In the near future, will video eventually replace photo?

Throughout the years, photography and video have existed alongside each other with their own strengths. However, it seems that video is slowly replacing photos. Read the details here.

Below are some questions that you might like to ask yourself:

• How is this development going to affect my career (as a media professional)?
• How does this change affect/impact the field of journalism?
• What is the future of photojournalism?
• Will there ever be a day where one is able to work as a “videojournalist”? And how do you define the profession of “videojournalism”?
• Should video replace photo, what aspects of photojournalism will be lost?

The old media and new media are converging in recent years. Just take a look at the newspapers. Some papers are publishing pictures sent in by citizen journalists via the internet. Some comments from movie reviews are also retrieved online. Readers of some newspapers are also able to submit their comments to the paper’s forum section via email. 

The same can be said of magazines, many of which have both a print and online edition. Just think of Newsweek and Time magazine. For some magazines, readers are also encouraged to visit the magazine’s official website via a specific web address (URL) to check out on updated online content. This is one of the strongest indicator that print is no longer able to keep up with the internet when it comes to information updates.  Another example will be the announcement of Oscar winners online. While the radio used to be a good medium for the announcement of the results, people are now going online to check the outcome. And this is very convenient for online users who have internet access.

With this media convergence, consider the following:

• What does this media convergence means to you, both as a media consumer and a media professional?
• What insights can you draw from this recent media development?
• What are the implications of this media convergence?

As the internet becomes more prominent globally, the media is soon realising that it has to change to keep pace with it. This is especially so for news content. While it has solely been the privilege of the media to provide news content to the world in the past, the internet has supplanted the media in recent years in this aspect. Just think of news by bloggers and updates on news forums. While the media has been the bridge that has given us access to news at the other end of the world, the internet has taken over the role with global bloggers and forum users. Moving the news online has been the media’s latest move. Just look at our local Razor TV, where there’s a live programme and videos-on-demand (VOD) are available for online viewing. 

Mediacorp has decided to go beyond print when it comes to its magazines with both web-based and television initiatives. You can read about it here. At the same time, four titles will cease publication, namely Lime, Vanilla, Electronic Gaming Monthly (EGM) and Kids Company (although some of the titles may come back as online editions). With the media moving magazine titles online, it will be good at this point in time to ponder about the following questions:

• Will the internet be the primary platform for the media in the years to come? If so, in what ways are you able to contribute to this growing sector?
• What are the differences between print media and online media?
• What can you foresee about the face of the media in 10-15 years’ time?
• Will the provision of bloggers’ information be able to compare with those provided by the media in the near future (where currently, some bloggers’ credibility is still questioned)?
• In recent years, the media seems to be shifting its business from print to online (with some titles on both platforms). What are the advantages and disadvantages in this?
• In the abovementioned article, it’s mentioned that Mediacorp has came up with a software EasyReader which synchronises and downloads content from any internet connection. It is believed to be the first in Asia. How do you think that this software will change the ways that people make use of the media?

The media is evolving and it will be useful if you continue to keep a tab on its development, considering that all of you are media students.

In the meantime, have an enjoyable learning experience in school.

Dear students,

I will like to introduce you to a website for journalists, which is Poynter.org. This is a website that was first introduced to me when I am still a student taking Mass Communication studies. I find it to be a very good resource for journalists and for those of you who wish to join the media sector.

Below are some interesting sections of the website that you might find interesting:

• Design / Graphics:  For those of you who are into the visual arts as well as page layout and design, you might like to explore this section to gain more insights into the intrinsic workings of the visual artists.  Some interesting links include this link where photographers bring art to life. This  link  provides you with some insights into what makes good newspaper layout and design.  
• Photojournalism:  As the title implies, this section takes a look at various aspects of photojournalism.  Some interesting links will be this where a photographer Mona Reeder provides her take on photojournalism. More noteworthy is her perspectives on the qualities of being a news photographer and her advice to all aspiring news photographers. Another interesting link provides a visual treat for enthusiasts of photography.
• Writing/Editing: For this section, this interesting link enables readers to see life through the eyes of a journalist through a comprehensive interview. This link  highlights the outsourcing of editors to India, China and the Philippines and questions the standard in news editing.

There are many useful and interesting resources for journalists and media professionals, so do have a look at the website and hopefully, learn something from it.  

Dear Class,

The media industry- like all other things in life- is constantly changing. And as media professionals in the near future, it will be good for all of you to be adaptable and to be able to cope with changes.

It’s also good to get an experience of working with deadlines as several professions in the media industry  (such as journalists, writers and editors) do require one to work under such conditions. Many media professionals love their job and the reason that they are able to excel in their line of work is primarily because they have the passion to do it and working with deadlines often provides them with an adrenaline rush  to see their valued work come to fruition.

It will be good to realise that media professionals work towards what their target audience wants to see and read, and not what the media professionals themselves want. Understanding this perspective is crucial to the success of media organisations and subsequently, the media professionals themselves. 

Below are some of my thoughts on the areas that that all of you are able to develop:

-          Writing Style: Develop a strong curiosity of what is happening around you. Develop a strong thirst for knowledge. Identify the trends in the media industry. What do media consumers want? During your leisure time, keep a personal journal and pen your thoughts frequently. This practice is similar to what you have been doing for your reflection journal. This will help you improve your writing style. So, do develop a writing style of your own. Most successful writers have a distinct writing style. You can be one of them.

-          Photography / Page Design and Layout: Browse through all types of magazines and mentally “digest” the images on the various pages.   Observe the various angles that images are captured. Do you see a pattern? What are the common types of photographs? Subsequently, take your own pictures and develop your own style.  You can also cut out photographs from your used magazines. Gather the photographs together and base on a theme of your preference (such as “Courage”), selectively choose the photographs of the same thematic element by putting them together and separating them into sets. Now move one set of photographs to a piece of A4-sized paper and move the photographs around on the piece of paper.   Practice moving them in different directions and at different angles. Try stacking one part of a photograph on another. Tile them at different angles. Which of these arrangements have a stronger visual feel/appeal? Why? Doing all this will enable you to seek out common patterns in images, familiarise you with the art of photography as well as improving your foundations for page design and layout. It’s interesting to note that a single, well-selected photograph is impactful. However, having several photographs of the same thematic elements  arranged in  an appropriate and creative way adds a lot more punch to the message that you want to convey to your viewers/readers.  

For page design and layout, there are 6 primary factors that you need to take into considerations:

-        Emphasis   (e.g. placing a dark image on a white background etc)

-        Contrast   (e.g. using strong colours of different contrast to draw the viewer’s attention)

-        Balancing (e.g. Ensuring that the elements on the page are all balanced. That is, there should not be a situation where there is five images on the left side of a page while the right side is blank)

-         Alignment: (This has more to do with text than images, such as aligning the text left, centre or right)

-         Repetition: (Repeating visuals elements such as lines, font type, font size etc. has the ability to enable the readers to retain the information that they have read or seen)

-         Balancing:  (Such as the rational way of aligning the photographs from left to right)

A great visual layout and design usually fulfils all the abovementioned 6 factors. Do also build up your knowledge of typography. Changing the font types can also change the impact of the message.