Is digital media a good way to convey news?

Digital media helps people to access the news from wherever they are around the world. Websites, videos and articles can go viral within a matter of minutes because of the usage of social networking sites and the ability to share news with the click of a button. Media consumers can have a variety of different news outlets at their fingertips, therefore it's a good place for people to get news and events known globally.

Image courtesy of: http://venturebeat.com/company/wikileaks/

WikiLeaks has thrived from the internet as it continuously releases new material about things that they believe needs to be known by the public. Without the freedom of the internet, this site would not be able to spread the information that they have.

However, is this freedom really as good as it sounds?

Although people are able to see information and it's sources on this whistle blowing site, it is also putting at risk some of the people that are named in the cables. Because some of the information hasn't been censored properly, names are emerging which creates a safety risk. Therefore, does this make the leaking of cables right? People want to know the information but are we really willing to put people's lives at risk just to get it?

Will New Media mean that one day everything will be digital?

The digtalisation of media is something that has been happening for many years. However, with the progression of computer technology it is now occurring more rapidly than it had done in the past. An example that can be used to illustrate this is the advancements in music players. This timeline shows the gaps in new technology reducing as the 20^th century was nearing the 21^st.

Is New Media killing off things such as the newspaper and radio?

We are surrounded now by hypermedia; “Computer applications that present multiple media (text, graphics, animation, video) using hypertextual organization.” (Bolter and Grusin, 1999). This makes discovering the news an even more interactive process. We can have articles at our fingertips that include videos of events that have happened.

Radio has evolved as well with the introduction of digital radio. This means that we can now access it from anywhere via the internet. This is a complete change to when people used to actually have to own a radio to listen.

The internet has become the main force behind many things. We can practically find anything we want or need within a few key strokes. Practically every form of media has been merged onto the internet. People don’t need to own lots of different machines and equipment to access different forms of media.