The New Generation of Media Publishing

Because 'new' media could mean a lot of different technologies in different contexts, I will first define what meaning I am using in this post. Hence, this post will center mostly on the Internet aspect of new digital media, as it has brought along the most change amongst society today.

Image from mariapianegro.org

Straubhaar and LaRose (2004) cite the Pew Research Center when they say that the internet is now rivaling conventional print media as a source of news. Online news sources and political blogs have gone as far as influencing outcomes of electio

ns, as mentioned in an earlier blog post. In Malaysia, the rise of Malaysiakini.com provided an alternative view of the country compared to print publication which is tightly controlled by he government (Chin, 2003).

The emergence of online news and blogging also raises the question of whether or not bloggers can be considered journalists. Three bloggers were brought to court in 2005 for releasing information about an Apple product – because they were not 'legitimate members of the press', Apple took action (Hempel, 2005).

The emergence of new websites such as Flickr has brought on the emergence of 'user-generated content', so while conventional media are still creating content, others are also able to do so (Naughton, 2006). YouTube in particular is a useful tool for showcasing talent online for others to see. Many YouTube users such as Colbie Caillat and Marié Digby later went on to be international celebrities after posting their videos online and garnering fans.

As can be seen, the Internet has changed the landscape of communication greatly. The best way to succeed in this environment would be to adapt to the changes in technology.

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References

Chin, J 2003, 'Malaysiakini.com and its impact on journalism and politics in Malaysia', in Asia.com: Asia encounters the internet, eds KC Ho, R Kulver & K Yang, London, pp. 129 – 142.

Hempel, J 2005, Are bloggers journalists?, Bloomberg Businessweek, viewed 29 September 2010, http://www.businessweek.com/technology/content/mar2005/tc2005037_7877_tc024.htm

Naughton, J 2006, Blogging and the emerging media ecosystem, Reuters Fellowship, University of Oxford, viewed 29 September 2010, http://reutersinstitude.politics.ox.ac.uk/fileadmin/documents/discussion/blogging.pdf.

Straubhaar, J & LaRose, R 2004, Media now: understanding media, culture and technology, 4^th edn, Wadsworth, California.