Chapter 8

Back in the day, (which was a Wednesday by the way) news was found in a newspaper. Once technology boomed, news was put on the Internet. Now, not only is there Internet for news, but people can also get their news through blogs, live chats, twitter, and even Facebook.

To make sure that the audience that follows each of these different types of media is getting what they are looking for, writers and journalists have to be accommodating. Journalists and writers alike have to make sure that something that may be appropriate for their Facebook audience won't offend those following them on Twitter.

There are five different roles of the "New Journalist." Each of these roles put together are what have helped to make new journalism flourish. To do this, there needs to be a multimedia storyteller, an investigator/sense maker, content manager, community builder, and an entrepreneur. A multimedia storyteller is someone who knows exactly which part of media to use for what. This meaning, they understand communicating with the audience better than most. They will decide if such an such an article would be better as a blog or a front page news story. The investigator/sense maker is the person who helps connect the community to the story. This person knows what information is needed, how to find it and how to use it. The Content manager finds ways to make more advanced stories either by live stream video, interactive stories, backgrounders, and using web resources. The community builder is the person who goes out and connects with readers through networking sites. This person uses things like Facebook and Twitter to share issues and spread news. The entrepreneur is the person who knows how to come up with good strategies, use marketing and market research.

I had never realized how much Americans actually use Goggle and other search engines to find information until I read that Canadians don't. I can't imagine how other people could not use Google, one of those "how did we ever survive before it" kind of thing. I see this as a good and a bad thing. Having search engines such as Google have made finding information easier, which in turn makes life easier. The bad part is America's dependency on just being able to simple "Google it."