Blog 6: The Future of Digital Journalism
- heisenhauer6
- Nov 14, 2023
- 2 min read
What you need to know:
In the digital age, the barriers to entry in journalism have significantly lowered.
Editing software, once considered exclusive to professionals, is now within reach for everyone.
The digital age has witnessed the rise of citizen journalism, allowing individuals to independently report and share news.
From this class, I have learned about the ins and outs of journalism, specifically what it takes to become a journalist in the digital age. As technology has become more widespread and accessible, journalism has become something that almost anyone can do.
Previously, journalism was limited to something only those working for a publishing or news company could do. One would have to get hired by an organization that specializes in telling the news, like a broadcasting company or a newspaper. However, in the digital age of journalism, the tools and resources required to succeed in the profession have become freely available for the general public to operate.
For example, as we learned throughout the lectures in this course, the entire journalistic process from start to finish can be achieved on one’s smartphone, with minimal to no purchase necessary. All that is needed to get started is a Lavalier microphone (which can be purchased on Amazon for under $30) and a tripod (which can also be purchased on Amazon for around the same price).
From there, an aspiring journalist can shoot video, take pictures, and record audio entirely on their phone, without the need for expensive camera equipment. Once they have everything gathered, at the push of a button they can upload their media to a
free software like iMovie or DaVinci Resolve to edit together their story. Across this course’s lectures and class time, we got a run-down of the basics of common editing software, notably iMovie, but this information can also be accessed on sites like YouTube for more
in-depth information on its functions.
Finally, once the editing is complete, aspiring journalists can take their work and upload it onto sites like Wix (a free website creator), LinkedIn, and other social media sites for the world to see.
Journalism in the digital age allows anyone to get their work out there, and this has seen an uptick in recent years following George Floyd’s murder by police (Tukur). Citizen journalism has allowed people—independent from news organizations with their own agendas—to spread awareness and highlight issues on things occurring that the mainstream media may not always cover.
Works Cited
Tukur, Fauziyya. "How George Floyd's murder impacted journalism in the United States." World Press Institute, 15 Mar. 2023, worldpressinstitute.org/how-george-floyds-murder-impacted-journalism-in-the-united-states/. Accessed 14 Nov. 2023.
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