It is no secret – the mobile phone is developing at an alarming rate. In less than a century, the cellular device has developed from a box weighing kilograms and having the soul function of making calls within a few kilometres of its position, into a hand-held device, capable of making calls to anywhere around the world and taking photographs among many other amazing functions. With this great advance, journalism becomes possible for the everyday citizen. This essay will discuss the advantages and disadvantages of this advance in technology as well as how this might impact journalistic practices, news values and ethics.
Since the popularisation of the mobile in the late 1980s, firms have been struggling to keep up with the great demand (Steinbock, 2007). Today, a mobile phone is capable not only of making calls, they take photographs, video recordings, voice recordings and can even access the internet – all the essential tools needed to be a amateur journalist. “With the capabilities of today’s mobile phones, mobile journalists – or ‘mojos’ – can put together their story in the field, complete with images and sound, and upload it to the web within seconds of it being finished,” (Quinn, 2010) .
Citizen mobile journalists or ‘mojos’ as they are more commonly known, are on the rise. “We used to call them innocent bystanders. Or victims. Now, those “bystanders” can broadcast news… everybody is a potential citizen journalist” (Campbell, 2010). In recent years, professional journalists have almost relied on these ‘mojos’ for crucial information.
This phenomenon brings with it great advantages as well as great disadvantages in the journalism world. Without a doubt one of the greatest advantages is the faster release of information and the diminishing of gaps and silences. The public used to only be able to see the footage of an incident from when the news van arrived – often missing what may have happened prior to their arrival or having to rely on a witness for information. When everyone is a journalist, no information is missed and every bit of footage is able to be captured and broadcast immediately (Quinn, 2010). No longer are there missing links that don’t add up.
Although this is great for the general public, it has proven to be a problem for authorities. Often classified information is leaked through mobile journalists before the police or other organisations can prevent it (Myron, 2006). When previously privacy was limited, privacy has become non-existent. This shows the falling ethics of journalism in this new digital age. Citizen journalists can report on anything and everything without thinking about the consequences it may have on themselves and others. This means that un-ethical journalist practises are far more common as journalists have become far more common.
Similarly, because citizens seem to be capturing more information than professional journalists, there becomes a rise in chequebook journalism – where a journalist pays to use a person’s stories or material. This is considered un-ethical both from the buyer and seller. People used to be more than happy to tell their story free of charge to anyone who would listen (McLeod, 2005). This meant far more coverage and information on stories. When a journalist pays a citizen to use their material or story, they ask for exclusivity in return for cash. Many describe this act as the loss of good journalism.
Citizen journalism has often been said to be the future of journalism. It could mean the loss of an entire industry of career opportunities. Instead of people seeing a clip on television and buying a newspaper for information, they’re going on the internet and viewing blogs from citizen journalists. Citizen journalists could very well be the downfall of newspapers, magazines and any other journalist related material. On the plus side of this, however, it could also mean decrease in prices of information or even the obliteration of payed information meaning that gaining information would be as it should – free.
News values are yet another factor of journalism which the current digital age has impacted. With far more information being streamed, media is adopting a ‘local first’ attitude (Myron, 2006). Determining whether this is a step forward or a step back is up to personal opinion. Some believe that we need to keep an eye on what is happening all around the world, while other prefer to know what is happening in their area of residence. Whichever the preference, there is no denying the movement in news values.
The advance in digital age has had a huge impact on the journalism industry. Everything from news values to ethics is changing with technology. It is not clear whether change in journalistic style is for better or worse with many arguments being made on each side. It is clear, however, that the future of journalism is being defined by ever changing technology and there is no stopping it.
References:
Myron, Chuck 2006. Mobile journalists are getting back to their grass roots. News press. Washington post. Viewed 21/10/2010 http://www.editorsweblog.org/analysis/2006/12/mobile_journalists_mojos_are_g.php
Professor Quinn, Stephen 2010. Mojo rising - the journalist, the mobile phone and the prescient poet. Deakin Research. Viewed 21/10/2010
http://www.deakin.edu.au/research/stories/2010/04/13/mojo-rising---the-journalist-the-mobile-phone-and-the-prescient-poet
Campbell, Tiffany 2010. Mobile journalism. Mobile active. Viewed 21/10/2010
http://mobileactive.org/tagging/mobile-journalism
Steinbock, Dan 2007. The mobile revolution: The making of mobile services worldwide. pp18-22. viewed 21/10/2010
http://books.google.com.au/books?id=qRhYjAX6-JUC&pg=PA24&lpg=PA24&dq=dan+steinbock+mobile+service+re&source=bl&ots=-G4sM-MJMz&sig=M7SWc-wEqbqRZT7aze5IkYu_xK8&hl=en&ei=RO_ETNCNK4XGvQPoh-2xCA&sa=X&oi=book_result&ct=result&resnum=1&sqi=2&ved=0CBUQ6AEwAA#v=onepage&q&f=false
McLeod, Chris 2005. Paying for the news: Chequebook journalism. Australian Press Council. Viewed 21/10/2010
http://www.presscouncil.org.au/pcsite/apcnews/feb05/chequebook.html
Bibliography:
Eisenman, Bonnie 2010. Mobile Journalism: CNN’s Panel Discusses Smartphones’ Role in Reporting. CNN. Viewed 21/10/2010
http://www.148apps.com/news/mobile-journalism-cnns-panel-discusses-smartphones-role-reporting/#ixzz13QFmiCF0
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