The Printed Battle - A Digital Journalist's Discussion

A Brief History 

The introduction of the newspaper into mainstream society aligns with my first post regarding humanities need to tell and pass on stories "What is Journalism and Why do we need it?". The printed newspaper business began in Europe during the 1600's shortly after the invention and small scale industrialisation of the printing press. This at the time, dramatically changed the way in which we tell stories, relay information and eventually became the key component in the establishment of the fourth estate; giving birth to the freedom of public expression.

That was then, this is now... Enter the digital age. 

The seemingly explosive entrance of the digital and new media age happened almost overnight, changing the face of journalism forever. Websites, Blogs, live news streams, social media and real time updates have coincided and fueled the fast paced and instant attitude society has for modern life; putting print journalism under an immense strain to fulfill its readerships needs. News organisations have either had to get on board and get online or face bankruptcy.

What has this meant for Journalists?

This shift has affected the nature of journalism in many different ways, some argue for the better in terms of user consumption and public voice. Others would suggest that the quality of journalism is suffering putting the whole industries reputation in jeopardy.The existence of the internet and online journalism allows anyone and everyone to have their say, in some ways this is positive and protects the ideals of the fourth estate. However, this also means that the quality of journalists and reliability of many new news sites is coming into question. As the general public, though we now have access to so much information, which is amazing, it is our duty to be careful with what we chose to believe and promote.

What could the future hold? 

The common view is that as technology continues to press forward the want and need for print journalism will become a thing of the past, leaving the newspaper to retire beside the printing press in a museum cabinet. I doubt newspapers and magazines will be completely extinguished for some years yet but perhaps we will start to see restrictions being made, in an attempt to regulate the press. Though with the internet as it stands restrictions would be near impossible, forcing the world into a new era of free public expression, maybe even giving the fourth estate more power than ever intended.