From print to broadcast to blogging- the emergence of new media publishing methods has truly impacted the world in all aspects may it be politically, economically, and socially. Now even mere blogging has been taken another step forward with the rise of newer trends of spreading the word through Facebook, MySpace, Twitter, YouTube, and the ever popular alternative online newspaper. These different mediums of blogging are now part of the new media ecosystem that is continuing to be the choice of many. We see it in, for example, the remarkable penetration of broadband access in developed countries; the rapid growth of e-commerce; the streaming of audio – and, increasingly, video across the net; the interest of Rupert Murdoch and other broadcasters in acquiring broadband and other internet companies; declining newspaper sales and the growth of online news; the expanding use of the web as a publication medium by public authorities; the spread of public Wi-Fi; and in the stupendous growth of internet telephony – spurred by the realization that, sooner rather than later, all voice telephony will be done over the net ( Naughton, J 2006).
Naugthon then mention the two terms; the ‘push’ and ‘pull’ that contributes to the old media coverage in comparison to the new media ecosystem. The ‘push’ medium as Naugthon elaborates is a relatively select band of producers (broadcasters) decide what content is to be created, create it and then push it down analogue or digital channels at audiences which are assumed to consist of essentially passive recipients. However, the ‘pull’ medium is where nothing comes to you unless you choose it and click on it to pull it down onto your computer. You’re in charge. This by far is very true considering newer blogging sites that offer video logs and micro-blogging allows the consumer to take the place of the producer. This has completely reversed the models of the media chain system. New age blogging and broadcasting sites like YouTube and Twitter give audiences the firm grip on their own say.
Similarly, Walsh discusses about the affordance and purpose of print-based text versus digital print. This concept can be further analysed in terms of the new media publishing methods such as blogging and micro-blogging versus traditional journalism. The affordance of traditional journalism is the ‘telling’ and ‘showing’ according to the discourses given and the text itself. On the other hand the interactive affordance by the mode used in a digital-based site permits the readers to provide feedback and close to instant interactivity. Thus, this clearly shows how the new forms of publishing have altered communication itself. A study research was done by Ahmad, (2010) regarding Twitter as a useful tool for journalist. This study has made realization of the alteration of communication and journalism combined. He found out that Journalists such as Afua Hirsch, The Guardian’s legal correspondent, moot theories and air questions as a way of getting users or ‘followers’ to provide them feedback or evidence in the exploratory stages of a story. At the June meeting, she and others pointed out that this proves to be an effective way of ‘collaborating’ with users. Now this is considered a smart collaboration of both worlds.
References
Ahmad, AN 2010, ‘Is Twitter a useful tool for journalists? ‘Journal of Media Practice, Vol. 11, no. 2, p145-155, 11p, <http://web.ebscohost.com.ezlibproxy.unisa.edu.au/ehost/pdfviewer/pdfviewer?sid=902d8eb3-99c5-49eb-95af-5566d8c98b7c%40sessionmgr104&vid=3&hid=112>.
Naughton, J 2006, ‘Blogging and the emerging media ecosystem’, viewed on 19 April 2010, <http://reuteursinstitute.politics.ox.ac.uk/about/discussion/blogging.html>.
Schriver, KA 1997, Dynamics in document design: creating texts for readers, Wiley Computer Pub.,New York.
Walsh, M 2006, 'The 'textual shift’: Examining the reading process with print, visual and multimodal texts,' Australian Journal of Language and Literacy, vol.29, no.1, pp.24-37.
