History, Present, and Future of News Media: A Comprehensive Analysis

This essay provides a comprehensive overview of the evolution of news media, tracing its journey from print to digital platforms. It examines the impact of key developments like radio, television, and the internet, highlighting how social media has transformed journalism. The essay discusses the challenges faced by traditional news outlets, including budget deficits and the rise of fake news. It also explores the role of citizen journalism, the influence of cross-media ownership, and the need for print media to adapt to audience preferences. The analysis covers the representation of marginalized communities, the impact of real-time audience analytics, and the future of news consumption. The essay concludes by emphasizing the importance of print media's adaptability and the ongoing evolution of news in the digital age, providing insights into the challenges and opportunities within the dynamic media landscape.

Running head: HISTORY PRESENT AND FUTURE OF NEWS MEDIA
History Present and Future of News Media
Name of the student
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1HISTORY PRESENT AND FUTURE OF NEWS MEDIA
Introduction
News media refer to form of the mass media which delivers news to general public or
the target public. Emerging social channels have changed face of journalism in the present
age and there have been the rise of social media which is acting as new platform for
journalism in the present age (Swart, Peters and Broersma 2017: 1344). In the year 2012,
there were around 2.4 billion internet users and 1.4 billion of the users were using the social
networking sites. Research have elicited the fact that 50 % of the people hear regarding the
news story from the platform of social media before it is circulated on official new sources.
Future of news can be said to be collaborative and the consumers will become the curator of
the news in the future. The usage of the social media will take journalism to the next stage
and it will bring about great changes in the world. This essay throws light on how the news
media have evolved in the present age and its effect on the people in the modern world.
Discussion
The early news was brought out to the local populations with the help of the print
media. There were various kinds of colonies which had the printers which used to spread
information regarding local events along with activities. It made the public aware about the
events that were taking place across the world. The radio news came into the centre stage in
the year 1920 that helped in spreading the news among the common people. National
Broadcasting Company started running news programs along with the radio dramas. There
was a growth in radio listenership and it made the politicians realize that this medium can be
effective in reaching public in personal manner (Arendt, Northup and Camaj 2019: 528).

2HISTORY PRESENT AND FUTURE OF NEWS MEDIA
Franklin D. Roosevelt harnessed political power of radio that helped him in addressing in a
direct manner with the people. He used to explain ideas to people on regular basis that helped
him in convincing the voters. It helped in the promotion of ‘New Deal’ agenda that endeared
him before the people.
Television helped in combining best attributes of radio along with pictures and it
helped in changing the media landscape. It helped the politicians in reaching out to the people
and it helped them in making the connection with the citizens. It enabled the people in
decoding body language of politicians that helped them in understanding whether the
politicians were sincere. It helped the politicians in expressing their anger, sorrow along with
optimism that brought them closer to the people (Belair-Gagnon and Holton 2018: 493). In
between the years 1960-1990, the presidents used to make use of television so that they can
reach citizens which helped them in gaining support for the policies. The presidents took
recourse to the television so that they could comfort people during the times of national
emergency.
Invention of cable in year 1980 along with expansion of internet that gradually took
place opened the new options for the media consumers. It helped in providing convenience to
viewers who could watch the news at single click of button. It helped him in bypassing
commercials and record the programs that were of interest to him. The saturation that took
place made the viewers abandon news completely and they became fatigued regarding
politics (McManus 2019: 3). Availability of internet helped in emboldening the politicians
and it enabled them in making the direct contact with the people by bypassing the journalists.

3HISTORY PRESENT AND FUTURE OF NEWS MEDIA
The emergence of social media have placed journalism in hands of the citizens. It
have helped in presenting the news in the entertaining manner which can attract the people
towards the news. It have however been found that quality of the reporting have reduced in
the present age and there exists the problem of the biasedness in the news of the modern age
(Swart, Peters and Broersma 2017: 1343). In the event of consuming the news in the online
platform, original source of story have been found to be obfuscated and there exists no
prioritization in relation to professional news outlets (King, Schneer and White 2017: 777).
The fake news are provided with prominence in present age that raises the ethics of
journalism in the present age. A plethora of content is being circulated over the platform of
social media and the authenticity of the news is being questioned in the present times.
The young people in the present era views the news as something which is shared
with the help of social networks instead of being circulated with the help of professional
news organizations. Concept of the connective journalism have been introduced in the recent
age and it talks about sharing the stories on the online platform that can act as a precursor to
connective political action (Clark and Marchi 2017: 64). The people who belong to the
immigrant communities are misrepresented on the mainstream media and the evolution of
social media platforms have enabled the minority communities in expressing their grievances
in a free manner.
The people belonging to the marginalised communities have strong interest in the
politics and the social media platforms have enabled these people in giving vent to their inner
feelings along with the opinions. The young people have become responsible in the present
age and they share the news on the social media platforms that helps them in expressing

4HISTORY PRESENT AND FUTURE OF NEWS MEDIA
solidarity with the rest of the people in the world (Arendt, Northup and Camaj 2019: 527).
They share
the news which they think is relevant for them that helps in drawing the attention of people
living in various parts of the world. It helps in the area of the proliferation of news that can
make the other people conscious about the current state of events in the world.
In “Uncertain Future of the News”, Florian Sauvageau have stated that print
newspapers suffer from problem of budget deficit as the audiences are moving towards the
web-based media so that they can get access to the information. The migration can be
observed in the quantitative terms by the declining of paid subscription of print newspaper
over the course of a decade (Belair-Gagnon and Holton 2018: 492). Advertisers have moved
towards digital advertising so that they can reach large audience with the help of web-based
media (Sauvageau 2012: 30). Effect of migration have proved to be devastating for print
newspapers and it have caused series of the layoffs.
The audiences were empowered on account of presence of large amount of
information however they became unwilling to pay for news. The readers moved towards
commentary-centric articles which helped in reinforcing views of people. It posed difficulty
in the path of journalists whose numbers dwindled with the gradual passage of time. The
journalists faced the problem of constraint of the resources and they could not find the time
for meeting with the politicians. It aggravated gap in between audience and that of print
newspapers that have proved to be disadvantageous for the print media. Print newspapers
should be able to adapt to the audience in future so that they can continue journalistic
practices which is crucial for democratic process of Canada.

5HISTORY PRESENT AND FUTURE OF NEWS MEDIA

6HISTORY PRESENT AND FUTURE OF NEWS MEDIA
Cross-media ownership have an effect on the aspect of diversity of the new content
in the present age. There exists the lack of the content-sharing in between the newspaper and
the television properties of the giant companies like Canwest Global along with Quebecor
which have raised the challenges in the path of mass media in Canada (Soderlund et al. 2012:
4). The newsrooms would have to face the challenges when adapting themselves to the new
media forms along with online environment. The journalists face the stiff competition from
the informal media platforms in the present age that can threaten their position in the future.
There exists real-time audience analytics in the modern age that can ascertain the
popularity of the journalists in the present times (King, Schneer and White 2017: 776).
Measure of achievement have become diverse that can throw open the challenges in the path
of journalists. The television stations and the newspapers do not think along the same lines
and hence there will be a clash in between the two entities in the future.
Conclusion
Print media played an important role in proliferating news to local people in the
earlier times. The rise of the internet in the present age have opened various kinds of
alternatives for media consumers. It have proved to be convenient for people who can enjoy
the news with the help of single click of button. The people can bypass commercials which
have proved to be advantageous for the people of present times. People belonging to
immigrant communities are represented in the wrong manner on the media platforms and
social media platforms have enabled these people in expressing their opinions in the free
manner. Audiences have become empowered owing to availability of great deal of
information and they do not want to pay for watching news. The people have veered towards
the commentary-centric articles which helps in expressing perspectives of people. Journalists

7HISTORY PRESENT AND FUTURE OF NEWS MEDIA
lack resources along with time in the modern age and it have broadened the gap existing in
between the readers and the print media. The print newspapers should have the capability of
adapting to audience in future that can retain their popularity among the people.

8HISTORY PRESENT AND FUTURE OF NEWS MEDIA
References
Arendt, F., Northup, T. and Camaj, L., 2019. Selective exposure and news media brands:
Implicit and explicit attitudes as predictors of news choice. Media Psychology, 22(3), pp.526-
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Clark, L.S. and Marchi, R., 2017. Young people and the future of news: Social media and the
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King, G., Schneer, B. and White, A., 2017. How the news media activate public expression
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McManus, J.H., 2019. Commodification of News. The International Encyclopedia of
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