Galloping Progress of New Media
The age-old principle of journalism has been to make headings short and attractive so that the reader, audience, or viewer may get interested in the news. The INTRO i.e., the introduction should be crispy, and it should be able to convey the gist of the news at the beginning itself. In the ‘Body’, details used to be given and the ‘Tail’ was considered to be the least important. But nowadays ‘Tail’ has assumed the highest importance. Today we find that most of the Youtubers, many of them have been former journalists, have totally forgotten old rules. Most of the time is now wasted in the preamble itself and the kernel of the information comes in the last.
More often than not, it is seen that there is a complete
mismatch in the heading and the news. Even if one has read or seen the complete news or video, one is lost in finding out the grains from the chaffs. It is true that the present generation of journalists is more techno-savvy, more educated and intelligent than the old generation. If proper training is imparted to them, they can work wonders in the field.
There is no doubt that some web portals have come up, which serve the news in a few words but then their zeal to make the news short usually leave the reader or viewer gasping because nothing becomes clear. Journalism has never been considered to be a lucrative profession. Previously it was confined to the print medium, which has now become a shrunk medium. Audio-electronic media has also lost much of its sheen.
It appears that the bright future is in store for Webs, YouTube, Blogs, and a whole host of new media. But the million-dollar question is that of the economic viability. Would a new journalist be able to survive without the support of advertisements? As per OSH Code, the journalists of the new media have also been recognised.
Communication technology is making giant strides with every passing day, and it is certain that in the days to come journalism will witness the complete transformation. Hopefully, it will be a welcome change. As far as fake news is concerned, it has always been present. The only difference is that today it has got a bigger reach and therefore has become more damaging. Earlier people used to consider the printed words as the gospel of truth but today every news is taken with a pinch of salt.