CI5472 Teaching Film, Television, and Media
Module 10: Studying the News ~ Newspaper or Print News
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One of the major shifts in news is the recent increased use of on-line news, particularly amongst younger audiences. |
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Newslink.org [ links to all top on-line newpapers ] |
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Part of the increased used of on-line news is related to an overall increased use of the Internet. A summer 2003 survey by Yahoo indicated that audiences ages 13–24 reported higher uses of the Internet than television in terms of overall time use (results that may be biased given the sponsor of the study, Yahoo). |
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This
study reported that the average weekly uses (1) 16.7 hours online
(excluding email), (2) 13.6 hours watching TV, (3) 12 hours listening
to the radio, (4) 7.7 hours talking on the phone, (5) Six hours
reading books and magazines (personal, not scholastic). |
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Another
study conducted in 2002 by researchers at the University
of California at Los Angeles found that reading the news is the
third most popular Internet activity, with 51.9% of users going
online to get news information. A primary reason for use of on-line
news was that they obtained the information quickly and efficiently
on their own terms. At the same time, users also relied on other
sources for news. Only about half of users believes that the news
information was reliable and accurate depending on the site, with
sites operated by television, radio, magazine, and newspaper organizations
being perceived as more reliable and accurate than sites operated
by individuals or other organizations. |
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Web-based news provides for user selection/control of stories/information.
Users can therefore focus their attention on accessing only the
information relevant to their own interests, purposes, and needs.
Users can seek further information or previous stories to explore
background context about the original story. Stories can also be
continually updated to provide the most current information. In
some cases, Web-based news sites are interactive, with users completing
survey votes, providing e-mail responses, or participating in listserve
discussion or Weblogs related to a story. |
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On the other hand, the fact that users can selectively choose
the information they want means that they may only be exposed to
that selected information. They are therefore not exposed to other
information they might have been exposed to had they been reading
a newspaper or watching a news broadcast. They may also not be exposed
to alternative beliefs and opinions on newspaper editorial pages.
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At the same time, the Web-based news has served to “re-mediate”
(Bolter & Grusin, 2000) television and newspaper news
as evident in how cable television news provides a constant stream
of news items on the bottom of the screen or newspapers continually
reference Web sites. Web-based news also provides users with links
to other related sources or articles. |
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Despite the initial pessimism about the success of on-line versions
of newspapers, newspapers have received increased revenues from
on-line advertising. Moreover, on-line newspapers have increased
in use and popularity. However, some on-line newspapers are beginning
to restrict access to only newspaper subscribers. |
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This “re-mediation” of the newspaper has also led to changes in newspapers and other news outlets. Audiences can participate in an interactive mode with some news sites in which they engage in a simulation, survey, or game related to an issue or share views with others. The Institute for Interactive Journalism at the University of Maryland gives out The Batten Awards every year to honor examples of what it perceives to be uses of technology to involve people in the news. In 2003, it gave an award to the Minnesota Public Radio’s “Budget Balancer” site: On this site, audiences had to decide on how to balance the state’s budget in terms of cutting certain programs and/or raising taxes given a four billion dollar deficit. (For a discussion of the innovative nature of this site see: J-Lab: The Institute for Interactive Journalism.) |
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Click here for the other 2003 award-winning sites. |
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In a study conducted for the Associated Press Managing Editors, the Pew Center for Civic Journalism, and the National Conference of Editorial Writers, by the Campaign Study Group, “Journalism Interactive: New Attitudes, Tools and Techniques Change Journalism’s Landscape,” editors report an increased demand for “interactivity” with readers, a finding consistent with the notion of audiences’ increasing participation as active agents in the “mediascape” described in Module 1: |
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On-line News | |
