Traditional media has, historically, served as the bedrock of mass
communication, setting the agenda for public discourse and keeping
societies abreast of current events. It has traditionally entailed
linear broadcasts, the physical distribution of information across
various print mediums, such as newspapers and magazines, or the
airwaves via radio and television. The digital revolution has now
produced a new context for traditional media.
The emerging information age has witnessed a fundamental overhaul in
how audiences access information, with the help of digital
technologies, such as the internet (Web1.0), social media platforms
(Web2.0), and mobile devices. This has translated into a new era
that has made information widely accessible and enabled people to
view news and entertainment (music, film) anytime, anywhere, and
across different digital platforms. This context sheds light on the
interconnected nature of the changing media landscape and how it
keeps evolving against the backdrop of a society transforming to a
digitally influenced millennium. It is argued that following a
timeline in the information revolution will help us level up our
comprehension of this new development and the intended and
unintended consequences of shifting to a digital-first communication
culture.
The global shift from print to digital newspapers, news websites,
blogs, and other digital publications has dramatically changed how
information is disseminated and consumed. With so many different
websites, online newspapers, and blogs providing many perspectives
and instant access to breaking news, the world has never been more
informed. With these advancements in how breaking news is reported,
citizens are given instant information, which helps the world stay
current on the latest gossip or breaking news because people can
consume it wherever they want. Moreover, the advancement of
technology helps citizens better understand national and
international live blogs, interactive articles with videos, and
other innovative ways news can now be navigated. For example, an
interested audience member can customize their wants and navigate
between different topics with a click of a button, all because of
information dissemination.
By acting as primary conduits for news dissemination and audience
engagement, social media platforms – such as Facebook, Twitter, and
Instagram – serve as virtual squares where a news story could go
viral in just a matter of seconds as it spreads among millions of
users as soon as it is published. This has democratized the news
cycle and enabled citizen journalists and eyewitnesses to report
firsthand stories and events as they unfold. Moreover, by providing
mediums for directly communicating with readers, social media also
encourages readers to engage in their news, and allows diverse
voices and opinions to the audiences to feel that they, too, have
become a part of the story.
Big data and advanced algorithms now allow all forms of digital
content to be better targeted to you individually and on demand.
Whether you are looking for information on the latest tech journals,
holiday images on Pinterest, TV shows on Netflix, or videos on
YouTube, everything is getting more personalized and relevant. Media
companies are collecting unprecedented amounts of data about you:
who you are, how you use the internet, where you are located, what
you like on social media, and so on. By using complex analytical
techniques that include real-time machine learning, they can then
mine this data to deliver personalized content to you. This means
that they can figure out what genres you are interested in, what
content stimulates you most, and when you prefer to consume the
content based on what you have been viewing.
Artificial Intelligence (AI) and algorithms play a major role in
suggestions for content given by digital media, which also help to
increase the user experience. The algorithms on digital media
enables computers to give out suggestions for using articles, videos
or podcasts based on the interaction of the user and the history
recorded where the content is picked based on previous responses of
the user and the selected period of time. The increasing use of AI
to create these algorithms has allowed them to get smarter and more
quickly in displaying accurate and relevant suggestions to the user
and what they would be more than likely to view. As the algorithms
become more advanced and smarter, it also helps to predict user
behavior for future suggestions, leading to improved user
satisfaction and increased discovery of new content and viewing
time.
Multimedia storytelling has evolved considerably since the initial
move towards digital media. Today, digital media aren’t just
text-based like they used to be in the early days of the Web.
Videos, podcasts, and interactive graphics are now an integral part
of multimedia stories, making it easier for audiences to read a
story or listen to its audio version and go through different
multimedia elements, which, in turn, makes reading or listening far
more immersive. Videos are a great example to illustrate my point.
Interactive and engaging, they bring us dynamic images, interviews,
and on-the-ground reporting, all of which traditional print media
cannot replicate. Another popular type of multimedia story is the
podcast. Podcasts are gaining massive popularity as a ‘go to’
electronic voice medium, allowing audiences to listen to on-demand
audio content; be it an investigative news story or a discussion of
a specific topic of interest.
Web interactives and data visualizations help readers understand and
care by simplifying complexity through striking design concepts that
immediately clarify information. Users can manipulate interactive
data sets, timelines, and geospatial materials so they feel like
participants in the topics being covered. Multimedia toolkits can be
used to give voice to sources whose perspectives might otherwise be
invisible, engaging audiences in stories in the style and method
they prefer to consume information.
Further fuelling evolutionary developments in viewing habits and
content distribution are the changes triggered by the growing
popularity of streaming services such as Netflix, Hulu, and Amazon
Prime Video, which tend to shift audiences away from broadcast
schedules by allowing viewers to access a large catalog of cinematic
and television content, news and original programming on demand. In
essence, video-on-demand streaming is reshaping entertainment and
news content consumption. Consumers no longer need to wait for set
broadcast windows to watch their favorite programs, thereby
challenging the dominance of scheduled-driven TV networks and cable
providers.
Social media platforms have led to citizen journalism's emergence
and enabled the rapid reporting of events. On the one hand, social
media has created a platform for decentralization. The news or
information on social media sites by anybody worldwide. In this way,
it could be a platform for ‘everybody is a reporter’ – ordinary
people with smartphones report on things as they happen, and thus,
we see many reports and videos from the places where something
happens, adding to the mainstream information. On the other hand,
social media has provided a platform to share stories and raise
awareness of important issues.
Yet the proliferation of user-generated content that we see on
social media creates huge new challenges in terms of verifying
authenticity, accuracy, and credibility compared with more
traditional journalism formats, which benefit from formal editorial
standards and fact-checking. Viral, misleading, fake, or manipulated
media can circulate widely, potentially swaying public opinion and
further fuel societal polarization. Media outlets and platforms are
increasingly struggling to tell the good from the bad and signal the
seriousness of user-generated content to their readers and users. In
the meantime, users continue to face the challenge of spotting
misinformation on social media to avoid falling for it.
Advances in digital content delivery forced many in the media sector
to rethink monetization strategies and business models. The demise
of traditional print publishing revenue – such as the shift from
print advertising to digital advertising strategies – was partly
responsible for this shift. Though print displays and advertisements
in newspapers and magazines still exist, digital advertising
strategies targeted specifically at online audiences have become the
leading monetization strategy for newspapers and periodical
publications worldwide. Digital advertising is driven by data, which
can be used to target certain demographics based on age, gender,
location, or browsing behaviors and interests. Google Ads is a
leading source of revenue for many digital publishers, while social
media advertising has also grown into a big source of income for
many digital platforms. Data analytics underpins the placement of
advertisements as well as any changes made to ad creatives and copy.
Moving beyond digital advertising, another new revenue stream
adopted by media organizations has been subscription models and
paywalls. Some of the most notable are The New York Times and The
Wall Street Journal, which offer premium content behind paywalls to
subscribers looking for in-depth articles, investigative reporting,
and other multimedia. As well as representing a diversification of
revenue streams, moving away from strict reliance on advertising,
this closer relationship with audiences encourages quality on the
part of publishers – again based on a market incentive rather than a
media-specific subsidy.
The rapid evolution of digital media has brought forth significant challenges and ethical considerations that impact journalism and content consumption on a global scale.
One of the major is the proliferation of misinformation and disinformation peddled on online platforms such as social media and through digital channels. In the digital era, the spread of misinformation and disinformation about various issues – political, medical or others – has increased manifold thanks to the speed with which news or misinformation can be circulated online as well as the ease with which such news and information can reach millions of people in a matter of minutes. Fact-checking journalism has emerged as one of the key solutions to tackle this problem, where news organizations and fact-checking websites dispatch teams of investigators across tools to fact-check the truth or falsity of news and claims before disseminating it to the public on various digital platforms.
Audiences and other stakeholders are also increasingly concerned that data-driven journalism and the personalized content experiences offered by digital platforms come at a cost to individual privacy. Digital platforms collect masses of user data, from their browsing history on specific websites to location data or activities on social media. This data is used to curate more relevant content for those users and to target advertising to those individuals. The benefits of data-driven approaches for users are that content is more relevant and user engagement is greater. However, there are also ethical concerns about the way digital platforms collect data and restrict user privacy and choice.
Technology is making the future of media what it always has been: something new. Technology is transforming the media sector faster than ever – from the shift to digital to globalized on-demand content, from the tailor-made recommendations of offline programs to immersive virtual reality and augmented reality. New technologies such as artificial intelligence and blockchain are poised to transform content-making and distribution, the discovery of relevant content, time, information distortion, new privacy concerns, and ethical dilemmas confront journalists in a world where the boundaries between fact and opinion and public and private life, have become blurrier and more transparent than ever. Media innovations will be inseparable from a determined commitment to technological and organizational change, likely requiring new alliances between public and private entities to protect the future of journalism.