Week 1: Student Response and Assignment

TuesdayMar 27 at 4:06pm

Manage Discussion Entry

JRN412 – Role of the News Media – Discussion 1 [Week 1]

Troy Neal

“News is a timely account of a recent, interesting, and significant event” (Kershner, 2012) Regardless of what year, era, decade, or even century it is there have always been recent, interesting, and significant events happening, and with that comes the need to inform people. Acta Diurna' which roughly translates to “Daily Acts” was the first newspaper published in Rome, around 59 BC, and ever since news has been traveling far and wide via many different mediums.

Newspapers are an obvious first choice as it pertains to which method many people think of when it comes to getting daily information. However, this form of news gathering is more popular with those who grew up before the digital age. Although newspapers are still a popular avenue for some to get their daily news and information, thanks to the internet, newspapers have fallen by the wayside at no real fault of their own. Ever since the printing press was invented and newspapers could be printed in mass quantities the newspaper business was one that was flourishing and there was no slowing down or end in sight.

That is of course until the internet came along and turned into what it has become today. Because nowadays the majority of people (myself included) get their news and information from their phones. Sports updates, breaking news, and any other exciting subjects you choose to follow closely can be available at your fingertips via smartphones, tablets, and computers. The only downfall to having your news available at a moments notice is that there seems to be no intrigue anymore, the attention span of a typical adult has dwindled since the invention of smartphones. The instant gratification culture that we live in can put pressure on every aspect of news reporting these days, from researchers to journalists, and broadcast news anchors that deliver substantial and essential news the second it breaks.

References

Kershner, J. (2012). The elements of news writing (3rd ed.). Boston, MA: Pearson Education, Inc.