Changes in Journalism in the Digital Age

This chapter addresses news as it has evolved from analog to digital, creating a shift in the process, consumption, and understanding of news and information. Findings indicate that news emanates from personal interests, social networks, or audiences, rather than editors. Rather than news meetings, journalists are in constant contact with editors or news sources via email or texts. Audiences are also active news consumers who use their smartphones to consume and create news and information. This maturation of online sources and interactive news suggests a future organizational challenge for journalists as they aid the public in maneuvering the collection, transmission, and understanding of information. Social media policies are being drafted in newsrooms as posts reflect on employers. With unverified social media sources, fake news is also of growing concern. The chapter concludes by calling for refinement of theory to address a digital news world. Systems and economic theories often influence journalism research, and philosophical perspectives, such as ethics and objectivity, are becoming increasingly important.