New Technologies And Future Of Newspapers

©AsiaPacific MediaEducator Issue No.11 July Dec. 2001 T essay examines the debate surrounding the potential impact of new technologies on traditional newspapers in the 21st Century. Using the Internet as an example, the essay compares the situation in developing African countries with the western world. Specifically the essay examines the various ways the Internet technology has impacted news consumers, including the ethical and professional challenges posed to journalists and nonjournalists practising on the web. Other issues discussed include: how the new technologies have impacted the credibility of journalists as well as the credibility of online news; and how the Internet threatens the future of newspapers. The essay also identifies opportunities available to newspapers to withstand the Internet challenge. It concludes that, despite the obvious advantages the Internet enjoys over traditional newspapers, the future of traditional newspapers remains bright. When radio emerged in the 1920s, speculation was rife that radio would destroy newspapers. When television emerged in the 1950s, there was widespread speculation that television would displace radio, newspapers and the motion picture industry (Thottam, 1999: 216). That did not occur. But Kyrish (1994) has noted that current predictions about the information superhighway have taken the same optimistic tone as cable television received in the United States two and a half decades ago. In each case, Kyrish argued, advocates depicted the New Technologies And Future Of Newspapers