Will You Remember Me?

People like to be remembered. Digital journalism is a result of that. Right now in this day in age, the Internet is the key for people to share their moments, thoughts and feelings with anyone who is willing to watch. News now can be found at the touch of a button. My question and thought process through this blog: has digital journalism caused news to become watered down and less significant?

News has started to transform into a constant stream of content as opposed to the morning and evening edition found on your front doorstep not all that long ago. The funnies were actually funny and more often than not the news wasn’t just one big editorial. So looking into the future, printed newspapers are limited and potentially irrelevant as soon as it’s bought because news scatters so quickly.

The ways of measuring success is different as well. We now can measure how well articles do not by how much is bought but by how many viewers it gets. Therefore it is important to create visuals that are attention grabbing and draw the reader in. Through this process, can content become irrelevant? Because reader’s attention span can only last so long, does that mean that the content is lost? I don’t believe that to be true. If content was irrelevant because it is overshadowed by visuals then readers would eventually find themselves disinterested in the news and it would only be pictures. Words are still powerful and can change the world.

Back to what I said earlier, people like to be remembered. That’s why news isn’t going to become irrelevant; it’s just going to change the mode into which it is delivered. In my own experience, Katie, Maddie and my other roommates that I live with have put together a covenant that focuses on the regular person. The Facebook page Humans of GC basically blew up over night, and within two days I overheard people talking about it. This goes to show that people want to be relevant and recognized. Especially when their photo gets over 80 likes within three days. People are now waiting in anticipation to see if they can make it onto that page. It’s a positive way to spread the news about people and the good things they’re doing. This page makes it possible for others to break out of their personal bubble and realize that other people are going through life just as much as them.

So has news become less and less relevant? No. I believe that just because the news is taking different forms doesn’t mean it has lost its ability to effectively communicate. Evolving is natural. News is going to follow wherever large amount of ears will listen or watch. However, just because news is fast reaching can it be watered down? Yes. News sources just like when they were in print, weren’t always relevant and factual. Take The National Enquirer for example. How many times can Obama be declared an alien before people realize that magazine is stupid? Well, it’s still printed which means someone out there reads that trash. So news can still be relevant you just have to look in the right spots, because if you’re not looking at multiple sources your judgment can be clouded by biased opinions and selfish gain. The next generation of users almost has a danger of having access to too much information and not being able to really think on their own. Instead, they need to be taught how to think for themselves and critically evaluate information. Digital journalism is just the next step in the technological evolution and how we get our news will adapt to that.