News in an Online Age

2. Technological Change?
• Where did we get our news from?
• How do we get it now?

3. What Issues arise?
• Viability of printing instantly out of date news.
• Web offers instant multimedia accessibility
• Web 2.0 means individuals can pass on news quickly (twitter,
facebook, blogs)
• Newspaper readers are older?
• Online news is ‘natural’ for younger generation?
• Online news tends to result in us only getting news we’re interested
in?

4. So how can we map previous
theories onto the news?
David Gauntlett & Creativity –
using social networks
Henry Jenkins & Participatory
culture - #tags on twitter
People collaborating &
discussing the news on social
network sites – Charles
Leadbeater

5. Citizen Journalism – Dan Gilmor
• What is Citizen Journalism?
• Can you think of any examples?

6. Citizen Journalism –
Dan Gilmor
“Grassroots journalism is part of the
wider phenomenon of citizen-
generated media-of a global
conversation that is growing in
strength, complexity, and power.
When people can express
themselves, they will. When they
can do so with powerful yet
inexpensive tools, they take to the
new-media realm quickly. When
they can reach a potentially global
audience, they literally can change
the world” (2006, XV)

7. 9/11 Example
• According to Gilmor the first draft of history was being written, in
part, by the audience.
• Valuable context that major American media couldn’t wouldn’t
provide was being received.
• We were part of the future of the news.
• Chat groups, personal web journals (All non-standard news sources)
were providing information and documenting the horrific hours and
days that followed the attacks.

8. Tsunami 2004
• Amateur video footage of the horrific tsunami that killed more than
200,000 people appeared online.
• Conveying the sheer devastation of the events as the occurred.
• https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0NfKZAiWRoE

9. 7th Bombing
One photograph captured the
event more than any other. The
picture was taken from a mobile
phone camera by a man as he and
others escaped from the smoked
filled train. The picture appeared
online, in printed newspapers and
magazines, and on television
around the globe.

10. Benefit
• Gilmor suggests the following
• “ The rise of the citizen-journalist will help us listen. The ability of
anyone to make the news will give new voice to people who’ve felt
voiceless –and whose words we need to hear.”

11. Critics – It is Exploiting the public
• Thinking about an issue raised by Tapscott and Williams that
online collaboration and sharing is promoting a "free economy"
where unpaid volunteers are exploited by corporations. Taken
from Wikinomics - Don Tapscott & Anthony D. Williams (2006).
• Clay Shirky points out most of the major conglomerates and
institutions we have today will still be around tomorrow. Whilst
their hold on society may weaken they will not just wither away
(Here comes everybody, 2008)

12. A Contemporary Case Study
The London riots make an ideal case study
in many respects and there is a real archive
of material to be had online. YouTube is
packed with videos of some of the key
moments and several newspaper archives
look really useful to go back through. the
riots were constructed for us and with our
collusion as audience members; of course,
the events happened, and pretty awful
they were too, but our understanding of
them was very much mediated by the web

13. People blamed social media for a
lot of what happened, arguing
that gangs orchestrated looting
and violence through twitter and
Facebook and particularly
blackberry messenger. They also
argued that twitter played a
heroic role in the clean up with
volunteers emerging as a result
of requests for support there.

14. Create your own study of the riots
• Create a case study about how the internet was used in the coverage
of the London riots both from a citizen journalism point of view and
how institutions (professional journalists) engaged in using social
networks.

15. Useful Links
• Paul Lewis, of The Guardian was on the ground reporting throughout the
riots and his tweets gave a vivid account of what was happening.
• http://www.theguardian.com/uk/2011/aug/12/uk-riots-paul-lewis-five-
day-journey
• http://www.wired.co.uk/news/archive/2011-08/09/twitter-
misinformation-riots
• http://blogs.reuters.com/anthony-derosa/2011/08/11/a-social-media-
timeline-of-the-london-riots-2/
• www.youtube.com
• www.facebook.com
• http://petesmediablog.blogspot.com

16. What’s in store in the future?
• Will the web become part of a media package like the Guardian /
Times?
• Will newspapers die out?
• What about emerging technologies?
• Will people pay for online media?
• http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LjIB7MO48Zo
• http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gNVTbTMp1DQ&feature=related