Americans can agree that living in the digital age comes with many conveniences. Whether they want their favorite meals delivered to their doorsteps or to overnight an outfit to wear the next day, there is an app for that. Unsurprisingly, this convenience also shows up in the way that we consume news.
The minute that something newsworthy takes place, you can almost bet that there will be someone streaming the event live or sharing real-time updates about it. And for the first time in our lives, we are living in a time where information is literally at our fingertips.
But this was not always the case. In fact, if you were to go back to 1820 and tell a then-American about the life we live now, they would probably be shocked by the simplicity of our times. So, how did we get to this point? Let’s find out.
The Changing Media Landscape
As things stand now, almost anyone can be a news source. After all, with a smartphone and internet access, you can share your story with the world and garner an audience, which is what many people have resorted to doing on social media whenever they encounter a problem that they need help sorting out. But like we said, this is a modern-day convenience. So, how about we go back to when this was not a possibility? Let’s look at how the media changed over the years.
Newspapers
While most people can access newspapers online in this age, there was a time when newspapers were only for the elite merchants and politicians. We are talking about the early 19th Century. Back then, print media focused on essays targeted at merchants and politicians for two reasons. First, printing the papers was expensive, and they thus had a small clientele. Secondly, the literacy rates were low, and most people were thus not interested in buying the papers.
From the 1830s, several changes took place that made the newspapers the go-to for many Americans. Not only did the invention of steam-driven printing presses reduce the printing costs, but access to public education increased, as did the population in urban areas. Soon enough, publishers realized that they could tap into a whole new market by printing interesting reports, such as on local crimes, sports, and other events that intrigued the general public. And before they knew it, many Americans had built a morning routine that hinged on getting their morning paper.
Radio
While newspapers had become quite popular in the 19th Century, their distribution was hampered by various obstacles, including lengthy printing cycles, a reliance on physical means of transport, and so on. For example, if a major event happened in the afternoon, people would not know about it until the next day when their newsboy dropped off the paper. So, often, people were not in the know of some really important events.
So, when the Golden Age of Radio came about in the 1930s, people were over the moon. After all, thanks to the use of electromagnetic waves, news stations were now able to deliver news in real time, which led to the birth of live radio broadcasts from the scene of the event. People loved radio as they got to experience the events as they happened, whether they were listening to presidents delivering their speeches or tuning in to live reports on world events. With the noise and emotions playing out in real time, people got to be part of the events, and as a result, news stations found themselves turning to deeper analyses of the events so as to engage their audiences, who now expected more coverage of events.
Television
Radio had changed the world of news, but nothing could have prepared Americans for televised news. Not only were they getting audio narrations as they had on the radio, but they were now able to watch the events from the comfort of their homes. Whether they were watching political matches, receiving updates on wars, or even following stories on local crimes, they saw it all play out in front of them. Television also had a unifying effect. With millions of Americans tuning in to watch the same historical events at the end of the day, they got to share in these emotional experiences, which played a part in bringing them together.
What Changed in the 21st Century?
Up until the 1990s, Americans had gotten accustomed to getting their news via radio, television, or newspaper. But towards the end of the 20th Century, the invention of the internet changed things because now, people could access the news online. And the more that they got access to the internet, the more it became obvious to news stations that they had to adapt to the changing tides. So, how did they do it?
Newspapers felt the hit of the declining ad revenues as marketers started investing in online ads. But rather than shut their doors, newspapers adapted by taking their news online, where people could access the same information at a fee. Some of them launched mobile apps, others came up with subscription models, and others integrated various paywalls to ensure that even though they were now online, they were still raking in profits.
Radio stations also had to adapt. While many Americans were happy to tune in to radio stations on their way to work, many of them wanted more than background chatter. As such, many stations moved on to podcasts and satellite radio that allowed them to invest in niche audiences.
And while television faced a lot of competition from social media news channels, cable networks were still able to cater to their growing audiences by moving away from the traditional news models. Rather than having presenters take over the segments, they started leaning into opinion pieces as well as sensationalizing breaking news in order to engage their audiences.
At the same time, social media platforms witnessed the growth of citizen journalism, where more people stepped into the limelight to share their sides of the story. Americans wholeheartedly embraced this as it did away with the gatekeeping that had existed for centuries in traditional news media, where only the media houses had the power to share a narrative. Social media also made it possible for stories to make it to the rest of the world, thus enabling Americans to not only share what is happening in the US but also keep up with what is going on in other parts of the world. But as you would expect, with social media, this has served as a double-edged sword. On one hand, Americans get to participate in the spread of verified news. On the other hand, they get to take part in spreading or receiving misinformation, and this has led to a whole new concern.
The Collaboration between Old and New Media Platforms
One would think that with the coming of social media and other digital media platforms, Americans would have phased out traditional news models. But that is not quite so. If anything, the two now work hand-in-hand and for good reasons. To start with, different generations have different media habits. Most people in the older generations still prefer to sit down with a good paper, listen to the radio, or watch TV. But younger people are quite fine with following the news on social media. Therefore, there is no one-size-fits-all platform. Secondly, lifestyles dictate which news models work best for people. Busy people may prefer digital alerts on their phones, while people who have time on their hands may prefer to wind down with a paper or a podcast. Budgets also matter. Some people have no problem paying for subscriptions, while others would rather access free news.
Thanks to these reasons, most news organizations have branched out into various models to ensure that they are serving various markets based on their wants and needs. It also means that Americans get to enjoy a wide range of options, which allows them to assess the credibility of their news sources instead of just taking their word for it.