Changing Scenes For Modern Journalists
In the analogue days, covering a news event was a much more labour-intensive process. A typical news crew included: (a) Reporter (b). Camera Operator, (c) Sound Technician, (d) .Lighting Technician, (e). Producer, (f). Assistant and (g). Driver/Logistics Coordinator.
Fast forward to over half a century from 1970 the picture is different with a new AI-related paradigm shift which represents a see change in the creation of a transformative mediascape where the role of professional journalist, who is under stress due to having to meet deadlines in a fast-paced newsroom, needs to be multiskilled to tell news stories using multimedia modes namely text, photo, video, audio, and infographics.
In the first technological paradigm shift in the 1970s, the advent of modern technology like electronic news gathering (ENG) cameras which replaced the back-breaking camcorder. It redefined news gathering and streamlined the process significantly. Consequently, today’s journalist, accompanied by a cameraman, is assigned to field reporting. Improvement in media technology enabled the job to only have( one – a single cameraman just for shooting while the interview was done remotely by the television news presenter.
A TV journalist often handles multiple roles thanks to advancement in digital technology. Today’s advanced TV camcorders are lightweight and compact. They are networked and multifunctional, which are capable of direct live streaming of events in high-quality video and audio, eliminating the need for separate sound and lighting technicians. Journalists easily carry these portable professional camcorders with the necessary equipment. Non-linear editing softwares have enabled on-the-go and instantaneous editing which allows journalists or correspondents to quickly edit and livestream news reports aided by fast internet/cellular connectivity. Journalists can broadcast live from the event without the need for extensive setup.
Armed with the latest cutting edge technology the modern journalist has to venture out like a hound to ferret out credible news that matters while at the same time the journalist has to act as a watchdog for maintaining the public interest. Today’s journalist ensures news stories, hurriedly crafted under time pressure, conforms to the canons of objectivity, truth, contextuality, impartiality, transparent, fairness, independent and accessibility having to wade through a labyrinth of huge and mixed data and information, Ai-manipulated news, ‘fabricated news,’ misinformation, rhetorics, ideologies, disinformation while ‘False news and post-truth are two interwoven phenomena that serve specific financial or ideological interests.’ (Poulakidakos, S. et al., ud)
This shift has made news coverage more efficient and cost-effective, though it also places greater demands on individual journalists to multitask and manage various aspects of production.