KateRobinette

ProfessorBenjaminDally
English502
14December2015
ModernizationofLanguageinNewsandMediaEcology
Sincethebeginningoftelevisionnews,changeshaveoccurredeachdecadewith
howtheconsumersaccessthecontentbecauseofchangingtechnology.However,a
revolutionintechnologyduringthemillennialgenerationhascausedsignificantchanges
inhowthecurrentgenerationtapsintonewscontentonadailybasis.Mediacompanies
havehadtoadapttostayrelevanttomillennialshavehadtokeepuptopacewiththeir
methodsofdiscourse.Intwentyyears,weveseenthedominationofstrictlycable
basednewsoutletshasgiventowaydigitalandmobileaccessplatforms.News
stations,localtointernational,havehadtoadjustthelanguagetocaptureandholdthe
attentionof21stcenturyexpectations,notonlyinthenewsroom,butwithviewersand
listeners.Instudyingthechangesalreadymadeinthelasttwodecadestotheway
anchorsandjournalistsinteractwiththeiraudience,onecanunderstandthechangesin
mediaecologyandhowsociety'sexpectationsforrelatabilityhaveevolvedwiththe
times.Thispaperwillexplainthewaysthatmodernnewscompanieshaveadaptedtheir
useoflanguagetogainandholdviewersandtoadjusttothedwindlingappealof
televisionnewsasopposedtotheeaseofconsistentonlineengagement,andhowthis
cycleofchangesinourlanguageaffectsusnowandwillaffectfuturegenerations.

Televisionnewsconcludeditsoverthrowofnewspaperintheearly1960s,when
eveningnewsbecamea30minuteappointmentexperienceinAmericanhouseholds.
Unlikethe15minutebriefingsofthe40sand50s,familieswouldsitinlivingrooms
listeningtothetrustedvoicesofthenation(ontheirchoiceofCBSorNBC)deliver
nationalnewsandbeyondinaformalaffairofcraftedelevatedspeechthatwasstill
appropriateenoughforthedemographicofnationalnewsatthetime,theprominent
conservativeuppermiddleclass.Thisisimportanttonotebecauseinthe21stcentury,
viewersarecomprisedofallsocioeconomicnichesandnewsstationsnowmorethan
everarecateringtoasmanypeopleastheycan,atvaryingeducationlevels,wealth
brackets,andwhattheyviewasimportantinthecommunity.Withthewidespread
ownershipoftelevisionandinternet(providingcommonknowledgeisthatnearlyevery
householdhasaccesstoatleastoneortheother),accesstoviewersofalltypesis
possible.
Althoughinthemidstofafewtechnologicalupheavalssincethe1960s,the
televisionnewsbusinessisstillholdingon.Togetacloserlook,IjoinCristina
MendonsaofABC10Newsforaninsidelookata21stcenturynewsbusiness.Atafirst
handexperience,theABC10newsroomisalivewiththetypicalofficejargonheardin
newsroomssincetheMadMenera.Deadlinesshouted,breakingstoriesannounced
however,thereisadifferenceinthesoundfromtheCronkiteeraofnews.Young
webbiesfuriouslytappingtobreaknewsonlinebeforeanyonairannouncement.The
digitalsectionofnewsroomshasbecomecrucial,saysMendonsa.Wewillalwaystry
tobreaksomethingfirstonlineandonourFacebookpagebecausewehavea

significantnumberofviewerswhowillchecktheirphonelongbeforetheyseea
newscast.NewsisupdatedonsocialmediaorABC10swebsitefirstandinlanguage
andlengthbuiltformobileeaseofaccessthroughsmartphones.Butjustbecausethe
messagesareshortandsweetdoesnotmeanthenewsisuntrueorjuvenileKathleen
YanceywritesinherworkWritinginthe21stCentury,Writerscomposeauthentic
textsininformaldigitallynetworkedcontexts...(5).Inthisstatement,sheisreferringto
thewaythatthoseofuswhopartakeinonlinediscoursearentconstrictedbya
hierarchicallanguagerulesofsuperiorvs.inferiorlanguagerules.Now,whilegrammar
doesntflyentirelyoutofthewindow,amoreinformaltoneisgenerallyacceptedonline
andinsocialmedia.
Whilesocialmediasitesareagreatsourceofconnectionbetweenfriendsand
family,theyareaprimenetworkfornewsandarticlesharing,andalsoyetanother
outletformediapersonneltoconnectmoreintimatelywithviewersandconsumers.
MendonsaherselfhastwosocialmediaaccountsthroughFacebookapersonalpage,
andaprofessionalpage.Viewersfriendherprofessionalaccountforalookinto
MendonsasbehindthescenesphotosandtheabilitytotalkwiththeSacramento
celebrity.However,Mendonsaishonestinhermotives.Viewersdogettoseeanother
sideofme,butImostlykeepmypersonallifetomyself,andIneverfriendpeopleIdont
personallyknowonmypersonalaccount,shesays.MyCristinaMendonsaFacebook
accountisprimarilyanotheroutletforgettingcontenttoourviewers.Mendonsacan
easilylinkbreakingnewsandstoriesfromherpersonalpageandaddamessageor
captiontothelink,somethingmorefluidandempatheticthanwhattheofficialABC10

Facebookcanpost.ThelanguageIuseonmypageismoresympathetictothe
situationthanwhatanewsstationwoulduseasanofficialrelease,Mendonsastates.
Usersgetamoreconnectedfeel,andIthinkthatswhatpeoplewant.Icanmake
peoplefeelentirelydifferentaboutsomethingwithamessagethatisstillneutral...but
morepersonal.
Twitterisanotheroutletbeingutilizedbyanchorsaroundtheworld.Beginningas
asocialmediasiteknownforits140characterstatuses,usuallydetailingthemundane
ofteenagersandtheabilitytogetalookintothefabulouslivesofyourfavoriteactors
andsingers,Twitterhasnowbecomeaparamountforceforlivetweetingbreaking
newsandupdates.DuringtheBataclanterroristattackonParisinNovember,news
stationskeptregularupdateswheninformationcametheirway.Itwasamainsourceof
incomingnewsfromeverycorneroftheworld.#Parisand#BataclanParisbecame
trendingtopicswithinminutes(twitter.com).Theuseofthehashtagisaprimeexample
ofanevolutioninlanguageandtechnologyfornotonlynewssourcesandmedia,butfor
allpeopleusingtheinternet.Byputtinga#(inserttopic/reference/feelinghere),wecan
connectopinions,messages,andwritingswiththesamehashtagandfilethemeasily.
Topicsfromhardhittingnewsstoriestoentertainmentnewsareallcompartmentalized
ontheinternetbytheuseofahashtag,muchlikeakeywordusedinGooglesearches,
justgoingtoshowhowtheinternetworldhassuchahugeimpactonwhereandhow
quicklyweareexposedtoworldnews.WhenIopenmycomputerfirstthinginthe
morning,myhomescreendirectsmetofacebook.com.ThefirstthingIseeisnta
pictureofmyauntsdogoralinktoafunnyYouTubevideomyfriendpostedI

immediatelyamgreetedbyatleastthreearticlelinksNewYorkTimes,Buzzfeed,
ABC10online.Facebookhasbecomeoneofthefastestgrowingandsomewilladmit
mostaddictivepastimesinU.S.youthculture,E.J.Westlakeproclaimsinthe
scholarlyjournalFriendMeIfYouFacebook.Andhesnotwrong.SinceFacebooks
foundingin2004,thesocialmediasitehasbeenamajorsourceofconnectionbetween
friends,memes,andnewsfromthehardhittingtotheentertainment.Accordingto
statista.com,in2012,Facebooksurpassed1billionusers,andby2015,1/7oftheentire
worldspopulationhadaFacebookaccount.Westlakealsomakestheassertionthat
Facebookhasacertaincreepingfeelingofwatchingitsusers,whichagainwouldbe
correct,accordingtowhoyoutalkto.InournewSnowdenera,Facebookhasapplied
anapplicationthatmakesnewsandlinksmorevisibletousersbasedontheirprevious
Googlesearchesandinternethistorybyallowinggooglesearchestohaveaccessto
yourpersonalinformation.Tohaveanaccount,youmustagreetotheirtermsand
conditionswhichstate
Whenyouconnectwithanapplicationorwebsiteitwillhave
accesstoGeneralInformationaboutyou.ThetermGeneralInformationincludesyour
andyourfriendsnames,profilepictures,gender,userIDs,
connections
,andany
contentsharedusingtheEveryoneprivacysetting
(Facebook.comTermsofService).
ThisallowsFacebooktosourcetrendingnewsandapplyittoyourinterests,providing
linksonentertainment,sports,andthehardhittingbasedonyourpoliticalstances,
religion,andbrowserhistory,whichinturngivesnewssourcesandoutletsaprimary
positiononyourtwitterfeedorFacebookNewsFeed.Evenmorethanthat,thisprofile
publicitygivesnewssourcesthatarecateredtoyourbeliefsandinterests.

Transparencyhasalsobecomeadifferenceinlanguageandthewaythatmedia
personnelconnectwiththeiraudience.Millennialsespeciallyareseenasneedingmore
thanonesourcefavorablyinorderforthemediatoestablishethos.Inthe1960s,ethos
didntneedtobeestablished,itsimplyexistedfromthebeginningtothepublicitwas
somethingthatcamewiththejobofbeingatelevisionbroadcaster.However,thishas
changedrapidlythroughtheyears.KendalSalcito,writerfortheCenterofJournalism
EthicsattheUniversityofWisconsinMadisonsSchoolofJournalismandMass
Communication,states,Journalistswhowanttosettheirarticlesapartastruthfuland
comprehensivehavebegungivingthepublicaccesstotheirsources(Salcito1).Not
onlydoesSalcitoexpandontheneedforsources,theyalsoestablishthenewage
approachofopinionbeingseenasnearlyequaltocredibleethos.Ontheoppositeside
ofthesamecoinofsources,Manyblogsandindependentezines,lackingan
engrainedsenseofdutytothetruthortoreaders,havedevelopedajournalisticstyleof
unsubstantiatedopinion.Salcitodubsthisjournalismofassertion.Itisthechoice
journalismofmillennialonlinemediaandnews,availableonhostswherecontributors
arealsothecontentproducers,editors,anddistributors.Ideasareaccruedandthen
restated,withoutregardtotheiroriginorfactuality(Salcito,1).Itseemsthemore
ferventlyasubjectmatterisrepeatedwithconviction,themorelikelyitistobetakenas
factbythegeneralpublic,especiallyinregardstosomemillennialsthatcrave
somethingotherthanonevoicetalkingdowntothemhowever,othermillennialswill
askforsourcesthatpertaintothetopicfromanunbiasedsource.

ButthesedrastictwodifferencesinfavorofsourcesSalcitobelievesisgreatly
hurtingthejournalisticcredibilityofmediapersonnel,withtheriseofunsubstantiated
opinionandrumor,andthelackofrestraintamongonlinewriters.Butisthisneedfor
eitherunbiasedsourcesoranimpassionedauthorabadthing?Foronething,amore
creativewritingaspectcomesintoplayintheblogtypeangryfriendrolesomecontent
producershavetakenonwhenapproachingnews.Thefightthemandistrustthat
tingedtheoutlooksof1960syouthcultureseemstobemakingacomeback,sothefact
thatthatsamegroupofyouthisabletoaccesssomeformofnewsintegraltolightinga
politicalfire.Evenifitisfrommoreofanemotionalstance,theyarententirelyinthe
darkaboutcurrentevents,worldrelations,andourchangingeconomy,simplybecause
itisinescapable.Andmaybethatwasexactlywhatweneededtograsptheattentionof
ourtechnologicalandfastpacedrisinggenerationaconnection,andthat
inescapabilityofonlineinteractionand247providedandupdatedcontent.Onthe
opposingside,acquiringcrediblesourceswillalwaysgiveaprofessionaledgetoa
pieceofwriting,leavingextremeemotionlessnecessary.
Onthesamelevelasthemethodsbywhichwecommunicate,thewaynews
personnelengagewiththeirreaderstogettheirattentionallcomesdowntothevoiceof
thejournalistandwhattheysay.Newscompanieshavetweakedthewaytheir
audiencesseethembybecomingtheirequal,bycateringtotheemotionsand
technologicaldemandsofthe21stcentury.AsIendmydiscussionwithMendonsa,she
assertsthattheworldwillalwaysneedsomemethodtoreceivingnews,whether
throughradio,newspaper,television,internetandwhateverfollowsourmainmethod

todaybutthevoiceofthejournalist,intheend,iswhatdrivespublicresponse.
Technologywillalwaysbechanging,shesays.Butwhenprintisoutdated,oreven
television,wewillalwaysneedgoodnewswriters.