Technology provides new way for journalists to connect with audiences

Technology significantly changed the newspaper industry in the 1990s with the development of the internet and the “World Wide Web,” which allowed journalists to track down sources, interact with readers and provide endless research and information that was only one click away.

Newspapers were the first to embrace the web early, but this also came with many challenges over the last three decades to learn what information to trust from the vast number of websites created over the years.

Reporters could access information much faster and “there is all kinds of raw data available, only keystrokes away, which is a good thing — but there is also wrong information out there,” said Fred Bayles, emeritus professor with Boston University in Massachusetts and former national correspondent for the Associated Press.

“We can now find anybody, even those hard to find,” Bayles, who has been a journalist for 30 years, including reporting on the Gulf War, the Exxon Valdez disaster and the O.J. Simpson murder investigation.

Challenges of technology

Bayles, in a phone interview, said he sounds like the old guys once “grumbling” in the newsroom about those new electric typewriters back in the day. But new technology has made it more difficult to distinguish legitimate sources from fake ones, especially in recent times, when sifting through social media information.

“It is less shoe leather out on the streets, but it also opens the gates for mischief — fake witnesses (during news events),” Bayles pointed out as an example. “Sometimes, going down the street knocking on doors gives you a much better source and understanding of a situation.”

The 24/7 news cycle puts pressure on newspapers and broadcast outlets to be the first before all the facts were vetted or more was learned, A. Randall Wenner, coordinator of Broadcast Journalism Facility and instructor at Syracuse University in New York, said during a phone interview.

“There were classic mistakes made along the way to find a balance,” said Wenner, who was a reporter and broadcast producer for 12 years and has been journalism instructor of 30 years. “I think most realized the philosophy should be not to just be the first, but to be the first with verified information and facts.”

Bayles agreed, recalling what happened during the Boston Marathon bombing in 2013, when suspects were wrongly accused because of speculation on social media and by other sources, and news outlets felt pressure to crank out continuous coverage.

Wenner said there also had to be a mindset change for media outlets on being “first” and realizing they had to reveal their “exclusive” information to the competition as they were giving it to viewers and readers.

“Fewer news stations were holding big stories for the 6 p.m. broadcast,” Wenner said. “Now, we tweet out a nutshell or teaser to keep the interest of viewers.”

Multimedia journalists

The industry could keep up with the demand only by embracing more technology, Wenner said. Reporters had to become multimedia journalists. Besides writing for print and digital platforms, they now had to learn to shoot videos and use audio clips to highlight those actual voices in their stories.

In broadcast, those reporters had to learn to write longer- form articles for their digital sites, and print reporters had to adapt some of the their longer-form writing to shorter pieces because many viewers have time only for quick summaries and are now consuming that news through smartphones.

In a short time, different platforms were developed, along with social media sites, that journalists could use to posts snippets of their stories and link to a newspaper’s or broadcast station’s website to engage audiences — people not being reached through those outlets’ websites alone.

More journalists started covering events in real time to keep up with that immediate information demand. Some started liveblogging criminal trials, political debates, legislative and local city decisions and votes and sporting events.

Bayles included liveblogging as a new journalist skill in his 2011 “Field Guide To Covering Local News” — cops, courts, schools, emergencies and government. He highlighted the liveblogging of criminal trials that a Gazette reporter started doing in 2009, along with a few other newspapers.

Some of the live coverage had hundreds of viewers each day following the high-profile murder trials, including Mark Becker, who killed Parkersburg/Applington Coach Ed Thomas in 2009, and Jerry Burns, who was convicted in 2020 of killing Michelle Martinko in 1979 in Cedar Rapids.

Bayles described the blogs as “creating a virtual spectators’ gallery where viewers can follow a trial, comment, lament, question and vent in real time.” He said he viewed covering trials or other live events, such as a rally, in real time as valuable to readers because it provides transparency and they can watch the event as it unfolds.

Wenner said another skill some journalists have embraced is developing a podcast, which continues to become more popular. Others, besides journalists, also use podcasts to focus on a variety of genres, including true crime, sports, politics, education, personal wellness, religious, science and history.

The Gazette has a Gazette Daily News podcast and its sports writers started doing podcasts about 10 years ago, including the On Iowa Podcast.

The smartphone, as it upgraded and changed over the years, has provided multiple tools for journalists.

“Everybody has a tool in their pocket,” Wenner said. “It’s second nature for the younger journalists because they grew up with the technology.”

Journalists had to develop more skills by learning how to shoot a good photo and video from the scene and also capture quality sound to attract viewers and hold their interest. They also needed to learn editing skills for these tools, Wenner added.

The phones also have provided an opportunity for citizen journalists or activists to share information — which can be good and bad, Wenner said. It provides more voices — or perspectives — but could be confusing to the viewers because they may not be able to distinguish a trained journalist from someone who is presenting just one side of an issue.

A journalist learns the best practices, journalism ethics and writing techniques to present an unbiased and balanced piece, he noted.

“We (journalists) learn by doing,” Wenner said. “It doesn’t happen by just picking up a tool and using it. You have to have storytelling skills and build that trust.”

Wenner said this is an “exciting time” for journalists because there are now so many different ways to tell a story.

He does see a challenge down the road to tell in-depth stories because some readers won’t devote or have the time to commit to those. A younger generation wants those quick, new blurbs.

He has trouble with his students to get them to read longer articles. Wenner said he hopes that will change as the students get older and have different experiences that will spark an interest in learning more about their communities.

Comments: (319) 398-8318; trish.mehaffey@thegazette.com