Advanced technology
Over the past decade, technology has dramatically changed how news is produced and consumed. With the aid of wireless connectivity and the use of smartphones, the news reporter can get access to immediate happenings and transmit the information to the public as it takes place. Interviews, notes, and news stories can easily be edited while on the road and at the same time aired for readers to access the news. Some of the tools that have changed the world of journalism include digital cameras, digital recorders, and Photoshop. Unlike in ancient times where consumers relied on written documentation, one can now have access to the scene without traveling. The continuous growth in technology has contributed to how news is reported from live reporting, use of drones, and virtual reporting.
To begin with, when technology had advanced to the state of watching the news “it was thought that live coverage of news events would be rare”. However, this not the case today since some occurrences are aired live for example during election periods that adds evidence to the news. Additionally, the consumer has the ability to access live news in more than one gadget as long as there is internet connectivity. More also, one can also access live news of different areas despite the geographical distance. This not the case when it comes to journalism during ancient time. For instance, Martha Gellhorn tries to take the reader to the exact happenings in The Besieged City “it rained steadily and the streets were mustard-colored with mud”. Martha does not only indicate that the rain was pouring heavily but also illustrates the color of mud so that the reader can have a clear glimpse of the exact moment. Also, she says “plaster-encased leg” to describe the state of the injured leg.
Innovation has diversified news media especially in terms of reportage and dissemination of news through the aid of internet suppressing the barriers of time and boundaries. “Today, even social media update …” can be a source of news. It is easier to access news than in the past. “Emergence of drawn journalism” is now used to acquire news in areas that are dangerous for instance areas experiencing natural calamities as well as those at war. In that, journalists can access news in an aerial view by just controlling the drone. During the war, Gellhorn went to document the war as a field investigator where she spoke about the civilians of the area and soldiers “whole city was a battlefield”. She was able to give details of how the war was “the war was everywhere”. Technology has helped reduce dangers journalist are faced with when getting information.
Apart from drones, virtual reality is also shaping how news reporting takes place. VR enables the viewer to have “an impression that they are on the ground”. News firms are embracing VR so that they can be able to experience events as they unfold. Firms like New York Times have “distributed virtual reality headsets” to their readers so that they can have a feel of the news films they create thus developing immersion journalism. The essence of immersion journalism focuses on more of the emotional state and less on the “what occurred”. Thus, news reporting has evolved from stating occurrences to reporting in documentary format for virtual reality viewers. Gellhorn wrote about incidents that she was experiencing. Thus the feel is imagined by the reader. For instance, she described fear through the occurrences that took place “booming of a falling shell”.
Lastly, technology has changed news reporting through diversity. In that, through technology people are subjected to diverse information. One is able to know what is happening in another continent through various social media channels hence making the world feel like a small village. This has resulted to change in the news content. Unlike in the ancient time when news was all about wars and politics for example, Gellhorn’s report was about the war “disaster had swung” (Gellhorn, pp.23-24, 1990). Journalists report about both positive and negative happenings of the world from sports to pandemics since people are interested in all aspects of life. News reporting has also grown from focusing only about internal affairs to tackling international affairs. People are now more curious about what is happening around the world than before. Apart from the type of content being reported, there has also been a shift on the type of language used by reporters when reporting. Reporting has evolved from reporting using a single language to various languages and also through signs so that everyone can understand the news.