Tough to understand journalism in twenty century

JOURNALISM is a profession that is as old as humankind and requires those who practice it to be fair, truthful, and objective among other principles that it demands. It is interesting to re-think this beautiful and critical profession in the twenty-first century due to technological advancement and social media platforms that cut across geographical boundaries. The internet and its other integrated components have brought some changes not only to forms of communications but also to journalism as a discipline and profession worth respect. The citizens have been democratised to tell their plight in the comfort zone of their locale without omission or commission of facts. Gate-keeping which is a process of protecting certain critical information to be consumed by the public domain is being done by an individual, rather than a professional editor like what is done by most media houses in conventional media setup. Internet and social media platforms have provided avenues like blogs, Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, and many others to mention, which do not limit cascading of information by a few tried and tested individuals belonging to certain media houses who call themselves “journalists”. In the twenty-first century, everyone has the right and freedom to generate, process, and disseminate information will nil. The danger we all face as citizens across the globe is the lack of security as we are exposed to harassment of some kind in various forms online. Those with a bad mind whose thrust is to bring others down, use the internet, mobile technology, and social media to turn the reputation of others. Internet and social media are valued for enabling the less privileged to fight for their rights, by exposing those who ill-treat them. I witnessed many times those holding public offices being exposed for corruption, short-changing, social immoral practices, and all despicable doing. On the other hand, privacy is trading on a thin line as individuals can easily share their privacy in the virtual sphere, sometimes with visible evidence that cannot be refuted. Mobile technology, which has become more private than human privates is also causing chaos in most communities which sometimes results in divorce, murder, misunderstanding, fights, and mistrust among the community members. Convergence which is the process that enables these gargets to be merged and complement each other in producing, processing, and sending rich content in the form of audios, videos, pictures, and so forth is a concept that can be likened to polygamy, where an individual can be married or committed to several spouses. Mobile technology has made communication to be a farce in many ways as it enables citizens including reputable journalists to create content and send it across the globe through WhatsApp, internet facilities like electronic mail, blogs, YouTube, and social media platforms. However, despite all the goodies associated with mobile technology citizens have been corrupted to the core and sometimes use technological gadgets destructively instead of constructively. Well those studying or who studied journalism or media would agree that it is good to know and to be guided by online ethics always when posting content using the internet or social media. Some may argue further that it is good to know ethics, but they do not apply practical always in dealing with certain online content. Privacy is one important online ethic to be respected always, but what is private may be of interest to share online with the rest. It is a fact that people have the right to some privacy, even online. On the other hand, someone may argue that people in general also have the right to know things that are interesting. Journalism is a funny profession that makes news to be juicy, especially on issues that may be avoided to be known by many. In ancient times such interesting and critical information could be suppressed through bribes which in the twenty-first century is difficult if not impossible to do. Information zooms like a bullet to a different individuals across the globe through WhatsApp, Facebook, Twitter, Blogs, and electronic mail, despite efforts by the concerned persons to suppress it. We are not safe if the truth is to be told in the twenty century as technological experts may spy on your mobile phone, email, and social media platforms in search of juicy information in all forms. There is a new concept called “citizen Journalism” which is necessitated by new technologies that make ordinary citizens be active and able to become journalists. Perhaps what should be ringing in someone’s mind and problematised is how safe are we in communities if citizens become journalists. Trust is something that has always been problematic, as some do not even trust their shadow let alone another citizen. Journalism as a profession has become toxic and we need to be careful of what we do with our gadgets despite being private to us, as sometimes this exposes us further to dangerous individuals in the community whose sole thrust always is to sow chaos in the society. The citizens perhaps are happy as they could now free to express themselves and reveal those who are threatening them, which sometimes makes journalism itself to be less respected and difficult to practice in this modern society. It would be a welcome move to hear your views on how Journalism is practiced and valued as a critical profession without pausing challenges in the advent of technology.