This document discusses how digital technologies and social media have transformed the news landscape. It notes that smartphones and tablets have become very common, allowing people to instantly capture and share information. Studies found that most Americans now get news online or through social media. The document discusses how social media played an important role in spreading information about the 2008 Sichuan earthquake in China, with people on the ground sharing updates that spread faster than official reports. Social media allows for more interactive news and can help with humanitarian efforts during crises.

1. The Digital Evolution of
News, Technology and
Social Networking in Times
of Crisis

2. The days of waiting
for the newspaper
headlines to be lofted
onto the lawn by the
paperboy in the
morning, or nestling
into the easy chair to
catch the nightly news
at five are becoming
memories of a fading
era of traditional
news distribution.

4. A report by comScore Inc. titled “2013 U.S.
Digital Future in Focus” found “that
smartphones hit 50% market penetration and
52.4 million people in the U.S. owned tablets
as of December 2012”

5. When significant news occurs or disaster strikes people
are there and they can now capture photos, videos and
document firsthand experience with the devices they
have in their hands and instantly send news stories, share
content, and contribute to emergency response efforts
quicker than ever before.

6. The Pew Research
Center report “The
State of the Media”
found “73% of
American adults are
now online”, and that
“news plays a varying
role across the social
networking sites
because of those people
64% or roughly half of
both Facebook and
Twitter users get news
on those sites”.

8. One of many examples that showed the important role
of social media in the digital news landscape took place
in China in 2008, when the Sichuan province
experienced a monumental earthquake (7.9 on the
Richter scale). At same time the buildings were shaking
and the devastation was taking place, the people on the
scene were letting the world know what was happening
in real time through videos, photos, and text being
uploaded to websites in real time.

9. In this case it was posts on Twitter that actually broke the
story. Clay Shirky points out in his 2010 TED Talk conference,
“The BBC got their first wind of the Chinese quake from
Twitter” (Shirky). He explains that “Twitter announced the
existence of the quake several minutes before the US
Geological Survey had anything up online for anybody to
read” and “within half a day donation sites were up, and
donations were pouring in from all around the world”.

10. Social media, in combination with its supporting
technologies is the future of news and information
distribution and the capability for the public to interact can
help more people to come together to aid humanitarian
efforts in times of need, and emergency response.

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