Technology’s impact on journalism
The Apple iPhone on display at the Apple Store in Knoxille.
Shortly after Apple unveiled the new iPod and lowered the price of the iPhone by $200 a friend of mine sent me this text message:
The iphone price just dropped 200 bucks. But damnit, I want the ipod touch now!!!
Instead of delving into the theories behind the price drop or gushing too much over the new iPod, I’d like to discuss how these new technologies might effect news consumption, reporting and production.
News consumption
My SO has the iPhone. He just had to buy it when it first hit the market in July. It has, on occasion gone to bed with us.
Instead of hauling the laptop into the bedroom, we can easily surf the web using the phone’s Safari browser. Sure it’s small, but its portable and on our wireless network it’s speedy. Good enough for some last minute news and information digestion before drifting off to sleep. (Like we don’t get enough news and info thrown at us all day, we just can’t stand being disconnected for more than eight hours at a time.) Are we unusual or is this a pattern developing in our society?
If everyone wants – or needs – to have access to news and information 24/7, then how does that impact the reporting process?
Reporting the news
Are the days of feature stories and in-depth news packages gone forever? Maybe not completely gone, but if the audience demands news 24/7 – with constant updates – then the news cycle has changed. Reporting, editing, editing, editing, publishing is just not fast enough today. Of course, journalism professors and media professionals will argue that in the rush to post news first and fast has led to more mistakes. However, in an age where everyone has a cell phone, digital camera or video camera and access to online publishing tools, sometimes reporting the news becomes a game of luck; being at the right place at the right time with the right equipment and having the necessary skills to report what you see/hear to the masses.
News production
Now we have to be on constant alert for news, we have to be able to turn around a story in less than 10 minutes and we have to be able to publish for the world to consume on laptops, cell phones, PDAs and iPods. Most of this requires a connection to the Internet but it also requires image and video editing skills, some basic HTML and a news content management system that can push news to consumers via a variety of technologies.
All of these technological advances – the iPhone, the new iPod – they’re all very exciting. And they’re going to change the way we communicate.
Now, if you’ll excuse me, I have to go to the Apple store and drool over all the cool technology.