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Journalism in the Digital Age: How Digital and Social Media Drives Media Narratives

American Journalist Michael Oreskes once said, 

“We are the independent observers of the world, who go places our audience can`t go, dig where our audiences can't dig, study and interpret what our audiences do not have time to study and interpret, so that our audiences can better understand the world.“ 

With this in mind, it provides an argument as to whether journalism’s primary role has lost it’s its traditional narrative in the digital age. 

Journalism’s significance in reporting the smallest to the biggest stories of all time cannot be underestimated (Kroll 2015). The digital age however has journalism’s original foundations being challenged on a daily basis due to its 24 hour news cycle, plethora of stories posted, ability remove uploaded stories and running commentary from the public which is changing the framework of journalism (Kroll 2015).

Lisa DeSisto’s TEDx Talk describes the importance of newspaper journalism in a digital age. She states that digital media has provided opportunities for reaching a wider audience though its approach of who can break the news the soonest and it’s sensationalised nature is eating away a the heart of traditional journalism with “unverified sources, questionable information that is an abundance of poor quality”. 

Besides reaching a larger audience, digital media has also provided journalists the ability to source and report stories from all corners of the globe (Price 2015). This has revolutionised ‘on the scene reporting’ or ‘as it happened’ reporting (Price 2015). This form of reporting has become known as blogging, where journalists have the ability to shares news whilst an event unfolds live in front of them (Price 2015). This was not possible prior to digital media with consumers often having to wait until the following days paper or nightly news bulletin (Wahl-Jorgensen 2016).

Though the opportunities have been great for journalism, the threats have also been just as significant. Digital media is threating the validity of journalism. Never has the world questioned so many stories than it has today. And as to why? Because there is so much content, so many voices, so many conflicting reports that are all hurriedly put together to be “The News Breaker” (Kroll 2015). An example of this was when a German flight crashed in the French Alps killing all on board. News circulated almost simultaneously online and before sources were verified, incorrect images of the co-pilot responsible for the crash were splattered all over the internet causing legal action against those who distributed the images (Kroll 2015). Incidents such as these leave traditional journalists who carefully curate their stories clutching at straws as they get caught up in the storm of “fake news”. The media narrative now has become, find a story, post the story. There are still many journalists who work tirelessly to create informative, trustworthy and reliable news, however, the new narrative leaves them playing catch up in a world that craves instant new and sensationalism.  (Kroll 2015). 

Digital media has forever changed the journalism narrative. It’s provided countless opportunities for growing audiences and news collaboration but it has come at a cost. Journalist will always be questioned for what they write as its only human nature to question everything you read and are told. This has only been magnified however with the inception of digital media due to its 24 hour, breaking news nature. There is no greater time than now for newspaper journalists to bring the readers back to real stories, stories of importance and stories of public interest that require’s a skill in telling, not just a quick, uniformed article posted on Facebook.  

References:

Kaiser, J 2015,‘Sharing the News: The Transformation of Journalism in the Digital Age’, kosmosjournal.org, viewed 23 October 2020. https://www.kosmosjournal.org/article/sharing-the-news-the-transformation-of-journalism-in-the-digital-age/

Price, G 2015, ‘Opportunities and Challenges for Journalism in the Digital Age: Asian and European Perspectives’, Research Paper, The Royal Institute of International Affairs, Chatham House, August 2015, viewed 23 October 2020. https://www.chathamhouse.org/sites/default/files/field/field_document/20150826JournalismDigitalAgePrice.pdf

Kroll, A 2015, ‘The role of Journalism in the Digital Age Being a superhero or Clark Kent: Do journalists think that Networked Journalism is an appropriate tool to work with (in the future)?’, Reuters Institute Fellowship Paper, University of Oxford, viewed 23 October 2020. https://reutersinstitute.politics.ox.ac.uk/sites/default/files/research/files/The%2520role%2520of%2520journalism%2520in%2520the%2520Digital%2520Age.pdf

Wahl-Jorgensen K, Williams, A, Sambrook, R, Harris, J, Garcia-Blanco, I, Dencik,L, Cushion, S, Carter, C, Allan, S 2016, ‘The Future of Journalism: Digital Journalism’, 4:7, 809-815, DOI: 10.1080/21670811.2016.1199469         

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Sports Apps and Mobile Betting Shops

Sports apps and mobile gambling has revolutionised the way sports fans consume sport and their attitude towards sport consumption (Russell 2019). According to Parke (2019), gambling has become almost a necessity to young males when its comes to sports viewership whether it be through a direct betting app itself or advertisement on sports apps. These apps provide accessibility like never before. You don't need to read the paper to find out which players are in and which players out nor do you need to head to a local betting agency such as the TAB to place a bet. Everything is now at the consumers fingertips which has created countless opportunities and challenges for both the sports fan and sport itself.

From an apps point of view, one of the major opportunities that this has provided to sports fans and the sport itself is a more direct message and better experience (apify.digital 2020). Sports apps have created a more personalised relationship with the consumer with real time notifications, targeted advertising and product promotion, usability and most importantly, apps cut through the noise that is the over content crowded social media platforms (apify.digital 2020). Other advantages sports apps have created are payment gateways, live streaming and real time chat (apify.digital 2020). Payment gateways provide the ease of merchandise purchases, live streaming gives consumers increased accessibility and whilst the live chat feature enables consumers immediate help for technical difficulties, product inquiries and all general matters related to the apps services which was not possible prior sports apps coming into the market (apify.digital 2020). This only enables a greater relationship between consumer and provider which can significant monetary benefits to the app producer. According data analyst company Sensor Tower, In the first half of 2019, worldwide sporting apps accumulated £135 million. A 60% increase on the amount at the same stage in 2018 (Jensen 2019). This displays how apps have become increasingly popular in the sporting market as a way of separate itself from the overwhelming amount of content on social platforms. 

Sports betting apps on the other hand have become extremely popular over the past 10 years. This rise is largely due to television and social media advertisement, convenience and variety in top class products (Thomas et al 2015). Betting agencies are selling the apps/advertisement as being part of the action. This presents an opportunity to increase fan engagement by leveraging a sport the consumer is already interested in and adding an additional excitement factor (Deans et al 2017). Research has suggested that betting advertisement has increased app downloads as fans react on a more emotional level when monetary value is at stake (Deans et al 2017). As much as these betting agencies sell these apps as a way of being closer to the action and celebrating with friends, how much harm are they doing to consumers habits and finances? 2015 saw 574,000 Australian adults regularly wagering on sport with 234,000 of those adults to have experienced one or more gambling problems (Armstrong & Carroll 2017). These apps have created a market overload of opportunities for consumers with more than 10 available apps in Australia alone. Each app advertising special deals and vip service which as drawing fans in each time they see any advertisement which is extremely concerning.  

Sports apps are no doubt mutually beneficial for the sport fan and sport itself with more personalised product and ease of use. Whereas sports betting apps do provide great opportunities for sports due to convenience however there long term financial impact which can effect overall health is becoming very detrimental.  

References 

Russell, A 2019, ‘Gambling operators are invading your smartphone with targeted messages’, abc.net.au, 19 August 2019, viewed 22 October 2020. https://www.abc.net.au/news/science/2019-08-13/gambling-operators-are-invading-your-smartphone/11405678

Parke, A, Parke, J,’Transformation of Sports Betting into a Rapid and Continuous Gambling Activity: a Grounded Theoretical Investigation of Problem Sports Betting in Online Settings’, Int J Ment Health Addiction 17, pp 1340–1359 2019, viewed 22 October 2020. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11469-018-0049-8

Jensen, J 2019, ‘Sports apps generate increasingly more revenue in changing market‘, offthepitch.com, 3 October 2019, viewed 22 October 2020. https://offthepitch.com/a/sports-apps-generate-increasingly-more-revenue-changing-market

Thomas, S., Bestman, A., Pitt, H., Deans., Randle, M., Stoneham, M., Daube, M. 2015, The marketing of wagering on social media: An analysis of promotional content on YouTube, Twitter and Facebook. Victoria, Australia: Victorian Responsible Gambling Foundation. https://www.insidegambling.com.au/__data/assets/pdf_file/0020/24923/Thomas_SL-The_-marketing_of_wagering_on_social_media_Oct_2015.pdf

E, Deans, S, Thomas, J, Derevensky, Daube, M 2017, ‘The influence of marketing on the sports betting attitudes and consumption behaviours of young men: implications for harm reduction and prevention strategies’, , Harm Reduction Journal 14 5 (2017) 1-12. https://ro.uow.edu.au/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1896&context=ahsri

apify.digital.com 2020, ‘Sports App Development For Better Fan Engagement’, 2 March 2020, viewed 22 October 2020.https://appify.digital/sports-app-development-better-fan-engagement/

Armstrong, A, Carroll, M 2017, ‘Sports betting in Australia’, Melbourne: Australian Gambling Research Centre, Australian Institute of Family Studies, December 2017, viewed 22 October 2020. https://aifs.gov.au/agrc/publications/sports-betting-australia

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Digital Media and the Amplification of Globalised Sport

Digital media or as some refer to generally as social media has completely revolutionised sport in creating a world were consumers connect with sports teams and athletes from all corners of the globe (Harris n.d.). Prior to digital media, domestic sports teams and athletes were mostly capitalising on local sports fans without the ability to reach a global audience. While the Olympics and various World Cups were extremely popular from a global standpoint, its been leagues such as National Basketball Association (NBA), National Football League (NFL) and the English Premier League (EPL) that have taken the world by storm in its sky rocketing popularity, largely thanks too the influence of digital media (Boyle 2009). 

There are numerous impacts that digital media has had on amplification of globalised sport, none more so than than engaging new fans and building stronger relationships with existing supporters. This new media has allowed sport fans to become closer connected with instant gratification, increased content consumption and a more diverse platform which invites engagement and accessibility (McGillivray 2014). According to Fenton (2018), sports clubs, leagues and athletes messages have not changed overly during the last decade, it’s more how amplified their messages have become due to digital media. Statista (2020) has discovered that over 3.5 billion people are using social media across the globe, giving them access to a plethora of personalised content on platforms such as Facebook, Instagram, YouTube and Twitter. 

In 2004, MySpace paved the path for this revolution which soon saw the above mentioned platforms follow suit and become global leaders in content creation and sharing, in which sport has latched onto in order to drive consumerism (Ortiz-Ospina 2019). According to Meng et al (2015), sports fans are more connected than ever through digital media. The personalised content, behind the scenes footage and direct access to players, club and league has strengthened the relationship on a global scale which has seen incredible financial benefits to professional teams across the world. NBA team Golden State Warriors. The year 2005 saw Golden State bring in a total of $81 million and compare that to 2019, its has rocketed to $440 million (Statista 2020). What’s more compelling is that in 2018, digital sponsorship revenue was up 300% on the previous year (Badenhausen 2018). 

A challenge that is faced for major sporting bodies, leagues, clubs and athletes is the controlling of the narrative (McGillivray 2014). Digital media, more so social media has allowed a fans to share and distribute whatever they like without hardly any legal ramifications (McGillivray 2014). This may also include protected content but under social media umbrella, fans have not always had to abide by such regulations (McGillivray 2014). An example of this was the International Olympic Committee trying to restrict distribution venue imagery to only rights holders (McGillivray 2014). This obviously became impossible when camera phones and millions of fans could share photos and videos instantly without anyone stopping them.

Digital media has had clear beneficial qualities to the amplification of globalised sport. Sports and fans have both derived great benefits whether in revenue or in connecting a wider audience. 

References:

Harris, N n.d. , ‘The impact of social and digital media on sport’, La Trobe University, viewed 22 October 2020. https://www.latrobe.edu.au/nest/the-impact-of-social-and-digital-media-on-sport/

Boyle, R 2009, ‘Power play: Sport, the media and popular culture’, Edinburgh University Press, viewed 22 October 2020. https://books.google.com.au/books?hl=en&lr=&id=fQerBgAAQBAJ&oi=fnd&pg=PR2&dq=Digital+Media+and+the+Amplification+of+Globalised+Sport&ots=RABRLHrygZ&sig=mF20kmLFXSdISCtKvAZ6KsH2v00#v=onepage&q&f=false 

McGillivray, D 2014, ‘Digital cultures, acceleration and mega sporting event narratives’, Leisure Studies, Vol. 33, Iss. 1, pp 96-109, 26 September 2013, viewed 22 October 2020. https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/02614367.2013.841747

Fenton, A 2018, ‘In a hyperdigitalised era, the relationship between sport and social media needs to be managed well’, theconversation.com, 11 September 2018, viewed 22 October 2020. https://theconversation.com/hyperdigitalised-sports-fans-are-connecting-with-their-heroes-like-never-before-102080

Statista 2020, ‘Revenue of the Golden State Warriors from 2001/02 to 2018/19 (in million U.S. dollars)*’, Published by Christina Gough, February 20 2020, viewed 22 October 2020. https://www.statista.com/statistics/196716/revenue-of-the-golden-state-warriors-since-2006/#:~:text=The%20statistic%20shows%20the%20revenue,is%20440%20million%20U.S.%20dollars.

Ortiz-Ospina, E 2019, ‘The rise of social media’, ourworldindata.org, 18 September 2019, viewed 22 October 2020. https://ourworldindata.org/rise-of-social-media

Meng, M, Constantino, S, Westberg, K 2015,’Engaging fans through social media:implications for team identification’, Sport, Business and Management: An International Journal, Vol.5 Iss 3 pp. 199 - 217, viewed 22 October 2020.  https://www.researchgate.net/publication/280042086_Engaging_fans_through_social_media_Implications_for_team_identification

Badenhause, K 2018, ‘New Digital Strategy For Golden State Warriors Pushes Revenue Up 300%’, forbes.com, 23 February 2018, viewed 22 October 2020. https://www.forbes.com/sites/kurtbadenhausen/2018/02/23/new-digital-strategy-for-golden-state-warriors-pushes-revenue-up-300/#124e87eb329b  

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How Digital Media Platforms Have Challenged Traditional Business Models

Digital media was once a trend which traditional forms of media only saw as a threat which could not over power a dominant force (Tercek 2011). Unfortunately for those in the traditional ranks who did not adapt, digital media went from  trend to all encompassing, leaving any who did not transform with this new media to become extremely vulnerable (Tercek 2011). Traditional media however, at its core, is said to be far more trustworthy and accurate due to its long standing place in society for providing consumers with news and current affairs (Barland 2020). Digital media on the other hand is certainly not lacking in content and has drawn a 57% rate of consumption from those surveyed as their preferred news source in a recent study (University of Canberra 2020). This signifies a direct challenge to traditional forms such as TV, Print and Radio. 

One of the major ways digital has challenged the traditional model is two way communication i.e. Social Media. Prior to digital, ‘letters to the editor’ were about the only form of public opinion is mass media (DMI n.d.). Now, with social media and its ability for consumers for comment, like and share, traditional media platforms have lost their edge with digital having the ability to foster valuable consumer information which leads to personalised news, products and ad placement (DMI n.d.). This have created a significant opportunity for businesses to understand their consumers needs on a more intimate level (Young 2010). According to research, the average consumer uploads over 3000 pieces of personal information each week to a database (Young 2010). This kind of information is gold to businesses, advertisers and marketers as it allows them to be more targeted, accurate and efficient in their media strategies (Young 2010).

Another way digital media has changed business models is through employability. Research suggests that seeking a role within the media industry requires an ability to be versatile and not limited to certain areas of expertise (European Commission 2019). Long gone are the days of a news room full of journalists. Digital media has created a hybrid version of journalists which includes a wider skill set such as interviewing, photography, video creation, editing, blogging and marketing (Ordonez 2010). Traditional media giant News Corp only announced this year that they would be cutting close to 100 jobs within their three major printing outlets; The Herald Sun, Daily Telegraph and Australian (Mason 2020). This only highlights how digital media has changed the whole business dynamic which may impact quality of journalism. 

References:

Barland, J. (2013), ‘Innovation of New Revenue Streams in Digital Media’, Nordicom Review 34, s1, 99-111, viewed 19 October 2020. https://content.sciendo.com/configurable/contentpage/journals$002fnor$002f34$002fs1$002farticle-p99.xml

Digital Marketing Institute 2020, ‘9 Ways Digital Has Changed Business Forever’, blog, digitalmarketinginstitute.com, viewed 19 October 2020. https://digitalmarketinginstitute.com/blog/9-ways-digital-has-changed-business-forever

European Commission 2019, ‘The Changing Nature Of Work And Skills In The Digital Age’, Publications Office of the European Union, viewed 19 October 2020. file:///C:/Users/Barbera/Downloads/the_changing_nature_of_work_online_v5.pdf

Mason, M 2020, ‘Hundreds more jobs to go at News Corp, ABC’, afr.com, 9 June 2020, viewed 19 October 2020. https://www.afr.com/companies/media-and-marketing/hundreds-more-jobs-to-go-at-news-corp-abc-20200609-p550wz

Ordonez, S 2010, ‘What Skills Will Future Journalists Need?’, mediashift.org, 9 June 2010, viewed 19 October 2020. http://mediashift.org/2010/06/what-skills-will-future-journalists-need160/

Park, S et al 2020, ‘Digital News Report: Australia 2020’, Canberra News & Media Research Centre, University of Canberra, June 2020, viewed 19 October 2020. https://apo.org.au/sites/default/files/resource-files/2020-06/apo-nid305057_0.pdf

Tercek, R 2011, ‘Traditional mass media cannot compete with digital’, Athena Information Solutions Pvt. Ltd, viewed 19 October 2020. https://search-proquest-com.ezproxy.holmesglen.edu.au/docview/869123138?rfr_id=info%3Axri%2Fsid%3Aprimo

Young, A 2010,‘Brand Media Strategy: Integrated Communications Planning in the Digital Era’, Palgrave Macmillan US, New York, ProQuest Ebook Central, 21 December 2010, viewed 19 October 2020.https://ebookcentral-proquest-com.ezproxy.holmesglen.edu.au/lib/holmesglen/detail.action?docID=1812269

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Monetising Digital Media: Podcasts, Videos, Blogs and Websites.

In the last decade, traditional media outlets have gone from casual involvement in digital media too full commitment, in order to tap into the behavioural nature of sports fans (Manish 2018). Thanks to the internet and the technologies that have developed along side it, the way sports fans interact with their teams, players, friends and advertisers has completely changed the approach for sports organisations (Accedo n.d.). Digital media is allowing sports organisations a more direct avenue to understanding what specific sports fans desire (Lehew 2019). With this new found data, sport organisations are able to leverage digital sponsorship with major brands around the globe which has become extremely valuable to both the sports brand and sponsor (Thornhill et al 2017). 

The opportunities this is creating is targeted fan engagement based on how fans interreact with sporting organisations and advertising whether it be social media, podcasts, blogs, websites and apps. As much as it creates an opportunity for the sports organisational and sponsor, it also allows the fan to be better served in what they desire (Accedo n.d.). Martin (2011) states that digital media has created an opportunity of engagement like no other. Its not about logo’s or ad placements, its about understanding your audience, listening too and observing their needs in a form of two way communication which was not available on such an instant/grand scale like it has now become (Martin 2011). Research suggests that personalised digital media has increased revenue to 10% (Abraham et al 2017).  

Issues this presents range from an oversaturated market, the struggles of turning a plethora of content into profit and understanding which monetisation model works best for the organisation, advertisers and most importantly, the targeted audience (Graham 2017).

One of the major issues with monetising digital media is making the advertisement attractive (Graham 2017). According to a study by IPG Media Lab, 63% of consumers understand the need for digital advertisement, however, creating engaging and targeted ads are a pitfall of many organisations where the viewers attention and instant gratification must be garnished (Graham 2017). This is where consumer behavioural data is king. Without this data, originations are limiting the opportunities to connect and sell. 

In summary, monetising digital media has become an essential strategy in media, advertisers and sports organisations. Understanding consumer behaviour and driving that into fan engagement is crucial to generating revenue. Digital media has become the most accessed form of media and is so readily and easily accessible that it can create countless opportunities to build relationships and potential financial transactions. Social media has been a huge factor in understanding consumer behaviour due too its two way communication nature, though the amount of content produced can be overwhelming at time leaving organisations the difficult task of cutting through the noise. 

References:

Accedo n.d., ‘Monetising fan engagement in the digital era’, www.accedo.tv., viewed 12 October 2020. https://www.sportspromedia.com/images/uploads/directory/press_releases/Accedo%20Sports%20Solution%20Whitepaper.pdf

Manish, M 2018,  ‘Monetising digital media – Beginning of a new era’, linkedin.com, 28 July 2018, viewed 12 October 2020. https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/monetising-digital-media-beginning-new-era-manish-maheshwari

Lehew, M 2019, ‘Leveraging Fan Insights To Grow Revenue: Some Thoughts for Sports Industry Executives’, digitalistmag.com, 4 November 2019, viewed 12 October 2020. https://www.digitalistmag.com/customer-experience/2019/11/04/leveraging-fan-insights-to-grow-revenue-06201203/

Thornhill, M, Xie, K. & Young, J.L. 2017, ‘Social media advertising in a competitive market’, Journal of Hospitality and Tourism Technology, vol. 8, no. 1, pp. 87-100, viewed 12 October 2020. https://search-proquest-com.ezproxy.holmesglen.edu.au/docview/1900793374/fulltextPDF/5BB3CC8AE03842D9PQ/1?accountid=132066

Martin, A 2011, ‘ To Monetize Social Media, Humanize It’, Harvard Business Review, 18 July 2011, viewed 12 October 2020. https://hbr.org/2011/07/to-monetize-social-media-humanize-it

Abraham et al 2017, ‘Profiting from Personalization’, bcg.com, 8 May 2017, viewed 12 October 2020. https://www.bcg.com/en-au/publications/2017/retail-marketing-sales-profiting-personalization

Graham, M 2015, ‘6 challenges of mobile ad monetisation (and their solutions)’, thenextweb.com, 17 December 2015, viewed 12 October 2020.https://thenextweb.com/insider/2015/12/16/6-challenges-and-their-solutions-of-mobile-ad-monetization/

Smith, L 2020,  ‘8 Audience Targeting Strategies from Digital Marketing Experts’, wordstream.com, 22 July 2020, viewed 12 October 2020. https://www.wordstream.com/blog/ws/2019/04/15/audience-targeting