Modern society has evolved such that communication has become globalized and ultimately becoming an effective platform for discussion. The presence of a geographical barrier is no longer problematic, and information can now be passed almost instantaneously. This is evidenced through the increase in Internet users, particularly in aspects of news media and journalism.
The news website called “OhmyNews” was founded in Korea during February 2000 by a man named Oh Yeon Ho. This site is said to be the founder of bidirectional journalism; indicating that citizens and reporters alike are able to engage in topics of conversation revolving around the news, rather than allowing citizens to simply take information in. A concept that can be defined as participatory journalism. However this was not always the case, as OhmyNews was simply started as a unidirectional news website in Korea, much like CBC News in Canada. In comparison to CBC News, one is able to see that both websites are locations for reporting news, without having the aspect of discussion. The original website of OhmyNews was very informative and covered a range of topics including: politics, society, culture, international affairs, the economy, information technology, sports, and entertainment. This peaked the interest of many readers, and allowed the website to reach two million viewers per day. However even with the vast amount of readers the site accumulated, the company still experienced a net loss of $625 000 in mid 2008.
This promoted Oh Yeon Ho to archive OhmyNews as a news website, and re open it in Sept 2010 as an interactive blog, allocating more of the power towards the public. This initiated a test run of direct democracy in the world of media. As a concept of interaction, this gave the public the opportunity to voice their opinions and display their work. This was greatly improved the status of the company and encouraged more people to read the news and participate. Convergent thinking began to occur online, which has now become an invaluable asset within the modern world, predominantly in news media. As passive roles are being left behind, more online news sites are starting to catch onto this trend. An example of this would be The Washington Post Social Reader. This social reader is also strongly continuing on this new found path of interactive media, increasing the level of social interdependence within society, quite alike the interactive blog of OhmyNews.
Promoting this trend, will radically increase the change of communicational direction around the world. This will allow for an up to date news report, not only in content, but in presentation and format as well. Freedom of speech is no longer becoming simply about “saying your opinion”, but about creating a change in opinions as well. Allowing people of all ages to comment, empowers people of the younger generation to insert their opinion, despite the fact that they are considered “not politically experienced.” This opens up the platform for discussion to a broader set of readers and encourages the voices of tomorrow to speak up on subjects of importance to them. The journey of news media is an interesting one to follow, and will only increase over time as generations evolve.
“Be who you are and say what you feel because those who mind don’t matter and those who matter don’t mind.” – Dr. Seuss
Courtney Lee