js615311@ohio.edu
As we progress towards the future, transformations in technology will change our lives in so many ways. Everyone is finding ways to make their experience more personal and technology seems to reflect that, whether it be social media, apps that keep track of your fitness schedule or what have you, people like having the information they want when they want it. People have the whole world in the palm of their hands and can travel to where ever the want to go to on the web.
Because of this new need for personalized information has put journalism in a tough situation. Like most things that want to survive in a changing world, journalism must adapt. We’ve seen so many changes in the industry, to layout, to the type media, but what we are seeing more and more of today is people want to see change in how we conduct ourselves. It’s no secret that when it comes to trust, the public has issues with journalists. They demand more transparency and accountability, the public wants journalist to follow ethics codes that they themselves are aware of and reflect their needs. As Stephan Ward says in Why New Journalism Ethics Have to Be Public, Not Personal, he gives a great argument why journalist need to think of our ethics codes as public and not personal. It makes sense that as an organization that supports the free speech and the free flow of information in a democratic free thinking society should reflect that society. They should hold up ideals and ethics that the public hold near and dear. It is our jobs as journalist to convey the news in an honest unbiased way, we are supposed to decide what is news worthy and what isn’t. But as we all have seen, there are times where the public interest is not reflected by what is in the media and that understandably makes the public angry. Just like our government, journalism should reflect what the audience stands for and operate in a way that makes the public feel comfortable and able to trust what they’re hearing. Personal ethics codes serve the agenda of who ever made them, but an ethics code made by the people for the people, now that sounds democratic and free to me.
With an Ethics code that reflects people we can provide better information in a more appropriate way to our audience, but how do we keep up with changes in technology that possibly endangers the credibility of journalism all together. As we read in Paul Sparrow’s, Let’s Start Talking about a Radically Different Future of News, journalism faces many challenges with developing technologies. With companies like Facebook, Google and Apple who have taken it upon themselves to be a one stop shop for news, info and social interaction, journalism organizations are beginning to slip beneath the tide. These websites help audience members really personalize their information and the content that is used to advertise to them. It is hard to compete when your goal is just to get info out to the masses. As Sparrow states, “news/media companies must stop thinking of themselves as just content providers and fundamentally change their focus to become platforms providing critical services, as was as information.” These companies need to find ways to make themselves needed, they need to not only provide information but they need to do it in a way that is needed by the people and they need to deliver something that the public can’t live with out. In the past, the new paper was a perfect mechanism, your household needed one delivered daily to stay up on current events and info. Today, journalist must find the new news paper.
I think, with a combination with advances in technology and an ethics code that reflects the public a more sustainable journalism industry will develop. We need the public to feel like we are speaking for them, watching out for them, getting the information they need in a professional way that reflects their society. As society changes so do the mechanisms that serve the society and journalism is one of those mechanisms.
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