Thursday, 11 January 2007

News from the Journalists' Front

Hooray, looks like I'm finally going to get to speak to someone about whether current trends in political communication, i.e. the use of new technologies are going to make journalists redundant?

Of course this is an issue that affects all PR. With so many ways to communicate with specific target audiences directly, what's the point of media relations? For those on the receiving end of information, with so many different easily accessible sources available, do we still need journalists to mediate? I'll have some thoughts from the journalists' point of view on Friday.

1 comment:

Rachael Akidi said...

I don't think citizen journalists will replace traditional journos.
Because they cannot provide what the media is currently offering, quality clear, authentic, objective information and news.

Some media houses have been caught out with unathentic copy from citizen journalists. Most recently the guardian newspaper with the now infamous "Dorset fire" photograph that turned out to be a cover photograph from a well known book.

However, the media is embracing them by airing their contributions. Infact the BBC has set up a department called the UGC (User generated content) hub that authenticates and edits copy from the public.