How has news changed in the last 20 years? Who has benefited most?

Consider the impact for both institutions and audiences.

Over the last 20 years, the news has changed dramatically. There are many different ways we can access news through the three digital platforms, which are print, broadcast and e-media. For example, print media is declining due to new and digital media. The sales in newspapers has fallen, as there are easier ways to access the news, such as smart phones. There are apps on smart phones which allow us to read the news whenever we want. We can go on the internet and read the news on there, however some websites such as The Sun, have a pay-wall. This means that they have to subscribe to the paper and pay a monthly fee or something along those lines. This is a benefit for The Sun, as people will want to read the news and have access to it whenever they want and will pay for the subscription. This will benefit The Sun, as they will have an increase in sales and will continue making money, even though their newspaper is declining.

Smart phone sales have increased, which links to all three platforms, as it is easier for people to access the news. Smart phones allow you to download apps which allows us to have access to the news whenever we want. Also, you can download social-networking sites such as Twitter. Twitter is one of the most popular social networking sites in which we can access news. News is spread quite quick on Twitter, due to hash-tags and trends. This is a benefit for audiences, as they wont have to pay for any subscriptions and will be getting there news for free. Smart phones allow the audience to become 'citizen journalists'. This allows them to send in videos and pictures of events that have taken place to news websites and would probably end up on the news. This a benefit for institutions, as they won't have pay journalists to go and find out news and will end up saving money.