Journalism: A digital revolution

It seems like overnight the online world changed and fused with the world outside of the internet. Blogs suddenly became more for information and not about whether Jimmy and Sally slipped off into the locker room during gym class. As the video in Online Journalism showed, the industry had a hunch in 1981 the internet was the wave of the digital future. Papers would soon be putting its content on computers. But I don’t think they ever dreamed they would be competing with the local high school nerd who spends his or her Friday nights recounting the day’s events at the White House. Newspapers aren’t failing because of some 16-year-old in his or her parent’s basement though. Steve Rhodes, founder of the Beachwood Reporter, once told me papers weren’t losing readership, they just couldn’t gain new readers. He was at least half right. As more and more people are connected to the internet, papers aren’t flying off the stands like they used to. Subscriptions are nearly non-existent, advertising revenues are flailing and some publications are just forgetting about hard copies all-together. Major media conglomerates are filing for bankruptcy, or at least bankruptcy protection, at least once a week. The profession is in a world of turmoil and the current economic climate is only speeding up the transition, which is making it hard for the news industry to keep up. In all the commotion, new digital media is beginning to take shape. It’s a digital revolution and a new world for journalists. So, it’s now up to us to bring traditional news values and implement them during the new digital age.