“Growing Importance Of The Web In Today’s News Operation”
Reporter: Nicole Morten
“In the old days you had to call people and hope they were home because nobody had cell phones,” says Joe Brown, KBTX News Anchor. “There is just so much more that we can do to package the news to make it easily digestible to the viewer.”
The 21st century brought change. It’s helped to create and cultivate a new era of technology. Since the inception of the world-wide-web, newsrooms have had a quicker, more creative and efficient way of communicating.
The journalism industry has been faced with the inevitability of change: newspapers, and many newsrooms have or are in the process of reinventing themselves, not only to survive, but more importantly, to remain relevant.
Brown has lived through this change.
“The Internet, by far, has been the biggest break though in the newsroom,” he says. “The information gathering process has been sped up so much more due to technology.”
He explains that conducting research on the Internet is much more convenient and quicker. When Brown first began his journalism career nearly 18 years ago, digging for news entailed a lot more work.
“First of all the Internet wasn’t even here. Back then we didn’t even have computers. We wrote all of our scripts on electric typewriters. The gear we were carrying around was a lot heavier and more cumbersome, the editing was a lot different, and it wasn’t as exact as the non-linear stuff we do here,” says Brown.
In today’s society, it’s hard to imagine life without the Internet, especially in the newsroom. Resources are at hand for reporters with a simple click of a button. The Internet has provided a voice for millions of people, even connecting the community together. The Internet is also an extremely economical tool that can help save money and time.
Many people continue to speculate the future of print newspapers. As technology becomes more advanced, people become better acquainted and more accustom to convenience. Many newspapers have converted the daily-paper-circulation onto their website for those who don’t purchase the local paper. However, high fuel prices have forced more than a handful of major companies to discontinue home-delivery of newspapers. Until newspapers completely converge to the web, people will continue to speculate.
The Internet has many benefits that the newsroom that many people across the world are taking advantage of. It offers the unique ability to combine several different elements from traditional media. For example, users can read articles in depth just as they would a printed article, listen to audio like the radio; and even watch video like television.
Technology has allowed many newsrooms, nationwide, to become technology innovators–rather than technology adopters.
For example, for first time parents out there, take a look back at the day you dropped off your first-born at his or her first day of kindergarten.
The media industry has reached a moment of self-examination. The public is growing and discovering new freedoms and ideas. Living in a world filled with infinite information offers new opportunities, choices and challenges.
Newsrooms who accept, learn and adapt to change have the ability to become affective, while bringing people and communities closer.
According to the Chronicle of Higher Education, more than 70 percent of Americans use the Internet at least once a month, and the average user is online for nearly 12 hours per week. The Internet has changed the way we communicate, view politics, and attend class and meetings, do research, and interact far beyond the borders of our country.
The KBTX web channel developers are aware that the web has become a vital source, if not the only source for some viewers to receive their daily dose of the news.
Developers work day-in and day-out to inform the community with the most up to date content on the stations web channel. Most of the time, the stories are posted to the web channel before they make the air. Followed by each posted story, is the option for viewers to make comments, and voice personal opinions about that story. Comments, both good and bad, provide feedback from the community.
With this, the newsroom can become more knowledgeable about the demographics within the community, and also become informed about what the community likes or dislikes. Throughout the newscast at KBTX, the anchors promote the web channel, ensuring viewers they can view clips of the newscast on the web.
For example, on Monday afternoon, anchors announced on-air, the launch of a new and free, online-classifieds website called “fleajockey.com.”
Shortly after the announcement, Zack Morgan, a web content manager, came into the newsroom and said, “Nearly 15 people have registered for ‘fleajockey’ from the time Steve made the announcement on air, which was seven minutes ago.”
Word travels fast, and with both mediums working together, efficiently, people become more informed. Like Marshall McLuhan says, “The median is the message.”
Many media outlets urge people in the community to become citizen journalists. In other words, citizens within the community can share community events, photos of a wreck, and even personal photos on the stations web channel. The web channel at KBTX has a special section called “Eye on You.” The page is devoted to community involvement, giving citizens the opportunity to be heard and recognized in their community.
Each person has a different outlook, or ‘lens’ that they view the world with, and given this opportunity, other citizens in that community can become educated with a new view on life from different perspectives.
Blogs are yet another way that dozens of newsrooms can virtually interact with the community. Blogging has become a very influential component of the Internet, and their importance is growing exponentially.
”Blog” is a shortened form of “web log,” and it stands for a web site that keeps a log of people’s thoughts, actions, and their reactions to other people’s thoughts and actions. Journalists and citizen journalists, nationwide are jumping onto the ‘Blogging’ bandwagon. Many are even taking their blogs to the next level equipping them with audio and picture slideshows, and video.
Electronic media is the future of journalism. Some people don’t know what life is like without the web, others would rather not know what life is like with the web. Either way, as more seasoned journalists retire, newsrooms are seeking young professional journalists who are equipped with a strong knowledge of the web.
Journalism schools across the country are putting emphasis on Electronic Media in order to prepare students for the future of the journalism industry. Students are learning how to work as a One-Man-Band, Backpack Journalists, Mobile-Journalist (MoJo), or even Video-Journalist (VoJo). All of these names combined, share the same definition: a Television Journalist who shoots, writes, edits and voices his/her own stories.
Over the years the One-Man-Band concept has become more popular, gradually creeping its way into the larger markets around the nation.
“I sent out 18 resume tapes before I got a first call, and I have a friend that works in Tyler she sent out 23 tapes before she even got her first callback,” says Jordan Meserole, a KBTX photojournalist. “Don’t expect to graduate and have your first job handed to yah. It’s brutal but it’s true.”
Jordan has one leg up on other photojournalist’s; he is not only a news photojournalist, but he is also a talented, creative-writer and reporter.
Call it what you will, but, independently mastering all of these skills, will make you become a more desirable asset to a media outlet and the future of journalism.
