mobile journalism toolkit with the aim of being more efficient and producing stories in a new way.

Here is a video of Reuters discussing their mojo tools.

Multimedia journalism has forced challenges on traditional journalistic practices. Once, newspapers like The Age and The Herald Sun were the number one option for news readers. But with the rise of the digital age, newspapers are being challenged by techology that understands the busy lifestyle and need for convenience of most Australians.

With rises in digital media, Australia has seen some changes in major media organisations. Fairfax, Australia’s leading media comany, recently cut approximately 550 jobs; about 5% of the workforce. The process of cutting jobs or as Fairfax calls it, a “headcount reduction”, they aim to reduce costs and keep their shareholders happy.

But will this sacrifice the quality of news produced by Fairfax? At what point do quality and the readers suffer?

These are the questions employees are asking in relation to this large reduction of staff. Fairfax defends its decision by saying the quality of reporting will not be sacrficed because the job cuts are within the production area. But this includes sub-editors who have a big say in the look and tone of the paper, as well as the headlines that appear with the story.

Journalists are saying, “It is like cutting down half the orange trees in the orchid and still expecting to produce the same number of oranges”.

So is this what multimedia journalism is going to do traditional media? Will newspapers fade out and leave digital technology the main source of news in Australia? Only time will tell.

Blogs serve a myriad of purposes, from facilitating conversation, interaction and the spread of information and ideas to allowing those not traditionally able to participate in the world of news and current affairs to publish content accessible to the world.

There is an ongoing debate over whether blogging can constitute true journalism, and questions surrounding the accuracy and credibility of content being published.  However what is becoming increasingly apparant, questions of quality aside, is that blogs are just one of the new tools at the disposal of professional journalists.

(Cartoon by Nick Anderson, The Louisville Courier-Journal)

Blogs enable instant access to ideas, insights, reactions and otherwise unreported and untapped sources of news and knowledge.  Many journalists have now moved from analysing blogs to creating their own, using this interactive platform to gather leads, and to help to develop and enrich existing stories.  Blogs can also be used to engage and retain audiences, and as a sounding boards for ideas, with journalists testing the water for relevant issues, maximising their ability to create newsworthy work.

Journalists who embrace online technology are not only opening themselves up to their audiences, but offering themselves as accountable, accessible and vulnerable.  They are breaking down the traditional concepts of information ‘gatekeepers’, and enriching their knowledge base.

Below is an interview with journalist Kevin Hessel from The Marin Independent Journal discussing how journalists can utilise social media, online communities and new technologies such as Twitter and Tumblelogs to improve their reporting.

For the past two days the internet connection has been down. Access to multimedia journalism is denied.

Presently this blog is being written in a Microsoft Word document and will be transferred to edublogs and updated by adding multimedia effects such as digital pictures, blog and internet page links, video footage, recorded audio and graphics once connection is possible.

But when will this be? It seems multimedia is not as convenient and accessible as most of the readings for this unit ALJ301 have suggested.

Multimedia journalism is captivating and dynamic as it is ever-progressive and integrates multiple forms of new digital technology such as ipods, web cams, MP3 players, mobile phones and wireless internet to produce various forms of intriguing and graphical media coverage like mo-blogs, v-logs, podcasting, wikis and inline reports.

However as fascinating, addictive and powerful as these technologies are they are not always reliable for example a storm can cause interference or excessive use can overload systems delaying processing or access by individuals.

Nevertheless convergence continues to increase as the internet becomes a much more integral part of the overall media experience. (Dobrow 2004)

BBC plans massive online archive:

Megawhat News 12.06.08

Online news will continue to flourish despite mishaps – just look at the success of OhmyNews.

In small industrialised countries such as South Korea wide spread telecommunications and digital technology is delivered instantly as they are a “Hothouse for digital infrastructure development.” (Quinn 2008)

Click here for a list of publications by Steven Quinn.

But in a geographically vast country like Australia digital connection is not so easy.

When multimedia journalism works it is fantastic- look at the site below.

The video below is a joke but poses an interesting situation:

But when it stops, it is very frustrating and somewhat upsetting especially if you have a deadline to meet!

To be a writer,reporter or broadcaster today means to have a sound knowledge of the ethical considerations relating to the media.

 Journalists are guided by codes of ethics like most practitioners of any occupation. New media such as multi media journalism raises many questions about ethics and how it will ever be governed online.

 There is greater expectation of ethics for different publishing mediums where different codes apply and may be tougher for broadcast productions than print. 

“A sound working knowledge of law and ethics should strengthen, rather than shackle, the practices of a professional journalist.” (Pearson, 2007. pp 5).

So where does multimedia journalism come in? This new medium combines print and broadcast journalism and is so accessible it allows anyone to publish material.

 Ethics can come down to the personal values of an individual as to what is going too far and what isn’t. The codes that govern journalists try to set a clear idea of where to draw the line, however even then they can be very difficult to translate to real life situations.  Every ethical situation is different and many variables need to be taken into consideration when analysing different circumstances.

‘…when major events occur, the public can offer us as much new information as we are able to broadcast to them. From now on, news coverage is a partnership.’ Richard Sambrook, BBC News.

July 7, 2005 saw the catalyst event of user generated content, the London bombings. Citizens sent pictures and video footage to media organisations of their eye witness accounts. See below for video footage sent in of this horrific event.

Within six hours of the bombings, the BBC had received more than 1,000 photographs, 20 pieces of amateur video, 4,000 text messages and 20,000 emails. In 2005, the BBC established a user generated content desk to sift through the many things sent in from the public.

In Melbourne, the 2007 CBD shootings were a watersehd moment for citizen journalism in Australia. While citizen journalism is not as prominent in Australia as other countries such as England, media organisations often receive mobile phone stills of dramatic weather events.

The Geelong Advertiser, like many other Australian newspapers has a page where readers can post their own photographs. View this link for more details. http://tools.geelongadvertiser.com.au/photo_gallery/submit.php. The ABC news website, also has a section showing photographs taken by viewers.

Citizen journalism is increasing in our society, but the professional journalist is still needed to ensure information is accurate and of a high quality.

The term ‘multimedia journalism’ connotes the use of new media platforms and technologies to deliver information in innovative and exciting ways.  However this process of adaptation and change does not mean that all aspects of ‘traditional media’ need be lost.

Mark Uechritz, Editor in Chief of Ninemsn, says the challenge facing media operators is to engage the disengaged – to access small fragmented audiences through diversification:

 Content and news value will always win audiences.  Traditional journalists must continue to deliver quality journalistic content in the sense of traditional media values.  However they may need to utilise new delivery platforms.

This shifting landscape clearly presents challenges to traditional media operators.  But changing news consumption patterns and fragmented audiences also open up segmented niche markets open to targeting by savvy operators. The rise of the ‘citizen journalist’ and other new competitive entrants to the media landscape can also be adapted to and utilised. 

Mark Scott, Managing Director for the ABC:

Journalists will remain gatekeepers of information with their traditional advantages of resources, contacts, access, professional skills, legal understanding and so on. It may just require that journalists build on and expand their traditional media skills to become multimedia operators.

MORE RESOURCES ON THE CHANGING FACE OF TRADITIONAL MEDIA:

Video of a debate between Wikipedia co-creator Jimmy Wales and internet cultural critic Andrew Keen on the fate of print journalism in the digital age:

‘New media lessons from election 07 ’  - Article by Margaret Simons on Crikey.com on the impact of citizen journalism during the Australian Federal Election 2007 and the emergence of professional multimedia journalists to combat and utilise the effects of the new media age.