News evolves from pertinent and on paper to attractive and accessible anywhere

By Colin Prenger ’11 & Chris Baca ’11
THE ROUNDUP

News media is comparable to fashion in that it never stops changing.

This can easily be seen in the way most people now access their news.

What used to be printed on sheets of paper and delivered on doorsteps is now accessed by a few mouse clicks.

This new technology has resulted in a 20-year decline in print media, according to The Washington Post.

In fact, more people consume their news via online sources than from printed newspapers, according to the Pew Research Center.

In turn, this has resulted in more publications turning to online publication as opposed to the traditional newspaper or television broadcast.

The process of getting news from the reporter to the reader has greatly evolved as well.

“My colleagues who were around then tell me they used to overnight their stories (by plane) to get the piece on the air the next day,” said KJZZ News Director Peter O’Dowd ’99.

These days articles can be sent to editors almost instantaneously by e-mail rather than by plane.

Spanish teacher Ms. Maria Domínguez received a Bachelor of Arts Degree in Journalism from the Universidad Complutense de Madrid, Spain.

“I would say in 10 years, things just evolved so fast,” Ms. Domínguez said when asked about how media has changed in the past two decades.

Many think that this generation will see the death of print media; however, Ms. Domínguez and O’Dowd offer different opinions.

Ms. Domínguez said that when the television came about in the 1950s, people still listened to the radio.

“They thought that radios would disappear, but they still exist,” Mrs. Domínguez said.

O’Dowd said he hopes print media survives.

“I recently put money on this question with a friend of mine,” O’Dowd said about the extinction of print media. “He believes print media is doomed, I say we will never see it vanish altogether. But as someone who likes getting news print on my fingers, I hope not.”

A trend in media is that many news sources have produced a “formula” to earn high ratings and prime time coverage.

Many news organizations no longer simply produce news that is pertinent and informative; rather they present stories that only capture the attention of viewers for ratings.

O’Dowd said that consumers should be resourceful and avoid other sources that “lower their formula to the lowest common denominator.”

“I certainly do,” O’Dowd said about KJZZ upholding the integrity of journalism. “It’s a daily struggle to put good content out, but we do the best we can.”

Even though some organizations seem content with sensationalism, there are others that maintain ethical reporting.

“Fear not,” O’Dowd said. “Despite the growing amount of nonsense you hear on TV and on the radio, real journalism still exists.”