The state of journalism is changing - no more is the reliance just on the newspapers we read or the journalists that write them.
With the advancement of technology, the consumers of news have been exposed to a situation where sources of information need not be confined to the timeframe or the outlets of exposure. Through the Internet, consumers will be able to grab any news they desire at the speed of a snap of their fingers (ok, maybe not that fast but you get my notion ;))
Putting this scenario in a local context, an event that was suppose to write an entirely new chapter in the history books of Singapore did more than just that – it heralded a new source of news-gathering.
The 2011 General Elections in Singapore was earmarked as a watershed election due to the potential that the various opposition parliamentary parties were displaying in the contest against the ruling party in Singapore, the People’s Action Party. That, and the go-ahead for the various parties vying for a spot in parliament to engage its supporters and voters through social media, ensured a whole new experience and story for the citizens of Singapore. While the elections did yield a few surprises, the real prize in this election is the rise of social media.
Not only did Singaporeans throw out the assumption that they were a politically-apathetic lot – the Prime Minister of Singapore acknowledged himself that the ruling party can do more to engage its citizens through the Internet – they also dealt a blow to the respectable news outlet in Singapore. On the aftermath of Polling Day, as Singaporeans gathered in front of their televisions to await the televised results as past generations did too, it appeared that the local television stations were relatively slow in releasing the results.
With the telecast of the polling results slated for 11pm but the Returning Officer only coming out to officially declare the results around the 12.30am – 1am mark, many viewers who were connected to the local Twitter community were left disappointed and angry that they actually found out about the results online a lot earlier than the usual media outlets.
This saga even prompted an apology, and explanation, from Mediacorp that they were only able to released official results from the Returning Officer and releasing unofficial results like that on Twitter were against their practices.
As exemplified above, the future of journalism has seen the focus shifted slightly from the official media sources to alternate ones like social media. Social Media has shown itself to be a very current tool that the official news outlets can learn to embrace itself. However, as shown by Mediacorp’s handling of the above situation, there is still a need to stick to the proper ethics of newsreporting for fear of information misrepresentation.
(Picture from http://www.markevanstech.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/06/social-media-consultant.jpg)
