Technology aids the spread of news, but hinders the journalism industry
BLOT GRAPHIC BY DANI McLAUGHLIN AND KARA PETROSINO
As a decrease in physical newspapers becomes evident, a rise in digital news gives the opportunity to be more accessible.
March 12, 2021
In an increasingly digital world, where a few simple clicks can gain access to a variety of news outlets, it’s no wonder that there has been a decrease in the print journalism industry. According to the Harvard Political Review, the newspaper industry faced a 2.6% decrease in revenue in 2013, representing billions of dollars lost that year.
Moreover, with the decrease in revenue, the workforce in the newspaper industry has also taken a toll. The American Society of News Editors said that in 2014 the annual job loss in the journalism industry was up by 10 percent in a single year, making it the biggest drop since the 2008 recession.
Mass Media teacher and former journalist Wayne Woolley said that the rise of digital journalism has compromised the integrity of a once unbiased industry.
“One of the ways [digital media] hurt the journalism industry is that many news people are tweeting opinions that they otherwise wouldn’t put in their articles and it has hurt their credibility,” Woolley said.
Still, the advantages of having journalism digitized are vast. In a study by Pew Research Center, 78% of participants said that they are more educated and informed on current events due to increased access to cellphones, social media and the internet.
Despite the decline in the physical newspaper industry, distributing news digitally has increased the amount of revenue and readership for news organizations. According to Forbes Magazine, many organizations such as NPR, The Atlantic, and the New York Times are experimenting with data visualization, podcasts and virtual reality, resulting in greater audience engagement and more diverse news and commentary.
Junior Katherine Manatos of Wall, a journalism student, believes that the industry has made a change for the better.
“Information can now be spread much faster and in a variety of places, like social media, television and text chains,” Manatos said. “The industry is also now much more accessible to everyone, which is something super important because the public should be informed.”
