The era of social media has changed how the public consumes news. Rather than long, winding articles pointing to the most recent news stories, users can now receive condensed announcements from their favorite news outlets. Often, these announcements direct readers to the news outlet’s website. This trend has raised the eyebrows of some in the news industry. Recently, lawyers from several tech companies testified before the U.S. Congress, questioning the credibility of news in the digital age. They suggested that 100 million users may have seen content created by Russian operatives.
Timeliness
Throughout the nineteenth century, newspapers have emphasized the importance of timely reporting in their articles. They viewed timely news as a means to engage audiences. But the timeliness of news was often subject to the influence of powerful sources, who often fixed publication dates. Moreover, embargoes often prohibited the publication of certain stories, which meant that timely news was rarely actually news. Eventually, these concerns prompted large news organizations to seek protection from courts and legislatures.
Timeliness also affected the way news was produced, particularly with the development of the telegraph. The telegraph, which was the first commercially viable use of electricity, transformed the process of reporting from a series of sequential reports to an impulse-driven process. This led to the creation of the daily news cycle, which combines scheduled news reports with breaking news. The concept of timeliness continued to evolve as newspapers began to structure their operations in ways that would increase the likelihood of timely news. Furthermore, audiences adapted to this trend and incorporated it into their daily routine.
Value of newness
Newness is one of the most important elements of news. In news, newness can be interpreted in two ways: new as the time when it occurred, and new as the content of the news as perceived by the audience. Either way, newness is an important component of news, regardless of its genre.
The western and Chinese perspectives take similar views, both emphasizing the need to understand the audience for news. The audience is the key to the news value, as it ultimately determines the economic success of a news organization. However, Chinese journalists have developed a different perspective on news value than their Western counterparts.
Relevance
Relevance of news is a central value of news, which media organizations need to understand both as creators and as consumers. It’s a dynamic concept, one that can be interpreted differently by audiences and newsmakers alike. While news is generally relevant, relevance can also be a product of a journalist’s writing, or can come from a connection the audience makes beyond the story’s context. While earlier research focused on journalistic relevance, more recent studies have explored public relevance.
Relevance of news can be determined by many factors, including the popularity of the news source and its quality. A media outlet’s relevance can influence its placement in search results, and news published by prominent sources is likely to be of higher news quality.
Impact of technology on audience perception of news
The use of digital platforms has changed the way news is produced and consumed, and this has a profound impact on audience perception of news. People can comment on and share news, and computational systems can track mouse clicks, which reveal which news articles are most popular. Such feedback is considered to be a form of mass and interpersonal communication, and the results can be made public.
The impact of technology on audience perception of news is evident in many industries, including television and radio. The emergence of the internet is making news production easier. Broadband technology makes it possible to deliver much better video online. As the demand for video content increases, the price of talent rises, potentially creating tensions in newsrooms.