The Digital World
Much like everything else in the 21st century, journalism is evolving and adapting to advancements mankind has made in everyday life. Picking the newspaper up off the ground every morning is no longer a common routine, as more and more people begin to consume their media in other ways. Over the last four days I have consumed media in multiple different ways.
Waking up to news stories at our fingertips is accessibility like we’ve never seen before. Some days I will wake up, check my phone, and see five New York Times headlines under notifications. Some days it’s more, some days it’s less, but within a few seconds I am able to read a news story from anywhere in the world. Whether it is recognized or not, it is like this for just about anyone. Technology has allowed not only journalist to spread news faster and across more platforms, but has allowed for media consumption to be the easiest it has ever been. As for me, I’ve noticed most of the media that I consume throughout the day is done on my smartphone. Apps such as The New York Times keep me updated throughout the day with alerts letting me know of the top news stories. The app is designed so that brief headline notifications are sent to me when news breaks. When these news stories seem to be of interest to me, with one click I am directed to the full story that The New York Times has posted online. If that wasn’t quick enough, the way we consume the multimedia stories online has become even quicker. Typically if a story catches my eye it is usually because of a headline or picture. Within minutes I can have a quick understanding of multiple stories based solely on headlines, pictures and captions that come along with it. This is the most common way I consume news in the digital media world that we live in today.
Social media has become a new platform for journalist to create, share, and discuss news with people from all around the world. Apps such as Twitter, Facebook and Instagram are constantly being used to share breaking news within seconds of them occurring. Not only has social media become a new platform for media outlets, but it has also become one of the, if not the most common way that people are consuming news in 2018. In the digital media world people are always on their phone, always checking social media, and are connected to the media world at all times. Top news stories spread like wildfire online, and that includes social media. Social media allows people to get the story as well as conversate about it whenever they please. Throughout the day I am constantly opening up Twitter and reading about a news story that is just now taking place. It allows me to stay up to date with live coverage no matter what I am doing at that specific time.
We are in the world of digital media and it is way different than what journalism was in the 1900s and beyond. This past week I picked up an issue of a newspaper that was sitting inside Marano Campus Center. In my two plus years at SUNY Oswego, I can count on my two hands how many times that has actually occurred. The sole reason for that is the access to media that is now available in the online journalism world in 2018.