How news is consumed today is starkly different from how people received their updates a decade ago, and the years before then. The internet has been the most significant revolution in news dissemination, affecting who sends out news, how they package it and how the consumer receives it.
Media Convergence
In the past, most news channels relied on one format of conveying news. Radio, for example, relied purely on audio to reach its audiences. Newspapers were all about printed text and images, while TV specialised in video formats. Today, however, there is not a single format of information that is a preserve of a specific news channel.
Thanks to social media platforms, radio stations can now attach video clips and pictures to complement what they disseminate in audio. Platforms like YouTube have introduced an archiving component, which was either absent or exceedingly difficult to achieve in the past.
Advanced Packaging
The process of news passage is not just more straightforward on the consumers’ end. News houses can now edit and package information faster, thanks to new equipment which is far much potent than what was available in the past.
There has also been a rise in the number of news outlets, due to the ease of packaging and the drop in the cost of equipment. On https://mresell.co.uk/, emerging news outlets can find, at fair prices, equipment that makes them package their images, audio, text, and video, just as nicely as CNN, BBC, ITV or Fox News would do.
Content on Demand
In the new age, people no longer wait for the traditional news schedule to get news. Instead, they yearn for and get news when they want it. Consumers follow news sources on online platforms such as Twitter, Instagram, and Facebook, to get a minute-by-minute update of what is happening.
Social media platforms are exploiting this demand by creating live feeds which can now accommodate video; think of Facebook Live or Instagram Stories, and these features are becoming a big hit among news consumers.
Citizen Journalism
The increased ease of creating and disseminating information has brought with it a new crop of news bringers. Citizens armed with a simple smartphone can now record news occurrences on their camera phones and share it with fellow consumers. While this is in many aspects amateur reporting, the very aspect of news is satisfied.
Fake News
Finally, the inescapable new term in the field of communication; ‘fake news!’ Donald Trump’s favourite phrase is actually a reality in the modern age of technology and news. With the massive increase in news outlets and the speed of dissemination as everyone tries to avoid getting scooped, gatekeeping has become less and less structured. The ethical practice of verification has suffered dramatically in this new dispensation.