A CRITIQUE ON A MULTIMEDIA STORY FROM CNN.COM

Multimedia is media and content that uses a combination of different content forms. This contrasts with media that uses only rudimentary computer displays such as text-only and traditional forms of printed or hand-produced material. Multimedia includes a combination of text, audio, still images, animation, video, or interactivity content forms.

The article and multimedia content we have chosen to review is from the CNN (Cable Network News) website by Diane McCarthy, Michael Pearson and Ed Payne: http://edition.cnn.com/2013/02/20/world/africa/south-africa-pistorius-case/index.html?hpt=hp_t1

This multimedia piece makes use of the following content forms, which are text, video, slide shows, related links and audio, hence making it a professionally treated multimedia element. It qualifies as a good multimedia story because it is a complex story, difficult to be explained through text alone. It also offers an interactive experience for the visitors as there was room for them to comment on the story. The slide shows had captions on them which made them interesting but had no soundtrack which would have been more interesting. The related links located on the right side of the website were useful as it enlightened people on other aspects of Oscar Pistorius’ life which some people may not have been aware of.

The article is divided into sections, each section taking on a sub-head. The text content is clean and well-written as it gives detailed explanation of every idea they want to impact visually. Although some parts are inappropriate because of the disorganization of paragraphs. The blog theme is professional hence does not distract readers from the text.

The right side of the page contains ads and links to other popular stories of interest on the website. The page is linked to social networks such as Facebook, Twitter and In-share. This is appropriate as it enables proper dissemination of information to a larger audience. Comments below the article show that communication has taken place (immediate feedback).

CNN is among the world’s leaders in online news and information delivery as it brings different news from around the world using interactive media.

 

THE CHALLENGES AND PROSPECTS OF ONLINE JOURNALISM IN NIGERIA

 

Globalisation like a wave has swept the whole world in its tide, therefore no profession can afford to be left behind nor can any ignore the importance of the internet. Online journalism is defined as the reporting of facts when produced and distributed via the internet by journalists who work for mainstream market driven news organisations. Online journalism though a relatively new phenomenon is the development of journalism in Nigeria.

In Nigeria, online journalism started as some newspapers, radios, television stations created websites in which they transferred what was already on print to the internet. They did not bother to change the news or make it more interesting. Unlike print newspapers there are minimum restrictions when it comes to online journalism, with practically anyone being able to start up their own form of online newspaper.

The challenges of online journalism constitute poor electricity supply and incessant power outages which appears to be second nature to Nigeria. Also, the high level of illiteracy in Nigeria is a major barrier to the development of online journalism especially computer illiteracy. This makes it difficult for those who even have access to the internet, unable to utilise it. Another, challenge in the online journalism industry in Nigeria is not as lucrative as it should be. Prospective online journalists tend to invest a lot of time and capital into the development of their business but do not yield the expected profit because the existing firms solely dominate the industry hence accumulating all the profit. This discourages promising journalists from joining the market.

In spite of all these challenges, some of the major Nigerian newspapers that are online include the Guardian newspaper, www.ngrguardiannews.com , This Day newspaper, www.thisdayonline.com. However, online journalism has very promising prospects. The findings reveal that online journalism will create an informative society and increase the number of internet users in the country as they look for a way out in satisfying their quest to know the happenings around them. According to Don Tap Scott, a business executive and author, “We are heading towards a world with a global digital internet worked infrastructure that can support the majority of business and leisure activities. In this age, there will be little need for corporations to have physical manifestation; in place of the large corporate campus will be a network of ‘molecules’ that can perform functions as cheaply and efficiently as possible”

In order to have an effective and efficient system of online journalism in Nigeria, journalists in collaboration with the government must be steeped into the idea of creating roles of development communicator so as to ensure that Nigerian journalists exceed the standard level of production and dissemination of news online. With all the problems and challenges of online journalism in Nigeria, it can be agreed that it is developing fast and vastly extending its tentacles to the new world of journalism.