28 May Has there been a shift from ‘fortress’ to ‘networked’ journalism?
This essay will consider whether there has been a shift from fortress to networked journalism, with specific reference to the impact of the Internet and the growth of citizen journalism. Our parents and grandparents used to start their days with a cup of coffee and a copy of newspaper. During the day they would listen to radio to get news updates and they would finish their day watching news on a TV. However, this is not the case any more. A lot has changed ever since the first newspaper was published in 1605. Newspaper was the main source of news for public for many years. The first competition that newspaper ever faced was a radio broadcast and later on a television broadcast. The way we consume news nowadays, has completely changed when a term Web 2.0 was introduced to the world in 2004. Web 2.0 is an improved version of its predecessor Web 1.0. The main features that differ Web 2.0 from Web 1.0 are blogs, wikis and social networking.
Fortress journalism is traditional form of journalism such as newspaper, radio, or TV, where journalistic authority is based on the institution.
Networked journalism is a combination of traditional news journalism and technologies such as mobile phones, blogs, social networks. It allows public to be involved in producing news via hyper-linking, user-generated content, forums and crowd-sourcing. (Beckett, 2010)
It is undeniable, that the Internet has surely changed the way the news is produced and consumed today. Therefore, impact of the Internet on creating the news is inevitable and it is up to journalists whether they succumb or fight it.
Murdoch (2005) in his speech to the American Society of Newspaper Editors called the Internet ‘a great new partner to help us reach this new consumer’, while saying that newspaper editors and journalists have everything needed to deliver the news, including experience, resources and the know-how.
However, some might even think that the era of ‘fortress journalism’ is over. Horrocks (2009, p. 6) indicated: ‘Most journalists have grown up with a fortress mindset. They have lived and worked in proud institutions with thick walls. Their daily knightly task has been simple: to battle journalists from other fortresses. But the fortresses are crumbling and courtly jousts with fellow journalists are no longer impressing the crowds. The end of fortress journalism is deeply unsettling for us and requires a profound change in the mindset and culture of journalism.’
Whether the era of fortress journalism is over or not, the key thing to remember is – journalism is not what it used to be decades ago. Beckett (2010, p.3) calls newsrooms ‘hubs at the centre of endless networks’ and networked journalism ‘a new relationship between the journalist and the story and the public’.
The creation of Web 2.0 had a great role to play in creating networked journalism. ‘Web 2.0 is taken to be the engine for reworking journalism into a networked world and reconceptualising journalism itself as a network.’ ( Calcutt, A. and P. Hammond 2011, p. 128)
Beckett (2010) claims, that thanks to the Internet and the hyper-textuality of Web 2.0 , journalism can be connected to a network of further information and that it enables journalism to do things it struggled to do before, such as: allowing journalists to work within a network of multi-directional flows, public interaction with stories, potential for much greater context. The author further writes: ‘The public and other journalists can originate or add to any story. The journalist can crowd-source gaining information from the public, or they can publish primary texts giving information to the public. It deepens and widens the journalism. But at the centre of this hyper-textuality can be an individual reporter, correspondent or journalist.’ (Beckett, 2010, p. 5)
Not only the Internet and Web 2.0 , but also citizen journalism has shaped the traditional journalism.
Citizen journalism is a form of journalism produced by ordinary people who happen to be a part of newsworthy situations. These people report on events happening right now, using their mobile phones or other devices and publishing it online.
Citizen journalists played crucial roles in events such as the London bombings in 2005 and Hurricane Katrina according to Allan (2006). ‘Members of London’s blogging community were mobilizing to provide whatever news and information they possessed, in the form of typed statements, photographs or video clips, as well as via survivors’ diaries, roll-calls of possible victims, emergency-response instructions, safety advice, travel tips, links to maps pinpointing the reported blast locations, and so forth. Many focused on perceived shortcomings in mainstream news reports, offering commentary and critique, while others dwelt on speculation or rumour, some openly conspiratorial in their claims.’ (Allan, 2006, p.150)
Another example of citizen journalists reporting on such an important event is an incident in Kashmir. According to Noor (2017, p. 57): ‘The Internet has served as an important medium to reveal the ground situation in Kashmir, especially when authorities gagged the mainstream media. Especially during 2010 summer unrest, a complete information blackout was enforced in Kashmir. News channels were barred, while police foiled distribution of newspapers and seized newspaper bundles. Hence, Internet was the sole medium available with people. They used blogs and social networking sites to disseminate the news. Later, however, the Internet too was blocked. Citizen journalism appears to be catching the hold of print media steadily in Kashmir.’
To illustrate another example, on December 10, 2003, thousands of Iraqis protested in Baghdad against bombings by insurgents, that had rendered more civilian than military casualties. Several major media missed this march, but some bloggers did not and it turned out to be the best way how to get informed about an event like this. Some of the most noticeable content came from a blogger named Zeyad, whose channel became the main source of information. (Gillmor, 2004)
Provided these examples, it can be said that citizen journalism has certainly affected traditional journalism, because sometimes the most important thing is to be at the right place and at the right time and have a device which can produce content and publish it online. Nonetheless, as Noor (2017) states: ‘it provides ordinary citizens with an opportunity to highlight the genuine issues that may be skipped by professional journalists’. (Noor, 2017, p. 74)
Having said that, fortress journalism is not what it used to be before and that there has for certain been a shift from fortress to networked journalism, it is important to remember, that the journalists are the ones trained to do their profession. They know how to research stories, find all the relevant information , how to write or tell a story properly, and most importantly they are impartial, or at least they should be. Whereas, when general public post ‘news’ online , it is most of the time biased. When talking about citizen journalists and their impact on traditional journalism, it is essential to say that a real journalist and citizen journalist are two different things. To illustrate: ‘The main difference between mainstream journalism and citizen journalism is voluntary nature of work. Citizen journalism is participatory in nature while mainstream journalism is highly professional. The latter is more than mere reporting of facts. So any person with a pen or camera in hand cannot become a professional journalist unless trained in skills of observation, understanding, expression and responsibility. Citizen journalism content is usually of average quality and rarely possesses news values, while citizen journalists rarely follow journalistic ethics.’ (Noor, 2017, p. 73)
Noor (2017) continues to say that citizen journalism might have a negative effect on the concept of journalism. She argues that there might be lack of moderation among online writers. They may infringe the ethical standards and sensationalise stories in the absence of gate-keeping. Furthermore, she claims that people are confused in who actually are journalists, since everyone can publish. Citizen journalists do not abide to the traditional news values. They do not know what is a meaning of newsworthy information either. She further writes, that these people tend to be less credible as they are not obliged to follow the framework of traditional media. What is more, plagiarism and unethical content might occur in citizen journalism. Furthermore, stories written by citizen journalists tend to be unbiased as they only tend to focus on one side of a story.
To conclude, there has been a shift from fortress journalism to networked journalism . This essay would argue that creation of the Internet, Web 2.0, and citizen journalism among other factors have played a significant role in a way we consume news nowadays. Yet, the journalists are still main contributors in producing news. Having said that, if journalists, who are trained for their profession, team up with the people formerly known as audience, who these days produce and publish ‘news’ online and use them as the source of information, the journalism might get into its golden age.
References:
Allan, S. (2006) Online News: Journalism and the Internet. Maidenhead: Open University Press
Beckett, C. (2010) The Value of Networked Journalism. London: Polis. Available at: http://www.lse.ac.uk/media@lse/POLIS/documents/Polis%20papers/ValueofNetworkedJournalism.pdf
Calcutt, A. and P. Hammond (2011) Journalism Studies: A Critical Introduction. London: Routledge
Gillmor, D. (2004) We the Media. Published under Creative Commons licence at: http://www.authorama.com/book/we-the-media.html
Horrocks, P. (2009). The Future of Journalism. [ebook] CoJo Publications: 1.
Available at: https://www.bbc.co.uk/blogs/theeditors/future_of_journalism.pdf [Accessed 28 May 2019].
Noor, Rabia. (2017). Citizen Journalism vs. Mainstream Journalism: A Study on Challengers Posed by Amateurs. Athens Journal of Mass Media and Communications. Vol. 3, No. 1. Available at: https://www.athensjournals.gr/media/2017-3-1-4-Noor.pdf
The Guardian. (2019). Murdoch’s speech: full text. [online]
Available at: https://www.theguardian.com/media/2005/apr/14/citynews.newmedia [Accessed 28 May 2019].
