Is Social media and internet access a bridge between print and broadcast Journalism?

By Mohau Ramashidja

There is a clear distinction between a broadcast and print journalist. Well beside the other one making more money than the other, both of them are story tellers. One relies on moving pictures to tell his/her story better to the relevant mass audience. While the other one regards him/herself as an artist, solely relying on his/her pen and paper to paint a picture of what had happened.

Over the past few years there had been a thin line which separates this two story tellers, and that is the medium in which they report for. The emergence of online media and technological advances globally has changed how the media world interacts with its audiences and vice versa. This then means that journalists have to keep up with the modern trends and demands their audiences.

                                                                        

“No one in the printing industry, or outside it, had any idea that the iPad would come along and destroy three- to four-thousand-year-old human traditions concerning paper, as they didn’t realise that there was now a new generation out there who are far more prepared to read from a screen than the printed page,” that’s according toGary Peterson, the chief executive of San Diego-based independent research analysts Gap intelligence.

Although the emergence of modern technology such as an iPad might be regarded as a great threat to the media world, it is the sole responsibility of journalists to keep up. Research has shown that tablet ownership will reduce the demand for printing by 8% to 15% (Morgan Stanley, Imagining and printing: Tablets to Reduce Printing Demand). The big question is: who will keep the print media alive? This is where online journalism comes in.

It’s a given fact that journalists have to keep up if they want to continue to put bread on their tables. It is in this that big and small publications all over the world are incorporating TV/radio broad cast styles of reporting in their daily routines. Here’s an example of the Mail & Guardian’s visual report on the first time expelled ANCYL Julius Malema coming out in his full supports for Motlanthe  for the presidency position and DA leader Helen Zille interviewed on the issue of racism (click the link)  http://mg.co.za/article/2012-07-31-juju-motlanthe-for-president and (click the link) http://mg.co.za/multimedia/2012-06-06-qampa-helen-zille-on-race-twitter-and-making-mistakes.

The profession becomes more demanding as reporters are now responsible to twit on what they are reporting on and produce quick video edits on breaking stories. All of this demands a whole new set of skills which includes good camera work, conducting interviews on location, special effects, video and sound editing and the ability to write in both print and broadcast style on a daily bases.

All of this is nice and exciting. It is a kind of reporting that can put you on the map and grant you that big break you’ve been dreaming of. But what then happens if you have good footage but you can’t edit it yourself. Or you’re done with voice recording of sources but you can’t put together your own audio package (report). This is where it gets demanding and whether you like it or not, this is where contemporary journalism is headed.

Sources:

Ø   Guardian.co.uk

Ø  Morgan Stanley, Imaging and Printing: Tablets to Reduce Printing Demand.

Ø  http://www.yeomansmarketing.co.uk/how-is-print-marketing-under-threat/1583/

Ø  http://mg.co.za/article/2012-07-31-juju-motlanthe-for-president

Ø  http://mg.co.za/multimedia/2012-06-06-qampa-helen-zille-on-race-twitter-and-making-mistakes