The advent of the Fourth Industrial Revolution allowed us to clearly track the trajectory of growth across broadcast and digital news platforms yet at the same time we saw the acceleration of the decline in print news consumption. During Covid-19 it has become an acceleration on steroids, with many publications going under, digital news moving swiftly behind paywalls and news media being seen as an essential service.
Digital media continues to evolve as new tools emerge and consumers make new demands on where and how they consume news. Technology sits front and centre of news coverage with the rise of mobile video, virtual reality (VR), augmented reality (AR), and the more advanced use of data analytics across both broadcast and digital news platforms.
John Bailey, managing editor of eNCA, said ‘technology has led to ‘breaking news’ being re-framed, with iterations and builds on breaking news content happening in minutes and hours and not over long periods of time. It has led to eNCA and other news organisations integrating social media as a part of our news-gathering networks, improving our methods of news verification and being innovative in how news stories are told.’
News media players particularly in South Africa with less bureaucracy to contend with, have been agile and are able to share news in real time through tech-enabled on the ground reporting, livestreaming and heightened audience engagement. User generated content has been amplified and moves seamlessly across social and broadcast news platforms.
‘At eNCA, for example, we have enhanced our coverage through the use of AR and have overcome lockdown restrictions by using virtual communication platforms. Our journalists and technical teams have had to learn fast and implement quickly to ensure that our viewers receive quality news content. Today news content is built on accuracy, speed and relevance.’, Bailey said.
Additional technological tools such as drones for live news coverage and the use of virtual reality to depict moments that tell a story in a more personal and distinctive way, are some of the trends to look forward to.
