New Media: The 24/7 Age of Infotainment and the Compromise of the News Media

What is News? Everyday decisions are made on what stories to cover, how to approach news coverage and decide what stories are more newsworthy than others. The increase in tabloid journalism, the popularization of blogs and an increased demand to constantly be updated on the news has made it even harder to define the line between news and gossip. News is no longer something you read in the morning newspapers or catch on the 6pm nightly news. It is a 24 hours a day, 7 days a week stream of information. The ethical decision facing the news industry now is simply the question, "What is news?"

The constant coverage on the internet, radio and television, known as New Media, has led to the decline in Old Media, which includes television networks, newspapers and news-magazines (Berkowitz, 2007). This decline of Old Media and rise of New Media has created a stream of information and the demand to be constantly updated, which has led to a mix of facts with rumor. The New Media has also resulted in an increased interest in entertainment news and gossip. Some say we have forgotten what it means to be a journalist and that "the words "public service" do not even get lip service, much less "sacred trust." What content? Any content-anything that will keep the pipeline from running dry. Is it accurate? Maybe. Who's to say? News is what fills the pipeline (Bettag, 2006)."