Daily Times

The hype over the use of virtual reality technology in journalism has been growing steadily over the last few years.The sheer scale and pace of the growth in ownership of mobile phones and tablets by journalists and the public has been extraordinary. Henceforth, social media has played a major role on how we receive our daily news. Many people refer to thenews apps on their phone because these come in handy. With this surge in the use of digital media as a news source, it is interesting to consider whether print media will become extinct since the “age of digital media” is witnessing innovation and radical change across all aspects of journalism.

Print media has been around for hundreds of years. The first invention that helped launch this idea of printing text was the printing press by Johannes Gutenberg around 1440. Over the next 600 years or so, print media developed as a primary source of news. Over the past 10 years, more and more print media companies have been branched out from traditional print and began posting news on digital platforms such as Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and company websites.

With the induction of 3G and 4G in Pakistan, Digitization is driving changes in journalism, affecting news values, professional ethics, workflows, working conditions, and newsroom management. It offers faster news delivery, better access to sources and information, and more interaction with readers. Yet it does not necessarily foster better journalism.Platforms distributing journalistic content have proliferated, technological advances have driven media companies to revamp their operations in the sometimes desperate attempt to remain lucrative and relevant, while journalists operate in an ever faster paced industry and citizens have access to a cornucopia of sources of news and information.

Since the advent of internet the means of communication have greatly expanded, completely transforming the world of news. Journalism is faced with new challenges while the news consumers are ever finding new ways to get informed

Digitization has tremendously improved access to information and dissemination channels, but at the same time it has unleashed a spate of unethical practices, the most worrying being plagiarism/copyrights and lack of verification. Investigative journalists in particular have gained access to a flurry of new platforms to put out their stories, particularly on the internet which is one of the biggest positive of digitization. However, in most countries, the social impact of journalistic investigations remains limited. As never before, citizens engage in investigations and reporting and post their write-ups on the internet, but in many cases the quality of these stories has come under critical scrutiny.

India and Pakistan have traditions of robust public discourse. Digital media have multiplied the voices and audiences that can participate. Marginalized groups express their own vision online and air issues of importance to them, even though little filters through to the national conversation. Digital media make a significant contribution to political and civil campaigns. Big media companies have subsumed much of the critical blogosphere, providing platforms for leading commentators, coopting the more independent voices.

The biggest gain from digitization is the growing space for free expression by minority groups, particularly ethnic and sexual minorities. More than ever before, marginalized groups have the opportunity to make their voices heard. Paradoxically, however, traditional media have not significantly reduced their bias, marginalizing practices, or sensational coverage of minorities and other sensitive issues. Secondly, digitization has boosted more than ever before the space for political expression. Candidates in elections almost everywhere in the world use the internet and social media to reach voters. This has created more vibrant political debates and dialog, but it has not often translated into an increased number of political actors.

Overall, with all these ups and downs, journalism entered an era of opportunities that it has never had before. But how the environment journalists operate in has changed in the past years is a different story.

A major problem that the media sector has faced is the lack of transparency of media ownership and funding sources. Generally, there is little information on media owners and figureheads are often used to hide the actual entities that own media. Where legal provisions on transparency are in place, they are seldom enforced. Thanks to reduced entry costs, new media ventures were launched mostly on the internet.

I started my career as a Digital Journalist 12 years ago with Business Plus TV, had the honor to provide consultancy services and assist famous anchors, news/political analysts and media outlets in establishing their digital platforms. I asked some of them to share profound opinion on the subject, they were kind enough to shed some light and provide insight

“Transition from Telegraph to Twitter is nothing less than INQILAB.We used to receive news via telegraphs and paste copies with hand on newspaper, we had an army of copy editors and reporters but now everything is summed up into a palm device.” said Imtiaz Alam,(Chairman: SAFMA, CEO:BADALO)

“Mainstream media channels control their anchors and can manipulate news/political analysts as per there policy, social media and especially YouTube has given an equal platform and opportunity to all content rules on YouTube, there is no manipulation or control on individuals which makes them independent and gives them an extra mile in expressing their thoughts”, said Sami Ibrahim (Senior Anchor/Analyst).

In many countries, the most trusted and visited websites among news providers are run by traditional media. This does not mean that traditional media have not been hit. Print newspapers have, with major exceptions, suffered the most.In television, the growth in the number of channels has not been matched by a surge in funding. At the same time, funding for media has become increasingly fragmented among more players and platforms. This has forced many media outlets to make cuts, affecting first of all and mostly in-depth journalism, a costly business that brings low (or no) returns. Instead, electronic media focus increasingly on sensational content, which captures eyeballs and revenue. Moreover, the sector is in a desperate quest for new sources of money, some of which threaten journalistic independence.

In a nutshell, since the advent of internet the means of communication have greatly expanded, completely transforming the world of news. Journalism is faced with new challenges while the news consumers are ever finding new ways to get informed.

Publishers and news outlets have long been experimenting strategies to survive the digital revolution. The ability to monetize news, which once were under a certain monopoly, has become a source of incertitude and struggle. The implications could go far and wide within the industry: in terms of jobs for journalists, audience for outlets or even quality and ethics for journalism in general.

The writer is web editor of Daily Times