The_Impact_of_the_Internet_on_Traditional_Media

Traditional media usually refer to organizations, departments or institutions that distribute information through television, newspaper or broadcasting. However, with the advent of the internet and communication platforms built around it, the long-lasting dominance of traditional media will be shaken in the near future. Over the past several decades, traditional media has always been the main source of information because at a time telecommunication technologies were still in their infancy and people didn’t really have other options. For example, in the late 1980s and early 1990s, over 90% of people in mainland China would get together in front of TV watching the annual Spring Festival Eve Gala. Prior to the boom of personal blogs, professional-trained journalists had great control over what the public should know and how they perceived certain social issues. The influence of newspaper and television in shaping public opinions is so powerful that when the American Presidential Election comes, the two major parties, Democrat and Republic, spend millions of dollars professional writers to sway voters and build up the parties’ image. However, this was set to change with personal online log or blog becoming a social phenomenon that has been turned into a social phenomenon recently. Blog really empowers each individual to create and publicize their own opinions. The traditional media only provides viewers with one angle regarding certain matters, but blogs, composed by hundreds of millions of online writers from different parts of the world, can provide viewers a more diverse and objective opinions. With improved telecommunication technologies like wireless network and broadband, people can now record their own videos and upload them on the internet. For example, the protests against the result of Iran presidential election were recorded and put up online by witnesses with their cell phones. Because access to Iran has been restricted, people around the world could only watch those videos to know what was really happening in Iran. The impact of the internet on traditional media can be best summarized by the remark Steven Chen, one of the co-founders of Youtube, made on the press conference of the launch of Youtube Taiwan. He said: “the media are not just defined by those who are most qualified to produce the news, but by each and every individual.”