How common is multimedia journalism in the media I consume?
I am a student in his early-twenties, I live, breathe and
eat electricity. What’s a newspaper? Newspapers are those dry magazines that
used to be delivered daily so my parents could read their horoscopes and do the
crosswords. They did, and still do, provide a recount of what happened the day
before. If something happened on the 20th of May you could read
about it on the 21st of May. Without an exceptional reason I would
never read a newspaper. I would absolutely never pay for a newspaper, even with
an exceptional reason.
 |
| I would subscribe to The Daily Bugle |
How about television? Kids these days love television,
right? When I was a little fat kid I had the television guide memorised. The
television guide was actually in the newspaper, I’m not sure if it still is.
The cartoons finished at 5.30pm on Channel 2, and then I would switch to the
Channel 10 news to fill the void before The Simpsons started. But it isn’t the
90s anymore, why would I watch television? Everyone and his dog are trying to
sell something to me and my dog. I live in the future, I’m not going to wait
around until 5.30pm to find out something that happened at 4pm, why would I
want to be an hour and a half behind the latest stories as well as sit through
10 minutes of advertisements?
I’m an iBoy. If something happens in Bulgaria I know about
it instantly. As people we are given the gift of Government-level surveillance.
The Australian Government wants to censor information; they don’t want a
particular story getting out to the citizens? Have fun with that, because I
read it on Reddit 3 hours ago. Multimedia journalism isn’t just widespread in
the media I consume; the media I consume IS multimedia journalism. Traditional
journalists get the same raw information that I get, I’m not special; I am one
of billions.
Can multimedia journalism be structured in a linear fashion
using multiple elements? It can, but why would it limit itself? If you read a
multimedia story you are given the privilege to find out opposing information
and judge it for yourself, you can watch video evidence of the story, you can see
hundreds of pictures; each speaking a thousand words. A linear story? You would
have to skip every hyperlink, not follow videos to find similar information, and
not look up related articles. There are no doubt many linear journalistic
stories on the Internet, but how is that special? It isn’t. It is an underuse
of the technologies available. If people wanted linear storytelling then go
watch the television or go read a newspaper.
