Journalism today

With the presence of new advance technologies, newspapers and print journalism have been gradually changing over the years. Before, a reporter would be given a lead and they need to went outside in order for them to get news. Today, we can see that many stories are receiving received third hand interference or opinions through Facebook posts or Tweets so by the time a story is assigned to the reporters, the story has already become some news that are known to the public. The reporter now has to take that into consideration and probably need to find a new angle of the story to be covered as a news. Read more...

 People consuming news via the Internet or apps are becoming more than those who do so by buying a hardcopy of the traditional newspapers. Not only that, Internet has also changed people’s perceptions of the news media. We can see that the existences of news portal and news online sites are becoming more and more, thus making it easy for us to get information. We can access to news around us within just seconds. With the easy access of information, credibility of the news becomes a questions. Have you guys ever wonder where do all the news came from and whether the source is trustable or not? And what does it takes for you to trust a news before you decide to share the news in your social media accounts?

Reference: https://sites.duke.edu/english109s_02_s2012/2012/04/24/journalism-in-the-digital-age-an-infographic/

News blog, an online-only news site and online counterpart of print newspaper.

1) news blog

Malaysian Must Know The Truth http://malaysiansmustknowthetruth.blogspot.my/

Malaysian Must Know The Truth is a news Blogspot shared by several bloggers (editor) who provide news by sharing news content from other news agency. We have found that MMKTT has less credibility in producing and providing news to their readers.  According to Meyer (1988), to be credible is to offer reasonable grounds for being believed. To make people believe that the news is not a fake news, it must come from a legitimate news site.  Since everyone can use the blog as their personal journal, political blogs or even entertainment blog, the blog has less credibility in delivering news to the public.  This is because the news could be inaccurate or bias toward one party.

The good practice of this blog is that they allowed readers to comment on news.  The online readers can comment on the news openly without having to subscribe to the blog.

2) an online-only news site

Malaysia Kini  http://www.malaysiakini.com/

Malaysiakini is an online-only news site in Malaysia that covered mostly political news in the country.   Malaysiakini claims to be an independent news agency and free from government regulation.  However, although they claims to be an independent news portal, they were acknowledge by the government for being pro-opposition.  Thus, the news reported will not be balance as it will favoured the opposition party.

      It is the same as the print newspaper.  All stories must have at least two sides.  Therefore, it is the reporter’s job to present a balanced story to the readers.  One-sided news reporting happened when the writer put an unfair or one-sided opinion on the story. This is a bad practice for online news as it does not tell us the whole story or giving us a fair account of what happened. 

The good practice of Malaysiakini is that they plays an important role as the fourth estate.  Basically the fourth estate or also known as fourth power refer to the news media.  So far, Malaysiakini plays their role in keeping government in check by keeping the public informed.

     

For an online-only news site like Malaysiakini, only subscribers can sign in and comment on the news posted on the site.  By being a subscriber, they can give comment on all news story.  Non-subscriber has a limited privilege as they can only read the news and could not participate in the comment section.

3) online counterpart of a print newspaper

The Star Online http://www.thestar.com.my/

The Star Online is one of the most popular online sites in Malaysia.  It is own by the Malaysian Chinese Association(MCA), a component party of Barisan Nasional.

The good practice of The Star Online is that they provide a fair and unbiased news.  

For The Star Online, the online counterpart of The Star Newspaper, they allowed readers to express their emotions by asking how do you feel, and the reason why the readers feel so.  There is a limited conversation or discussion between readers on the news story.

 3) Which sites would you recommend to other people and why?

I would like to recommend Malaysian to read The Star Online.  This is because, The Star Online news sites is a credible news site.  Besides that, The Star Online able to deliver an accurate, not bias news to the public.  Therefore, I would suggest readers to read The Star as their main news sources.  

Reference

Meyer, P. (1988). Defining and measuring credibility of newspapers: Developing an index. Journalism Quarterly, 65(3), 567-574.

"The Star Online is the most visited news portal in Malaysia". The Star Online. 17 October 2013. Retrieved 26 January 2014.

Digital divide

Digital divide is a term that used to define the hole amongst socioeconomics and districts that have admittance to present day data and correspondence innovation, and those that don’t or have confined get to. This innovation can incorporate the phone, TV, PCs and the web such as Internet.

Extensively, the distinction is not really controlled by the access to the Internet, however by the access to ICT (Information and Communications Technologies) and to Media that the diverse sections of society can utilize. Concerning the Internet, the get to is just a single angle, different variables, for example, the nature of association and related administrations ought to be considered. Today the most talked about issue is the accessibility of the entrance at a reasonable cost and quality.

According to Warschauer (2002), offered an alternative approach suggesting that in addition to the physical sides of access, other factors such as content, language, literacy, education and institutional structures must also be taken into consideration when assessing the level of information and communication technology use in a community.

Before the late 20th century, digital divide alluded predominantly to the division between those with and without phone access: after the late 1990s the term started to be utilized principally to portray the split between those with and without web get to, especially broadband.

The digital divide regularly exists between those in urban and rural areas. This includes between the educated and the uneducated, socioeconomic group, and, all inclusive, between the more and less industrialized countries. Indeed, even among populations with some entrance to innovation, the computerized partition can be obvious as lower-execution PC, low speed of remote and wireless connections, bring down estimated connections, for example, dial-up, and restricted access to subscription-based.

In different countries, access to the phone framework was viewed as such a crucial component, to the point that administrations actualize different strategies to offer affordable telephone service. Sadly, a few countries have insufficient telephone lines. For example, Malaysia; in East Malaysia and Borneo Malaysia, the percentage of internet access is very limited. It includes Kelantan, Terengganu, Sabah and Sarawak where there are some areas that are not well-developed under the ICT context.

As for the index;

References

M. R. (2014, June). What is digital divide? - Definition from WhatIs.com. Retrieved March 19, 2017, from http://whatis.techtarget.com/definition/digital-divide


Digital Divide - ICT Information Communications Technology. (2016, September 12). Retrieved March 19, 2017, from http://www.internetworldstats.com/links10.htm

Online Privacy, A Fraud?

          Recently, WikiLeaks had announced by storm that the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) can turn Smartphones and TVs into spying remote spying devices (ABC News, March 8, 2017). Just when we get too comfortable with our lives posting selfies and stuffs, we are unaware that even without all those, we are still under surveillance. Thus, technology does making our private life becomes not safe and in danger of too much exposure. We learned about the Panopticon.






          So, do we take into account our concern on privacy when we engaged in communication technology? Based on an international research from Verint Systems, “the top consumer agenda is that related with concerns around data privacy and security” (Netimperative, March 9, 2017). That statements means that 9 in 10 consumers are worry about online privacy. Wonder why online privacy matters, watch the YouTube video on a TED talks below, for more understanding;








The phenomenon of we communicate with each other via any electronic and digital devices is also can be called the Internet of Things (IoT). According to McMahon (2015), those devices "use sensors to record information about people or objects, communicate accross different programming languages, and even begin to analyze collected data, which can then be transmitted back to people or other devices. (p. 8) One of the example is Fitbit, a watch for fitness puposes that can detect everything about our healt status such as heartbeat rate, our bodyis' level of dehydration, and also it can monitor our sleep quality, measuring the calory intake everytime we eat or drink and so on. Now, a valuable stuff like this is often comes with a risk. One of the risk is that someone might steal it and every personal data that the owner had put inside is exposed.


There is a way to ensure yourself to be more protected even though not perfectly but at least there are some ways that can makes the spooks' job harder. One of the way is by turning off settings that we do not need (ABC News, March 8, 2017). if one of you wants to be a teacher some days, below is a diagram of top 10 things that you should tell your students about social media privacy.




Therefore, I conclude that we have to like it or not to be careful when engaging in Internet of Things (IoT) because who knows some day that we will be an important public figure and one thing that will we worried the most is digital privacy and safety. Also, advancing ourselves in using and understanding technology is important in this era, in fact everyone should learn the skills to safely used digital technology, since cyber crime is no longer an alien.



References:

Blake, P., (March 8, 2017). The spy device in your pocket. ABC News. Retrieved from http://abcnews.go.com/Technology/spy-device-pocket/story?id=45997099

Grubbs, A.D., (2011). Privacy law and the Internet using Faceook.com as a case study. University of Tennessee Honors Thesis Projects. Retrieved from
http://trace.tennessee.edu/utk_chanhonoproj/1369

Markula Center For Applied Ethics., (February 8, 2013). Case study on online privacy: An Ethics Case Study. Santa Clara University. Retrieved from https://www.scu.edu/ethics/privacy/case-study-on-online-privacy/

McMahon, S., (2015). Internet of Things: A privacy law case study. University of Georgia Law. Retrieved from http://digitalcommons.law.uga.edu/stu_papers/1

Computer-mediated Communication

CMC is the use of computer based on tools such email, computer conferencing, which for the purpose of human interaction. And the face-to-face communication is not only the way people can communicate which CMC provide other way to communicate with other. CMC made communication easier for people who have a busy schedule.  

According to Lengel (1984) , the theory on CMC began with an assumption that many management problems are difficult and complex; hence formal information is not rich enough to convey adequate insight and understanding.

In my opinion, the computer mediated messages are inappropriate or ineffective for exchanges in which interpersonal exchanges is needed because the medium provides the information.

According to Jones, 1995, CMC may be Impersonal, growing numbers of report are appearing that reflect more personal CMC interaction, sometimes just a personal as face-to-face interaction even describing interaction that surpasses in some interpersonal aspect.

From the table above, every medium have different capability or ability to deliver the messages. It is all about the effectiveness that each media brings. For example, written posts in social media could not provide the fact how the writer actually feels or their expression is. We do not know their tone in their message. Thus, we could say the effectiveness in delivering the message is low.

However the media such as the telephone and “voice note” is a two-way communication and you could interpret the other party’s tone but you can’t exactly interpret their expression.

While for me video conferencing is the most effective because you could eventually see and hear the person clearly. For example, Skype and Face time.

References

Lengel, R.H.,& Draft, R.L (1984). An exploratory analysis of the relationship between media richness and managerial information processing.College Station, TX: Department of management, Texax A & M University.

Jones, S.(1995).  CyberSociety: computer-mediated communication and community. Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage Publication

Richie bin Dapar Jafar (48791)

The Pros and Cons of Computer mediated communication

Nowadays, most of our time were spent on using technology.  When it comes to computer-mediated communication(CMC), I immediately think of social media such as Facebook, WhatsApp, and others.  This is because people nowadays prefer to communicate using social media rather than face-to-face communication.  A study by Drago (2015) suggests that people are becoming more reliant on communicating with friends and family through technology and are neglecting to engage personally. 

CMC like social media plays their role effectively in enhancing the flow of communication.  However, CMC also reduce the quality of communication as it lacks nonverbal cues in online communication.  So, basically, CMC has both advantages and disadvantages.

As what we learn from the lecture, computer-mediated communication is any human communication that occurs through the use of two or more electronic devices.   Basically, it can occur in the form of instant messaging, email, chat rooms, online forums, and other social network services.  

There are two types of computer-mediated communication which are synchronous and asynchronous

To understand more about the two type of CMC, please look at the picture below.

Advantages

So, here are some of the advantages of CMC. 

CMC is not place and time dependence.  Unlike face to face communication that requires people to be in close physical proximity when talking, computer-mediated communication is place-independent.  As explained by Althaus (1997) computer mediated communication takes place in cyberspace, in which individuals can access files, read mail, and talk to one another.  Computer-mediated communication makes it possible for people from different part of the world to send and receive messages at any time and anywhere they want.  As people communicate through the internet, there is no need for people to attend physically during the communication processes. 

Computer-mediated communication can create a unique environment for discussion that avoids many of the conversational limitations posed by face-to-face communication (McComb, 1994).  Unlike in traditional classroom where face-to-face discussion must take place during classroom time, people especially student have more time to respond to a discussion when they are convenient.  Just like in a traditional classroom, a student is able to interact with the lecturer and other student as well.  It also help student who are shy to express their opinion on topic discussed.

Disadvantages
CMC are lack of paralinguistic cues.  Paralinguistic cues refers to nonverbal element such as body posture, gesture, and facial expression that contribute meaning to verbal communication.  In an online communication, user can express their facial expression by using emotion icon or also known as emoticon.  However, emoticon alone cannot represent the others nonverbal element.

To understand more about computer-mediated communication, here is a video that might help to explain the basic concept of CMC and the advantages and disadvantages of CMC.

References
Althaus, S.  L.  (1997).  Computer-mediated communication in the university classroom:  An experiment with on-line discussions.

Drago, E.  (2015).  The effect of technology on face-to-face communication.  Elon Journal of Undergraduate Research in Communications, 6(1).

McComb, M.  (1994).  Benefits of computer-mediated communication in college courses.  Communication Education, 43(2), 159-170.

Komunikasi Yang Berkesan

Komunikasi Pengantara Komputer atau Computer Mediated Communication (CMC) merupakan proses penggunaan komunikasi manusia yang terjadi melalui dua atau lebih dengan sistem rangkaian telekomunikasi. Interaksi CMC ini terjadi dalam berjenis-jenis rangkaian teknologi dan perisian-perisian komputer termasuk Email, Perbualan dalam internet, Mesej Pesanan Ringkas dan senarai perkhidmatan email.

Sememangnya, teknologi CMC ini amat menjimatkan kos dan masa terutamanya dalam organisasi IT dengan kemudahan menggunakan kesemua format komunikasi.

Sumber: https://www.techopedia.com/definition/392/computer-mediated-communication-cmc.

Oleh itu, dalam kehidupan seharian saya sendiri mengalami bagaimana komunikasi bentuk CMC ini terjadi serta saya dapat merasai bagaimana penggunaannya dalam kehidupan seharian untuk berhubung dengan keluarga, kawan-kawan, adik-beradik dan orang lain. Sebenarnya saya lebih bersetuju bahawa komunikasi secara bermuka adalah komunikasi paling berjaya kerana kita sendiri dapat melihat serta memerhati bagaimana riak muka orang yang sedang berbicara, intonasi suara yang berkombinasi dengan gerak bahasa badan dan lain-lain. Pengalaman saya apabila ingin bercakap dengan orang saya sendiri menggunakan aplikasi Whatsapp untuk berhubung bertanyakan khabar atau berkongsikan informasi dan hal ini telah tenggelamkan komunikasi secara bermuka dan saya tidak bertentangan mata dengan orang yang dibicarakan. Namun begitu, zaman moden ini terdapat banyak aplikasi terbaru seperti Skype, Chatroulette dan lain-lain panggilan video yang menunjukkan komunikasi secara bermuka. Konsepnya sama dengan realiti berkomunikasi cuma ia dalam bentuk rangkaian dan begitulah pengalaman saya dalam menggunakan CMC ini pada masa sekarang.

Teori CMC dapat menyebabkan bermacam perubahan bagaimana manusia dapat berkomunikasi satu sama lain dan juga mempengaruhi pola komunikasi serta jaringan sosial mereka (Fulk & Collins-Jarvis, 2001). Saya bersetuju dengan teori ini kerana saya sendiri dapat merasakan bagaimana apabila kita berkomunikasi secara bukan bermuka ia dapat merenggangkan hubungan sosial manusia walaupun pada dasarnya saya berkomunikasi dengan orang tersebut namun ia tetap merencatkan hubungan saya dengan orang yang dibicarakan kerana komunikasi bermuka adalah paling berkesan dibandingkan dengan komunikasi secara atas talian.