Modern media has changed the landscape of information transfer to the extent where the very existence of a traditional idea of a newspaper may be questioned. In his article, McChesney makes a rather disturbing statement concerning journalism losing its meaning in the 21st century and practically dying (McChesney 173). Although there is a grain of truth in the author’s reasoning, it still seems that considering media powerless simply because it has taken a new form that allows it to exist in the realm of the digital media.
It would be wrong to claim that media has not changed at all, though; a closer look at media today and modern media in particular will show that the modern media has evolved into something that stands out on its own (Page One: Inside the New York Times 00:10:27). Because of the availability of information and the speed of its transfer, media is developing now from locating a specific manner of rendering a certain issue to a race of delivering the news first and appearing at the top of Google Search engines.
Speaking of which, the link between media and SEO (search engine optimization) must be mentioned at this point. Because of the need to facilitate a fast and consistent access to a certain online newspaper, its owners are no longer concerned with the manner of delivering the message solely for the purpose of getting the audience’s attention – the article must contain certain elements located and used in a proper manner (i.e., the so-called “keywords”). Therefore, the threat of turning the search for a unique way of rendering a certain piece of news transforming into a mechanical attempts at conjuring a text that will get the proper rating in the World Wide Web.
Another way of looking at the idea of the death of the newspaper as a media is acknowledging the fact that a lot of people, who made the existence of newspaper articles as a genre, are no longer alive. Weber and Southall (para. 1) make a huge tribute to David Carr, one of the most famous people, who brought the genre of newspaper articles to life.
However, as sad as a farewell to the person that great and talented is, the statement concerning the deterioration of an entire genre simply due to the fact that no one has been assigned with carrying the legacy on seems quite presumptuous. True, the fact that a renowned columnist now rests in peace is a rather sad news, yet this does not mean that media is going to stop evolving; quite on the contrary, the introduction of new ideas will serve as a major booster for the newspaper industry to bloom (Allan 53). Therefore, claiming that the 21st century witnesses the death of newspaper writing as a genre will be quite a stretch.
Even though the newspaper media realm has suffered major changes in the 21st century, it will be wrong to assume that the newspaper as a genre has come to an end and that an entirely new concept has replaced it. Instead, the alterations that the specified field is currently undergoing should be viewed as a step forward in the development of the genre and the search for new opportunities in an otherwise well trodden path. Although some of the traditional approaches have to be abandoned due to the invention of new tools and strategies, the concept of a newspaper as a means of transferring new data fast and efficiently persists in the contemporary world.
Works Cited
Allan, Stuart. “Making news: Truth. Ideology and Newswork.” News Culture. New York, NY: Two Penn Plaza, 2004. 47–76. Print.
McChesney, Robert W. “Journalism Is Dead! Long Live Journalism?.” Digital Disconnect: How Capitalism Is Turning The Internet Against Democracy. New York, NY: The New Press, 2013. 172–215. Print.
Page One: Inside the New York Times. Ex. Prod. Rossi, Andrew, Josh Braun, and Kate Novack. Dallas, TX: Magnolia Pictures, 2011.DVD.
Weber, Bruce and Ashley Southall. “David Carr, Times Critic and Champion of Media, Dies at 58.” New York Times. 2015. Web.