All my previous blog attempts have ended in faliure, I just ran out of steam. Leaving me wondering what really is the point?
Over the last few weeks we have been drilled constantly on the importance of the web for the future of journalism, and so it is now time to bid farewell to the dinosaurs and enter once again into the virtual world. It is time to revive my blog!
But really, what is the point?
As I sit here and type I have several other browser windows open, each with multiple tabs. I am listening to Pirate FM online and have David Tennant paused mid-interview on the BBC, which I suppose sums up beautifully how the internet has transformed media consumption in the last 2 years alone. Long gone are the days of dial-up internet when even the most patient person would be at the end of their tether if a page contained more than 2 pictures.
Secondly, the internet is no longer solely for techies . In this digital world, anyone can feasibly upload videos, share pictures or start a blog, without the need to type in a single line of HTML. And most importantly for us journalists, lots of people do.
The news as we know it is changing. The internet has freed up access to information and cranked up the volume of our opinions, comments and complaints – would there reallly have been such a furore if the technology to listen again or share the Ross/Brand debacle on YouTube didn’t exist?
It’s been said that the news is no longer a lecture, rather it’s a seminar where events can be discussed, analysed and amended by a whole range of contributers using a whole range of mediums – just look at the mobile video used by the BBC in the aftermath of the 7/7 attacks in London. As a trainee, on the brink of starting my career, it would be churlish for me to ignore these developments in my chosen trade. So, with the popularity of the traditional news bulletin on the decline, it’s now a case of evolve, or die.
