The media is very pivotal and has proven to be very instrumental in driving changes in the society --Expert - Livenewsguns

 

NEW MEDIA AND DEVELOPMENT JOURNALISM BEING A PAPER PRESENTED BY NSIBIET JOHN AT THE EKET SENATORIAL DISTRICT SOCIAL MEDIA HANGOUT ON THURSDAY, DECEMBER 16, 2021

INTRODUCTION 

The media is very pivotal and has proven to be very instrumental in driving changes in the society; be it positive or negative. There have been instances in recent times where heinous crimes were reported to have taken-off from the media and also scenarios where the media has been instrumental to the uncovering of crimes and inhuman acts. The new media especially has further enhanced the effectiveness of the media in both courses. Perhaps, at another gathering, we might consider the need to spotlight the ills of the new media in the society but for today, the locus of this paper is on the contribution of the new media to development journalism.

Development Journalism is simply a term used to describe the activities of improving society and engendering positive changes from the grassroots, by journalists. It implies the usage of journalism for the overall good of the space we inhabit as humans.This kind of journalism is not Public Relations, Propaganda or coloration of any sort. It is that which holds public holders to account for deeds done and undone; it is that which compels answers to uncertainties and give the people a sense of belongingness.  

Jo Ellen Fair, a Professor of Journalism and Mass Communication, conceptualises ‘development journalism’ as reporting that relates to the primary, secondary and tertiary needs of a country’s population. She describes it as news that relates to development or to social, economic or political problems. It concentrates on giving voice or courage to under privileged individuals, family, or groups of people and helps them to have dignity and status in society. The main characteristics of development journalism are the deliberate and active role in pressing for change. It is geared towards mobilising the people for national development. 

Development Journalism is synonymous with a ‘grass roots approach’ or ‘local journalism,’ that is, it is decentralised and participatory. It does not restrict itself to mass media alone but also use the traditional communication media. Based on these assertions, it is safe to say that Development Journalism is intentional, calculated and genuine.

NEW MEDIA AND DEVELOPMENT JOURNALISM

The New Media is a broad term involving the use of mediated channels in the gathering and dissemination of information. These channels include but are not limited to: Facebook, Twitter, 2go, MySpace, Badoo, YouTube, Watsapp, among others, and are also known as the social media.Due to the interactive features they come with, the New Media allow people the opportunity to express their opinions and participate in conversations, dialogues and newstories with instantaneity. They are also able to share stories which align with their interests, thus expanding the reach of a given information. 

According to Anna and Cladwell, (2003), Development Journalism and New Media play a vital role in creating, moulding and reflecting public opinion. They contribute to shaping political, economic and social development in the country. One definition of the duty of a journalist reporting development is to: “critically examine, evaluate and report the relevance of a development project to national and local needs, the difference between a planned scheme and its actual implementation, and the difference between its impact on people as claimed by government officials, and as it actually is”, (Sharma, 2005, p. 227). To do this, it is imperative that the development reporter employees all avenues to ensure the visibility and readability of his/her report. Since the New Media is now polarized, the reporter can decide to go on YouTube, Twitter, Facebook or on a newsblog to tell a story. 

THE IMPLICATION

1. Wider Reach: The new media enhances the visibility of news stories through the use of tags and shares. A good development story can reach the President, Governor or any intended public office holder when two, three or more persons linked to them are tagged to a post.

2. Communal Participation: The new media enables the participation of everyone who can use it, in news gathering and dissemination. The implication of this is that every smart phone user who can access the social media with their devices can create content or report a development story.

3. Real-time Reporting: One advantage of the new media is instantaneity. The ability to showcase events happening at the spot remains the basic edge the new media has over the mainstream media. And in view of the fact that news is timeliness, the new media has perhaps become the crave for what is now known as “breaking news”. 

4. Collaborative Journalism: As a result of distance and time constraint, a journalist may arrive the scene of an event late or may not make it there at all. But they can get feeds from a citizen journalist to do a proper report on a development. This is called collaboration.

5. Picto-graphic Representation: This is another interesting feature and advantage of the new media. Devices used to access the social media often come with apps with which a report can be presented using pictures, videos, cartoons and etc to the reader’s interest, attraction and fancy. All of these contribute to believability and credibility of a news story. 

It is very important to note that the ability of any user of the New Media to carry out development journalism DOES NOT in any way make them journalists. They may wish to undergo professional training at the International Institute of Journalism (IIJ) or any related institution to up their skills. 

Otherwise, citizen journalists are advised by Tony (2012), to operate responsibly by working in tandem with the following principles: 

1. Follow a code of conduct

2. Be a thorough reporter

3. Be objective and fair

4.Avoid libel

5. Avoid plagiarism

6. Learn the news writing format

7. Learn associated press style

8. Find a mentor and, lastly

9.Obtain feedback

CONCLUSION

The New Media is an aid to Development Journalism. It helps to project the needs of the society by bringing attention to issues that are overlooked or under-represented by other media and by the international political community. The advent of the new media has altered the meaning of geographic distance, allowed for a huge increase in the volume of communication, provided the possibility of increasing the speed of communication, provided opportunities for interactive communication and allowed forms of communication that were previously separate to overlap and interconnect (Dare, 2011). It should therefore be encouraged but used to the advantage of the society.

 

REFERENCES  

Anna, E. and Caldwell, J. T. (2003) New Media: Theories and practices of Digitextuality. New  York. Routledge.Christopher, P. (2016). 

The Perceived Influence of Social Media Networks on Global Communication. A seminar presented in partial fulfillment for passing the  Course: “International Communication”Dare, S. (2011). 

The rise of citizen journalism in Nigeria – the case of sahara reporter.  Available at: http://reutersinstitute.politics.ox.ac.uk/about/article/the-rise-of -citizen-journalism-Innigeria.html. Sharma, S. (2005) Development of Journalism. New Delhi Anmol Publications Pvt. Ltd. Pg 32- 33.Tony, R. (2012). 

Tips for Doing Quality Citizen Journalism.Available at http://journalism.about.com/od/citizenjournalism/tp/goodcitizenjournalism.htm.accessed November 29, 2019.

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