Australian journalism in the 21st
century has undergone change; the kind of change that flips the industry on its
head. New technology has really shaken things up. News media has an increasing
level of convergence and an ever-shrinking workforce. Traditional journalism
methods are struggling financially with so much free content available via the
Internet. There’s news on our twitter feeds, Facebook updates, apps on our IPhones,
not to mention almost every news publication hosts a website full of their
content in digital form. For the most part, this information comes to no cost
for the consumer, but in the midst of the digital age, this is undermining the
financial security of the journalism industry. Like the uncomfortable moment at
the end of a first date, who pays?
With writing as my strongest
self-proclaimed talent, the death of the humble newspaper is an area I find
fascinating. Newspaper circulations are in a steady state of decline, with
online versions stepping in to take their place. Online papers are easily
accessed, don’t blow around in the wind and, [for the most part] free, hence
the massive public appeal. There have been numerous experiments to see how
creating a successful business model for online journalism in the developed
world pay (Blackhurst 2014). Pay walls, subscription models and paying for apps
on tablets have all been trialed but we are yet to find a truly successful
business model to capitalize on the popularity of online news (Blackhurst 2014).
The problem lies with the fact that online content has always traditionally
been free, and consumers are simply not prepared to pay for it.
As a result of all this, “budgets for high
quality news have been slashed” (Blackhurst 2014, p. 55). According to Media Entertainment and Arts Alliance
(MEAA) report ‘Life in the Clickstream’ (2008) over 70% of Australian print
news journalists surveyed by Essential Media reported an increased workload due
to the cutting of staff in their place of work. Because of this, almost 40% of
these workers agreed that the quality of their journalism had suffered due to
an increased workload (MEAA 2008, p, 12-13). So we are seeing less writers
writing more. Jobs are harder to come by, and those journalists who are
employed are burdened with massive workloads. No longer are you simply a
writer, but an editor, reporter, photographer, social media expert and a whiz
with technology to publish your story digitally. Online content is on the up
but the financial security of the journalism industry is going down, and this
has caused many institutions to consider making news consumers pay for online
content.
But should consumers pay? Should
journalists pay in terms of their jobs and workloads? Or should the quality of
content pay? This is the age-old question facing journalism in the digital age.
Personally, I believe that consumers should pay as journalists provide a
service. Whether paying for a printed newspaper or a digital one, in order for
news to be of high quality and serve its purpose (to inform the people of the
people), the industry needs to run as a successful business. In retrospect, the
cost of news for consumers is minimal anyway, as advertisements pay the bulk of
production costs.
As students, the future of journalism is a
scary thought. Jobs are scarce and journalism as we traditionally know it is
changing. Whether the web will see the demise of newspapers or not is up in the
air. To finish, here’s a quote from The Age journalist Adam Carey, who is
witnessing the changes first-hand (as cited in Lamble, 2011): “Journalism is going through an enormous
metamorphosis due to innovations in online communication, and I don’t think
anybody knows what it will ultimately look like when it’s over. Newspapers… are
feeling the pressure as much as any. Already there are fewer journalists here
than there was three years ago when I arrived. Despite this, I still feel
confident newspapers will continue to exist as long as they can give readers a
high quality product. But they may become smaller and more specialized.”
References:
Blackhurst, C. (2014). Finding Viable
Business Models for Developed World Print and Online Newspaper Sectors. In P.
J. Anderson, M. Williams & G. Ogola (Eds.), The Future of Quality News Journalism: A Cross-Continental Analysis (pp.
55-66). New York: Routledge.
Media Entertainment and Arts Alliance.
(2008). Life in the Clickstream: The Future of Journalism. Retrieved 20 August
2014, from https://uonline.newcastle.edu.au/courses/1/CRS.110356.2014.S2/content/_2378386_1/foj_report_final.pdf
Lamble, S. (2011). News
as it happens. Melbourne: Oxford University Press.
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