Impact of Computers in News

1. Impact of Computers in News William Nutt & Nevin Yang

2. Computers have brought a rapid change in the way news is presented to people. • Most television, newspaper, magazine and other news companies maintain a website with constantly updating news. • We will be discussing: • Company advantages • Reader advantages • Statistics • Personal experiences • Scenario

3. Company Advantages • Reduction in cost by eliminating printing and deliveries • Easier newspaper creation • Easily formatted • Preview allows companies to compare different formats without having to print • Easy article revision with grammar and spelling tools • Mistakes can be quickly eliminated using the “Backspace” key, whereas the journalist would have to start the page over when using a typewriter • A larger audience is reached, which could ultimately lead to an increase in subscribers. • Users can often only read the beginning of an article, and then are forced to pay a fee to become members with access to full-length articles.

4. Company Advantages Continued • Reporters who are reporting from abroad locations are rarely at a disadvantage as far as time goes thanks to computers.

5. Reader Advantages • Ability to view the content of any newspaper with a simple mouse click. • Ability to search through entire archives containing years old information using keywords instead of skimming through an entire hardcopy. • Finding the right sequence of words to locate a particular article can be difficult. • Constant updates provides event information just seconds after the occurrence. • Traveler can read the latest issue of a preferred newspaper or magazine anywhere in the world with connection to the Internet.

6. Reader Advantages Continued • If a user wants world news, he or she can simply click on the category found on the website. • When viewing television news, the user would have waste time viewing alternative news until that particular subject is discussed. • The same is true for other categories, such as U.S., weather, business, sports, politics, law, technology, science and space, health, entertainment, travel, and education.

7. Reader Advantages Continued • Mobile news • Cell phones, PDA’s, laptops, and other handheld devices

8. The Facts • Viewers are relying more on websites, and less on traditional television news • According to a study conducted by Pew Research Center, the reliance of the Internet as a source of news has grown by six folds since 1996. • It was also found that Internet news is especially popular during the time of an election. • Eighteen percent of study participants now rely on the Internet as a source of election news, as opposed to the three percent in 1996. • Over the past seven years, the number of regular evening news viewers has been cut in half.

9. Our personal experiences • Scenario: Celebrity gossiper hears that there has been a major Hollywood breakup. • How does he handle the situation without the use of computers? With the use of computers?

10. Sources • http://www.ksg.harvard.edu/news/experts/2000/patterson_internet_news_qa.htm • http://www.gwinnettdailyonline.com/GDP/archive/article22AB5280B8144563AC5DFBE876F02DC0.asp • http://www.cnn.com • http://www.wral.com