Name: The New Front Page
Author: Tim Dunlop

What’s in it for me? Step into the new media landscape.

For the majority of the twentieth century, the media was dominated by a handful of enormous media conglomerates that practically had a monopoly on what was reported to the public.

The advent of the internet changed this forever. Business models that had worked for decades suddenly didn’t cut it anymore and newspapers saw their subscription numbers plummet as more and more consumers turned to online sources.

Today, many newspapers are on their knees, desperately trying to find new ways to compete. Some people worry that this is the end of truthful and balanced reporting. But this shift has also triggered exciting innovations and, in many ways, the media landscape today is more varied and democratic than ever before.

In these blinks, you’ll learn

why the media audience is no longer a mere product;
why the idea of a fourth estate isn’t all it’s cracked up to be; and
how the line between producer and consumer began to blur.

As the media landscape shifted, audiences went from being powerless products to influential customers.

Whether you’re turning on the television or firing up your web browser, you have a wide variety of channels to get your news from. These days, this is something people take for granted. But let’s not forget that it’s a relatively recent development.

Before the commercialization of the internet, there were a handful of media corporations that sought an audience for one primary reason: to sell advertising space.

The corporations were essentially factories, creating products designed to be appealing to advertisers with big bank accounts. And the bigger the audience, the more money they could charge.

Whether it was programming for radio, television or newspapers, the aim was always the same: maximize the profits.

In this sense, the audience wasn’t so much a conglomerate of customers as a component of the product itself. But now the audience is no longer a voiceless mass; today, it’s composed of true customers.

As the internet grew, audiences were given the ability to pick and choose where they got their news and entertainment – and, as a result, the big media outlets lost their power.

Every day there were new websites and blogs offering articles, videos and instant updates. People no longer had to rely on individual news providers for everything. They could now pick and choose.

What’s more, rather than being a passive audience, people had the power to start their own blog or website and become their own news provider.

The time was ripe for this transformation. In the early aughts, bloggers became a popular source of news as the war in Iraq dragged on and turbulent presidential elections unfolded.

And while this was going on, social media sites like Twitter and Facebook began allowing people to compile their own “front page” made up of these various online news publications.

Today, media companies are under increasing strain to hold onto their audience. These companies do this by engaging with their audience and using audience opinion to create more desirable content – which means that, radically, the audience is no longer just a means to an end.

With the introduction of Blogads, internet media and its audience grew more powerful and influential.

As the big media giants of the twentieth century made apparent, the amount of power and influence they were able to wield depended on the amount of advertising money they were able to generate. And as the websites of the new media became increasingly popular, they’ve found themselves in a similar position.

But unlike the old media, the new media didn’t begin selling ad space. Instead, they derived income – and thus power – from Blogads.

The public now plays a vital role in which stories are reported on and how they are covered.

Even though the lines have blurred between “blogging” and “journalism,” one thing is clear: media outlets are no longer closed and exclusive systems. Just a couple of decades ago, journalists wrote stories to a largely voiceless audience. It’s now impossible not to hear the voices of this mass of people – and they’re included every step of the way.

Many of the big media outlets even bring their audience into the newsroom.

Key ideas in The New Front Page

About the Author

Tim Dunlop, a pioneer of political blogging in Australia, currently writes for The Drum. His websites, Blogocracy and The Road to Surfdom led him to be the first blogger in the nation to be hired by a major media organization. He also holds a PhD in political philosophy and communication and teaches at Melbourne University.