Handheld Technology

Handheld Technology

The accessibility of information that technology provides through tiny pieces of equipment is incredible, and is all ready changing the world of journalism.  This technology is a great benefit to the common user, they can find and send information instantly out of the palm of their hand.  This technology can also be very useful for a journalist.  A journalist can use this technology in several ways; collecting information, keeping track of items, using e-mail, finishing stories, etc.  But this technology also creates cons for the field of journalism.  This technology is available for anyone to own, which is beginning to cut down on many jobs in journalism.  Applications such as Twitter have begun to cut out the middle man.  Meaning that anybody can post how they feel or what's going on, including celebrities.  It seems the more and more technology evolves, the less need there is for journalists, or at least reporters.  So in conclusion, innovative technology helps journalists, but also hurts the overall field of journalism.

Cell Phones

Like it or not technology has become essential to the journalism field. In order to master the art of journalism you must master the required technology. My favorite piece of technology that has come a long way over the past couple years is the cell phone. What would you do if you had to go without your cell phone for a week? If your like me you would freak. Cell phones are such a huge part of our lives and now they have even had and effect on todays journalism. People can take their own videos and post them on the internet in a matter of moments using their cell phones. These videos might not be top notch videography but they are still news. It allows people who aren't journalists to share news and sometimes spread important news faster. On the flip side it has made it increasingly more difficult for journalists to get viewers and readers. Some people are unwilling to pay for the newspaper or a magazine when they can go on youtube and get it for free.

Tweeting for Touchdowns

For those of us that are sports fans, we won't settle for anything less than scores, stats, and seemingly meaningful tidbits that are readily available mere seconds after they happen in real life. After all, our buddy down the hall is kicking our butts in fantasy football that week. Which means that history paper is going to have to wait - Aaron Rodger's third-down conversion percentage during home night games in the fourth quarter when trailing by less than five points is a much more pressing matter. And we need to know this figure NOW. 

 

Of course, as our parents often remind us, one used to be at the mercy of the local newspaper, which didn't print scores and stats until the next morning (this was also a time when fantasy sports was not yet an ego-driven battle of male superiority). Upon reading the paper's analysis, your understanding of the event would be shaped by a thorough, journalistic account on the finer points of athletic skill. Although these quality stories are still available the next day, social networking sites have all but eliminated the necessity of such printed reports. What was once a night's wait for a professional and analytical approach to sports has been reduced to a "ZOMG!! TD PACKERS!!!1!!!1" Twitter update in half a second (and I've been guilty of Facebook status outbreaks similar to the latter). 

 

In swallowing Twitter updates like candy, we sacrifice quality for immediate gratification. Tomorrow's game coverage can wait - consumers demand tidbits that they can collect while on-the-go and use to trash-talk the Bears fan down the hall, all with the click of a button.

 

Some might say, backed by the evidence of dwindling newspaper revenue on a national scale, that journalistic decency is lost among the madness that is social networking. For now, critics have a valid argument; that we are so spoiled by a functional "refresh" button that a certain human element is lost. 

 

However, there is no doubt that journalists will continue to take advantage of the speed and accessibility of such social outlets and use them for the better. In an age of rapid digital communication, journalists must adapt to an environment in which information is expected at a mile-a-minute.

 

Especially from a community of frantic sports fans.

Social networking sites have completely altered the way that we communicate. In the seemingly short time I have been on facebook, it has totally changed the way that I talk to my friend. At the time I got my facebook, it was simply the thing to do. Now that I have left high school, it has become the primary communication hub for my friends. Social networking sites, while not a primary source, can be a way of fact checking. In addition, facebook and other social networking sites allow reporters to stay in contact with potential sources and gain potential leads with just the click of a mouse. 

Cassie's Blog.

In the past several years, social networking sites like Facebook, Myspace, and Twitter have become increasingly popular websites. Featuring updates on things such as friends and celebrities, local and worldwide news, and new ways of advertising, these sites have created a whole new way to communicate information. We can now send information more quickly, efficiently, and less costly. With this newer technology, people can communicate with people that they normally would not be able to. It has made the world seem like a much smaller place than it seemed years ago.

Additionally, this quick way of sharing information has caused the media to become less personal and more dangerous. The amount of information sent is limitless, as is the restrictions of what you can send online. These social networking sites have made it easier to get information, but harder to get truly reliable material.

Technology is never going to stop advancing in the media. It will possibly put most of the journalism career paths online or via cellular phones. It will push past prerecorded stories, and enter into all live action causing journalists to push themselves to tell stories in more entertaining ways.

Brynden's Blog

New technologies have advanced journalism further than ever. While it has been argued that social networking sites, such as Twitter and Facebook, can lead to a loss of ethics and journalism integrity, the advantages that can be gained from the use of such sites are endless.

Twitter updates can provide updated news immediately. Many news organizations attend events and are able to provide the public with up-to-the-minute news. With these updates, the public will turn more and more to that particular news organization when they want to know what’s going on, and if an initial report is wrong, it will be more easily forgiven than one that has taken awhile to be reported.

Also, with sites such as Facebook, status updates, pictures, and videos can help provide the world immediately with photos of events that have been sent to Facebook.

While journalists should be careful with how they use social networking sites, I think that if used properly, these sites can help provide the world with news faster and easier, which is the direction that journalism needs to move in to stay ahead. I think it would be more detrimental to journalists to not use these sites to their advantage.

Flux Chaor

The progression of technology has always been a battle between new and old; often making our life so much simpler that we fear we will forget how to complete simple problems and basic lessons. We were constantly reminded in math class that we would not always have a calculator. But when we were told this, our teachers didn't know we would have that, plus the internet and thousands of songs easily fit in our pocket. Meet the iPhone. With the world's fastest 3G network, you can take a picture. Which can be sent to Google Earth to figure out where you are. Plus a built in compass. Only on AT&T. . . can you be this ignorant. Our teachers were right, but they were also terribly mistaken. We are now allowed to forget useful and common knowledge because it is so easily accessible. We rely on external sources to provide our knowledge because no one minds looking something up for thirty seconds to be correct. This is also due to the quantity of information people are expected to know. Through social networking, news everywhere you turn, and magazines about TV based on real life, we need to have our quick bits of information we try to piece together easily obtainable. When life was simpler, technology didn't need to be as advanced as it does in today's world.

Robert P's Technology Post

Cell phones are becoming increasingly more common today in the world of journalism. Now it is easier than ever for someone to post to their blog, send out a tweet, and upload a video all with their cell phones from wherever they have service. There are many advantages to using a cell phone one of them being the ability for cell phones to be readily available for instant coverage. An example of this could be seen during the Iranian revolution, in which many people used their cell phones to take videos and tweet about the current status during many protests. This was extremely useful due to their being little media coverage due to the lack of safety and security in the streets and allowed many people outside of Iran to be able to witness what was going on. A negative side effect of cell phones in journalism would be the unprofessional quality that cell phone reporting brings about. Due to the ability that anyone with a phone is technically able to report, many citizen-reports are very unprofessional and can even be false. I believe that cell phones will continue to be used in journalism in the future, however I also feel that people in the future will be more weary of what is published through a cell phone or is seen in a tweet. In my opion this will lead to more effective and professional levels of journalism all with the speed and accessibility of a cell phone.

IPhone

Last december I bought my iPhone and with every passing day I continue to be amazed at every thing that little device can accomplish with just a swish of my finger. Weather it be checking stock quotes, the weather, playing madden, listening music or writing this blog post; the possibilities are endless. The iPhone connects people to a constant stream of ever changing news and information from their pocket. The future of media and news is with the iPhone. Over the next few years people will be getting their exclusively through there iPhone or similar smart phone device. People will want there news and the’ll want it the second it becomes available

Julia's Technology Blog

The world is swiftly growing smaller because of technologies such as the Internet, cell phones, and social networking sites. People are able to remain easily in contact from halfway across the world, or hear breaking news in a matter of minutes.  Cell phones, blogs, and social networking sites, have invented a new supplement to traditional journalism- citizen journalism.  In the past it was difficult and expensive to publish news.  Now, with a media device and an Internet connection anybody can publish news at any time, therefore providing more updated news.  With citizen journalism however, comes the concern in the validity of the source and the information given.  Nonetheless, citizen journalism is absolutely finding its way into the future of journalism and has already made a huge impact on the world during the Iranian crisis when, due to government censorship, the manner in which the international community was informed of events was through texts, tweets, and cell phone pictures and videos sent out.  The challenge now and in the future will be to distinguish fact from fiction and maintain strong traditional journalism through the citizen journalism.   

Spencer's Technology Blog

There is no doubt that cell phones have completely altered life, as we know it. Now, not only can reporters call, text, or send pictures from the site of a major story, but s co can everyday people. Most cell phones are made with built in cameras and these pictures can be stored on the phone, sent to other people, or sent to the Internet, and the public can easily access these photos posted on the Internet, if the sender allows it. This plays an important role in Journalism, because news crews can use these photos and footage as soon as somebody sends it to them. Often times, it's somebody who happens to be in the right place at the right time, rather than a reporter. This gives news teams the ability to use these photos, phone calls, and texts to quickly distribute more accurate information as an event unfolds.

Colleen's Take on Technology

Broadcast news made the use of videography an essential form of reporting for every news station, so it is no surprise that media postings on the internet are also accompanied by video nowadays. Pressing play on your computer screen is a much more stimulating and visually compelling way of attaining news, especially for visual learners who will better comprehend the information being introduced. Online publication, The Huffington Post uses YouTube videos in nearly every post out of the 20+ the website publishes daily. Even the New York Times and Chicago Tribune have entire sections of their websites dedicated to videos. (video.nytimes.com , chicagotribune.com/videobeta/)

However along with the great advances made by journalists streaming video, the fact of the matter is that anyone can hold up a camera and capture a groundbreaking moment of history. This YouTube generation we are living in promotes the use of camerawork and also, publishing. For instance, some of the most aired footage on television after 9/11/2003 came from a digital home video camera in the hands of a civilian, and was then posted on YouTube. The only known footage of a plane coming in contact with the first Twin Tower was captured this way. Because this event, like so many others in history, was so unsuspected,  people who are indeed NOT journalists are the ones making the news. This could become a problem for journalism in the future, because then we have lost the control of what is and what is not in fact, news.

Christina T's Technology Post

Technology has become a very large part of each of our daily lives. From cell phones to social networking sites to the Internet, very few of us can go through a day without interacting with some part of technology. Our generation is becoming more and more attached to our cell phones. I know I feel something missing if I leave the room without mine. Our phones are also growing increasingly more capable of connecting us with the rest of the world. The apple iPhone and Blackberries are basically a mini-computer in your hand. Being able to view full Internet sites gives us access to an unlimited amount of information at the touch of a button. This technology can be a huge advantage to journalists. We can essentially turn cell phones into electronic newspapers and magazines. The possibilities are endless when talking about new technologies.

Bridget's J. Technology Post

Social networking sites have slowly worked their way into the journalistic culture. What I want from them is simple. Merely, use the networking sites to get the information to the people who otherwise wouldn’t see what is going on in the world. The sites are so accessible that most, if not all, average people are linked into them. When the traditional media does not have the footage or the live feed, normal citizens can easily share what they have through their own sites. This is where it gets tricky. Journalism seems to be less reliable when it is controlled totally by the general population. If people start to rely exclusively on things like twitter, credibility can be lost. It is a lot easier for mistakes in the news to be made, and for false information to be displayed. That false information is then often brought back into the more legitimate news, like in newspapers and on television. What I think is best about the networking sites are their speed and access. For example, twitter can reach millions – but because it is so user-based, it is often inaccurate. No matter what happens, social networking sites are going to be huge journalistic environments in the future. They are already growing; their capabilities will grow as well. It is unfair to completely cut them out of the journalistic market, but we still need to be careful to supply news through traditional means.

Brittany's Technology Blog

Twitter, no longer just a social network site for technology savvy, teenage gossipers, has taken hold of the traditional media and has become a story worth talking about within itself.  Proving its potential power during the aftermath of the Iranian elections, Twitter may very well be the next major media platform alongside Facebook, Youtube, and many other Internet sites.  

Twitter is a convenient and efficient way to communicate, especially if you’re on a journalist’s schedule.  With a limit of 140 characters, journalists can tweet headlines and breaking pieces of news that are short, sweet, and to the point. Twitter also gives media companies the opportunity to get their news out faster than their competition and connect with the audience in a completely new way. A journalist does not have to have the whole story to tweet. One simple and confirmed fact will do until the rest of the story can be validated.

Twitter is an ideal media platform for journalists until the human factor is added into the mix. Journalism ethics and Twitter are currently a hot topic in the media world.  One would think that the ethics applied to other sequences of media would apply to this new form of socialized media, however it is not just as simple as that.  Twitter is not as controllable as newspapers, magazines, and news programs that have editing processes that are closely monitored. Journalists that tweet have too much freedom to mix personal opinion with professional opinion. The ideal journalist is one that reports in an unbiased fashion. The journalist represents their employer, so when a journalist tweets information they are tweeting with their company’s reputation in their hands. Journalists should be careful to tweet strictly as a professional and not give into the temptation to tweet personal opinions and grievances.  

Twitter seems to have already started paving its way towards the future of journalism. While many companies are weary of letting their journalist jump into this “unknown” media platform, Twitter has the potential to connect the traditional media to the world in ways it could not before.

Lauren's Awesome First Blog

Cell phones have developed greatly over the past century. They have become smaller in size and are now furnished with incredibly striking new features. Today’s phones are equipped with touch screen capabilities, the ability to search the Internet, check e-mails, messaging, and have immense data storage. Recently, journalists have used cell phones to become more secure with their readers. Journalists repeatedly ask their readers to share information and updates through their mobile devices. I believe cell phones have potential in becoming one of journalism’s greatest assets, in that, they are capable of providing for anyone. They are so diverse and compatible with their many different styles, sizes, and have features for anyone’s enjoyment. Unfortunately, they are uncensored and journalists must be extremely aware of whom they are receiving information from and if the information is correct. Cell phones have wide-range possibilities and can potentially take the place of many of our unaccommodating information-sharing technologies.

Quick resources

Hi, all. If you haven't visited already, check out the Convergence Journalism site at http://convergence.journalism.missouri.edu. You should also visit the main J-School site for upcoming events. If you have (or decide to create) your own blog, let Danny and me know so we can link to it.

Assignment: Blog 1

This assignment serves as an extension to our technology discussion.  Select one type of technology that has had a big role in recent media (for example, blogs, cell phones, social networking sites, etc.) and detail the pros and cons of using that type of technology for journalism.  Also, address how you think that technology will continue to change and interact with journalism in the future.  

This assignment should be between 100-200 words and is due by midnight on Tuesday, Sept. 15.  Post the assignment to the class blog.  

Welcome to Mizzou Convergence Journalism FIG Blog

Hey everybody, welcome to the class blog.  Everyone will post assignments here and I will also update it with announcements and also links to articles that I think are pertinent to convergence journalism.  -Danny