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.

The Impact of New & Digital Media on News

News:

Impact on audience-

• can access news easily any time
• audience can repeat news -become their own journalist, using camera phones  'Citizen Journalist' 
• many sources of news

Impact on Institutions-

• audience numbers are down for traditional institutions (newspapers)
• advertising has been taken away from news by Google and other companies

Links to theories & debates-

• Pareto's law
• Globalisation
• Pluralism 
• Information age, Castells, 'most important medium'

Essay

In your view, what are the possible benefits and problems attached to the internet?

New media refers to on-demand access to content any time, anywhere, on any digital device, as well as interactive user feedback, and creative participation. In this essay, I will be talking about the possible benefits and problems attached to the internet, also explaining both sides of the arguments, which will include at least three different theorists to back up my points. 

One problem attached to the internet is institutional bias. This is when institutes allow their ideas and opinions to take over and are shared with other people, so that they believe in what they believe in. One example of this is Fox News, they are known for only showing one side of stories, which impacts the audience that watches Fox News, as they will believe what is being shown to them and won’t think that there is another side to the story, as they are being manipulated into thinking that only one opinion is right.

However, one benefit attached to the internet is sharing views and ideologies. It allows people to express their opinions and feelings towards anything for example any incidents that occur. People can do this through YouTube, by commenting on videos, for example recently Beyoncé released an album without anyone knowing and she has been one of the most searched celebrities in the past few days. Her fans and other people have expressed their opinion about the album through social networking sites such as Facebook and Twitter.

Another problem attached with the internet Is that their false information being posted up on loads of websites. Millions of people use the internet and they could be using it. The internet isn’t easily control, it is used on a daily basis and there are many things on the internet that are dangerous. People are lying about their identity which isn't safe for young children and cyber bullying is increasing as it is becoming easier to access the internet.

Another benefit attached to the internet is that it helps students when studying. They have access to millions of websites that can help them when studying, which will help them increase their knowledge on subjects they are studying. For example they can use bite-size, which contains information on many different subjects, they are able to learn new information, revise and then take tests to see what they have learnt. They also have access to read books online without having to go to libraries. Recently, many companies have created apps that help people revise from their phones, which is easier for people to access as they are with their phones all the time. 80% of the apps have been created by 20% of the institutions, which benefits everyone. 

Overall, I think that the internet can be positive and negative, depending on how people are using it. The problems are that wrong information is posted online, biased views are posted online, which can encourage more debates to take place, which can lead to  big issue being created. However, there are many positives such as there is more freedom for people to express their own opinions, on blogs and forums. 

Weekly NDM Story

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/technology-25633199
BBC News - CES 2014: Samsung shows off its Bendable TV

Samsung has shown off the Bendable TV - an 85in (216cm) prototype that allows the curvature of its screen to be adjusted by remote control. Samsung have also released a simliar prototype, however it is a smaller version. Both companies beleive that the TV's can enhance viewing experiences and make viewers feel as if they are in the TV.

NDM

When fiction becomes fact: can we trust the internet?

A series of hoaxes have flown around the internet. But what happens when news sites report fiction as fact, delighting then disappointing their readers?

A story went viral of a man live-tweeting his interactions with a woman on the plane – was revealed to be fake. At the same time a Twitter conversation between a comedian and an American salsa brand – which appeared to result in employees being fired and had shot, sneeze-like across the internet – was confirmed as a hoax.

BuzzFeed is a lot of things. It's a gallery of grinning dogs. It's a thousand comedy lists about the 90s. It's a scrolling advert, a comic sports site, a politics blog, a moving newspaper, and its ad revenues this year are estimated to be $40m. As it stretches across our consciousness like clingfilm, its responsibilities are being called into question more and more. As a news organisation, profiting from the stories it shares, shouldn't it be verifying them before it publishes? And if this continues to happen – if it repeatedly reports on fictions as if they're fact – then won't it start to lose us, its fast-clicking readers? We don't expect every story posted by a stranger on Twitter to be true, but we do expect every story reported on by a huge media organisation to be, because that's what they're for. The point of them is to filter through the daily mess of culture and to repackage it for us in witty, bite-sized, trustworthy chunks. The more they mess up, the less we'll return.

That we see isn't always true, the internet can be edited. Television is an illusion - we believe what we see. This article talks about the issues about publishing newspaper articles, nobody verifies them before publishing, however they make profit, and a moving newspaper and it's ad revenue this year are estimated to be $40m. A story written by a reality TV producer then reported as fact by an international media company (BuzzFeed's post got almost 1.5m views) and shared frantically by those who think it's real.Also, on twitter we won't expect every story posted by a stranger to be true. However, we expect every story report by media to be true.  This is because of the authority they hold, and the power, they are able to engage audiences and can fool them into believing anything and everything is true, as audiences are fooled to believe the articles have been verified beforehand and are official, even though they may not be verified. Also, the internet is harmless, nobody gets hurt, but it affects how we engage online. We will be led to trust less and enjoy less. In the long-term it is said that our lives will become fractionally worse, but the issue lies not with the storyteller, it lies with the sites that share it. 

New and Digital Media

        What is Pareto's law?

Pareto's law is the 80-20 rule, which means that roughly 80% of the effects come from 20% of the causes. A common example is that 80% of your sales come from 20% of your clients. The Pareto principle is only related to Pareto efficiency. Pareto developed both concepts in the context of the distribution of income and wealth among the population. 

      What other industries or examples can you apply to the 80/20 rule to?
One industry that you can apply to the 80/20 rule is 

Weekly New and Digital Media Story

http://www.theguardian.com/media/greenslade/2013/dec/09/nelsonmandela-daily-mirror

How the Daily Mirror, and my wife, got the first Mandela interview?



This article is about how Trevor McDonald's wife got the the first ever interview for the Daily Mirror, which was the first newspaper interview.  He was too delighted to publish her 'world exclusive'. In the Sunday Times, he said that his interview with Nelson Mandela was 'one of the most cherished memories of his journalistic life'. The article talks about how they got the interview, they got the interview because the Mirror's then owner (the late Robert Maxwell) had offered Mandela his plane to fly him from Johannesburg to London for the the "Free South Africa" concert at Wembley stadium. In the event, the ANC rejected the offer in the belief that there were potential security and safety risks. So he and his wife, Winnie, took a scheduled flight instead, accompanied by Noreen.

This article shows the impact Nelson Mandela had on people's lives, as Trevor McDonald said that the the interview was the most cherish memories of his journalistic life.