In 1995, anchors on TODAY discussed how to pronounce the @ (or “at” sign)
and asked “what is internet, anyway?” In 2021, where smartphones abound and 4.7 million people were using that “internet thing” to work from home before the pandemic started, it’s easy to forget that there was ever a time when we weren’t using that technology.
But tech advancement didn’t stop at websites and @ signs. The first social networking site, Six Degrees, came online in 1997, and interest only grew from there. Today, 3.8 billion people in the world use social media, and 55 percent of Americans alone “often” or “sometimes” get their news from social networks.
In an age where people are reaching for their phones and checking Twitter rather than unfolding a hard-copy of The New York Times, it’s more important than ever for journalists to understand consumer habits and how to communicate news in a digestible, effective and factual manner. It’s no longer enough to publish for print first and then post online as an afterthought — reporters must have a digital focus as soon as they start their story.
But this is easier said than done. The average human attention span is just eight seconds, and on social sites, it’s even shorter — most people spend less than two seconds glancing at a post on their feed. If journalists simply post a block of text with a pithy headline on a social media site and expect this to pull in and retain consumers, they are sorely mistaken. However, as outlets like The New York Times are learning, news can remain relevant and stand out when it’s done well.
News must be clearly conveyed through eye-catching, digestible visuals that will stand out on a timeline without losing the context of the story itself. Reporters are expected to make readers a bigger part of their journalistic process, maintaining two-way communication between their stories and their audiences.
Despite the changes that the field is undergoing, some things will always remain the same, regardless of the platform or tools that journalists are using to communicate. Outlets and reporters must maintain their commitment to serving as the Fourth Estate, acting as a check on the government. They must continue to inform their audiences, keeping them abreast of breaking news and evolving stories. Most importantly, they must speak the truth fairly and accurately in order to maintain a connection with their readers — regardless of whether the reading is taking place in print or on a screen.
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