I’ll never forget the day of the Newtown shooting. Tweet after tweet, status after status, broadcast after broadcast. This was clearly news, and that news quickly spread like wildfire to all the world. The coverage of this tragic event opened the eyes of many. That was when I personally realized that this 24/7 news cycle and live coverage of events could lead to misinformation, public comment and of course truth. It showed me that news has changed, and in the hustle bustle days of many Americans, that change in my opinion, is for the better.
In the piece titled “Welcome to the Information Age- 174 Newspapers A Day,” Science Correspondent Richard Alleyne writes, “Using the analogy of an 85 page newspaper, they found that in 1986 we received around 40 newspapers full of information every day but this had rocketed to 174 in 2007” (Alleyne 2011). Although this number comes off as shocking, I feel as though the constant stream of information from online news sites, bloggers, broadcast and social media is brilliant- especially from the viewpoint of an aspiring journalist. Although at times it could feel overwhelming, there is something particularly satisfying about having constant knowledge of what is going on around you.
This 24/7 news cycle has most importantly opened up the idea of convenience to the consumer. People can now skim a quick tweet, read an email newsletter or hear from a friend about the news opposed to relying on the morning paper or evening news broadcasts. This convenience has benefited both the news platforms and the readers.
Another main benefit is that the news is now free! People do not have to pay to subscribe anymore if they do not want too. They can simply choose what they want to read via social media platforms and online publications for free. These new platforms are also coming up with new ways to story tell, giving the consumer the choice of how they want to get their news. In a piece titled, “The Growth in Digital Reporting,” Mark Jurkowitz writes,“Other digital news producers, especially those that have emerged most recently at the national level, are aimed at cultivating new forms of storytelling—from video to crowdsourcing to new documentary styles—and new ways to connect with audiences, often younger ones” (Jurkowitz 2014).
Just like most things in life, there is a negative side to this constant stream. I can’t say that I 100% trust the news today. There has been many situations where news platforms have reported the wrong information, like the Boston Marathon bombing for example. It has created a competition for journalists to be the first to report. I think journalists can keep up but still maintain professional standards by fact-checking before reporting. Having experience in the magazine industry, I saw how important fact-checking was for credibility. Every single thing written in the magazine is approved by the fact-checker before going in the magazine. For example, the fact-checker at Cosmopolitan would make sure that every beauty product we featured was credited with the correct price and place to purchase. We could have easily made a mistake when writing out credits, so it was his job to make sure everything was to the utmost perfection before printing.
Although this 24/7 news cycle has put the time aspect into it, credibility still comes with truth. The drawbacks of this constant news is the fact that people are now able to comment. This could lead to much controversy, for the public can now give their opinion on every last bit of news. This has created opinion after opinion and could sometimes brainwash the consumer.
The news will forever be constant in our lives. Our iPhone screens have replaced our radios and TVs, word of mouth has become more prevalent and reporting is done 24/7. There is no specified time for the news anymore. The news has turned into many diners; open for business 24 hours.