David Friend Shares Thoughts on Digital Media's Evolving Relationship With Local News

NEW YORK, NY / ACCESSWIRE / May 12, 2022 / A survey conducted in August and September 2020 by The Pew Research Center found that "more than eight-in-ten U.S. adults say they get their news from a smartphone, computer or tablet ‘often' or ‘sometimes,' including 60 percent who say they do so often." This is 20 percent higher than the percentage of people who get their news from television.

Veteran local TV news executive David Friend offers his thoughts on the shifting digital media landscape.

"Ten years ago, ‘swiftly moving' were great wordsto describe the landscape journalists had to deal with. Today, the news cycle is still rapid and unceasing, but also chaotic and variable thanks to the unprecedented access to tremendous amounts of information posted on social media. Journalists and the public alike are inundated with a steady stream of news and information that has to be constantly sifted through, analyzed, and prioritized," says David Friend.

Social media presents great opportunities and challenges to local TV news operations. Without an abundance of resources, managers of local TV newsrooms need to be extraordinarily nimble and innovative to keep their news departments strong, objective, and relevant.

"For better or worse, local TV News departments no longer have to wait for regularly scheduled linear newscasts to communicate with their audiences. News consumers are now accessing information in real time, putting an even greater burden on TV journalists for accuracy and fairness. The time between seeing information for the first time and the broadcast was critical for determining its veracity. That buffer has evaporated. News teams are operating on the fly, and the margin for error is greater now than it's ever been," explains David Friend.

In large part due to the ubiquity of the smartphone, there's no longer special training needed to shoot broadcast quality video. The functionality of shooting video from the same device that allows you to reach sources and conduct in-depth research allows for increased participation and decreased response time.

"When bystanders reach the scene of breaking news, the first thing they do is pull out their smartphones," remarks David Friend.

Prior to this flood of video, local newsrooms would rely on video stringer services to arrive on the scene of breaking news, and news producers would then have to negotiate a purchase price for their video. While this process was less seamless, authenticity was more reliable. "Citizen Journalists" now shoot video on their phones which gives journalists access to a much greater volume of video, but it puts an enormous burden on, in some cases, thinly staffed newsrooms to first determine the credibility of the content, and second, to track down the content's originator to obtain permission to use the video for broadcast.

"The benefit of not having to pay for this content is also disappearing quickly. There are now subscription services that aggregate citizen journalist video, and newsrooms pay a fee to those services for broadcast and web access," David Friend remarks.

Adding another wrinkle to the digital landscape is the integration of video conferencing into daily life. During the COVID-19 pandemic, local TV journalists made common the use of video conferencing tools such as Zoom and FaceTime. This not only saved time and resources, and provided a solution to the logistical complications caused by the pandemic, but also broadened the available field of perspectives on a story through increased volume and reachability of interview subjects.

"When used effectively, these tools are potentially the single most significant development for TV news-gathering in the digital age," says David Friend. "These Zoom interviews can greatly enhance a story's depth and diversity. At one point in time there was a concern over video conferencing quality on broadcast, but due to smartphones, audiences have become very accepting of less than broadcast quality video in their newscasts."

Despite the complications it can cause, journalists can benefit from the power of social media, digging deep into stories through data journalism and social media sleuthing, as social media provides easy access to tools for cross-referencing phone numbers, public records, and public comments.

"So many people's lives are on display through social media, and skilled data journalists can use that information in a myriad of ways," notes David Friend.

With as little as a username, the lives, hobbies, location, affiliations, and so much more are readily on display.

Journalists can also use social media to develop story ideas, interact with their audience, and keep abreast of breaking news themselves. TV journalists can also use social media to solicit story information and tips. The caveat remains, however, that information gleaned from social media has to go through the same vigorous checking process as news from conventional sources.

"In many ways, social media is a testament to the necessity of journalists. Information can come from anywhere, but journalism requires experience, diligence, and a desire to find the objective truth," says David Friend. "There is still a reverence, a necessity and, in many ways, a formal accreditation for local nightly news. A great many people still get their news from local stations. The stations are still trusted sources, and it is the responsibility of these journalists to adapt to the changing digital landscape and continue to do their jobs."

CONTACT:
Andrew Mitchell
Cambridge Global
Email: media@cambridgeglobalmedia.com
Phone: 404-955-7133

SOURCE: Cambridge Global