Impacts of digital journalism on Balochistan press
Syed Muhammad Qaseem
Technology changed the map of journalism, Mobile and other technologies are playing a role as a catalyst in the digital evolution. Social media applications and news websites have changed the shape of the transfer of news from publishers to people.
If we compare digital with print media, so digital media is more efficient because it is less costly and less time-consuming. With one click you can edit and post the news on multiple websites. As digital journalism came now everyone with a smartphone can perform as a journalist and shares his or her opinion freely.
That’s why peoples’ dependency on traditional/ formal media is decreasing.
IMPACT OF COVID-19 ON PEOPLE
2020 was a shocking year for every field of life. All of the governmental and non-governmental institutions remain closed. In the lockdown, every news was available on smartphones which changed our habit to watch mobile phones rather than TV and read newspapers on pdf rather than hard copies.
IMPACTS ON TRADITIONAL JOURNALISM IN Balochistan
More than 150 newspapers are being published from the province. Only a few have switched towards digital journalism and the majority preferred the old/ outdated style. Their 100 percent dependency is on official advertisements. The publishers and owners have not been able to generate revenue through digital media.
National media has already scaled down its presence in terms of manpower and equipment when it comes to Balochistan. However, the local press and journalists are yet to recognize the growing impact of digital journalism.
The traditional media has a big disadvantage in that sometimes it doesn’t run news that has fewer
viewers. Only those publishers can survive who have transferred to websites and have the
skills to catch subscriptions.
THE YEAR 2021
The year 2021 will bring a mega change in journalism, the business of every TV channel or newspaper will be shifted to subscriptions. Only a few journalists with talent will be accepted
while others will lose their jobs.
Most of the newsrooms will be empty because it is possible to make newspapers, reports, live programs from their bedrooms. Every office will need a small number of key staff.
The publishers who still depend on print advertisements will face a difficult year because of closures and cost cuttings.
More than 75 percent of Editors and CEOs say that the lockdown has boosted their plan for
digital change. Their business is accelerated because they provide news faster than ever with
only one click.
5G OUTBREAK
5G will bring new faster devices. The 5G will make it possible to connect more devices at a time which will make data transfer quicker and will make our dream true of smart homes, smart cities, and automation in cars, etc. In 2021 more than 600 million mobiles will be 5G enabled. The 5G will improve mobile reporting and will make it easier to make packages from any location, a report by the Reuters foundation reveals.
CONCLUSION
Amid mushroom growth of technology, the world is becoming smarter in which human beings
are totally dependent on machines. A lot of the people will be jobless, and they will be blaming
governments. This year will be decisive for the publishers to get out of the crisis and increase
their number of subscriptions.
Impacts of digital journalism on Balochistan press
The author is a student of the software engineering department BUITEMS
