Lesson 3: The Needle in the Haystack

“Journalism is dead!” said the boy who cried wolf.

The death of newspapers and print media has been speculated since the early 1920’s, almost 100 years later, that day has not come yet. Jeff Jarvis: Geeks Bearing Gifts: Imagining New Futures for News, 2015, further explores the current state of the newspaper/journalism industry.

Jarvis argues that the industry is not dead, but rather, the old business model is dead. Long ago, news agencies served as gates keepers, watchdogs of information and a vital asset in advertising, is no longer needed.

Instead, Jarvis urges his students of communication to promote and produce content that serves a public interest in order to adapt to the internet. Integrating into my own professional practises, I agree with Jeff Jarvis’s statement; that forms of communication should be socially beneficial, easy to digest and of sufficient quality.

Otherwise, the content produced becomes noise in the already crowded online media landscape. Much like today's magazines, there is too much junk floating around on the internet.

Unread junk magazine, book and brochure collecting dust on a table.

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On the other hand, the changing journalism industry is attributed to the rise of social media and online journals. In a blog titled Fix the internet by writing good stuff and being nice to people, 2016, by Vicki Boykis, the author outlines the capital-driven business practices of today's oversaturated media environment.

Drawing on Jeff Jarvis's presentation, the flow of information is much more difficult to control. Whereas before, content could effectively exist on many domains with tight control. Now, the majority of the information appears on major platforms such as Facebook and Twitter.

Incentivised by advertising revenue, even major content creators like the Washington Post are publishing "catchy stories" in order to chase a "viral sensation". However, in the process to tinder a popular public opinion, or defend one's own interests; the intended message and its impacts are often disregarded. Someone with enough influence could ruin a person's life because of a bad Tweet.

What Vicki Boykis argues, as independent creators and users of the internet, everyone should develop a culture of mutual understanding. Instead of contributing to "social media garbage" and generate noise, communication should be done on an independent platform, focus on developing quality, acknowledge other creators, block noise and engage with others.

Similar to our group assessment, where we have to work with people that have varying levels of opinion. Vicki Boykis argues by engaging with different people, it widens our understanding. Adopting it in our professional practises, being able to seek out different perspectives is a valuable skill for the creative problem-solving process - seeing what the target audience wants.

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Regarding my own professional practises as a communications student. I was prompted to “dox” myself in a class activity. The act of “doxing” is googling one’s own name; however, the search results may differ from someone else due to previous documented online activity.

After punching in my own name on a “private tab” (which negates my search history), I was prompted with a diverse list of people who have the same name. After digging around, I was able to find my private blog page.

Nothing too special.

So, what does all this mean?

Nothing. My digital footprint is no different than being non-existent. I’m both relieved yet concerned simultaneously. As a future graduate, I want to build a professional presence moving into the employment world. The doxing activity served as a reminder to emotionally prepare to “sell myself” to potential employers. I hope to continue this blog after the end of this semester as a means to document my academic and professional practices.

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Newsgeist 2015 Ignite. Geeks Bearing Gifts: Imagining New Futures for News 2015, YouTube video, 30 November, Newsgeist, viewed 26 November 2019, <https://www.youtube.com/watch?time_continue=299&v=eFIuBKFi9_U&feature=emb_title>

Boykis, V, 2016, Fix the internet by writing good stuff and being nice to people, Woman.Legend.Blog, 11 November, viewed 30 November 2019, <http://blog.vickiboykis.com/2016/11/20/fix-the-internet/>