Abstract

According to Mariana Kitsa and Iryna Mudra (2019) Nowadays the smartphone is an inalienable attribute of the journalist. Journalists use it as a supplement to professional equipment or as a substitute. It depends on the quality of the smartphone and the scope of the work of the journalist. If a journalist works in print media or online media, he can completely refuse the use of professional techniques, because modern smartphones have good built-in voice recorders and a camera that can help record an interview and make a photo of the hero of the material.

For online and radio journalists, the smartphone is usually a complement to professional equipment. Special video and audio applications on smartphones help journalists quickly assemble the material and send it to the editor. Smartphones also allow journalists to broadcast live broadcasts from current affairs and be indispensable during journalistic investigations, where the use of professional techniques is impossible.

The research which I carried out look at smart phone utilization for news gathering where in the respondents saw the smart phone as an indispensable tool for news gathering relying on the fact that the smartphone provides reliable news and it’s easy to use for the purpose of news gathering. In this research, statistics equally showed that the use of smart phone for news gathering by student journalists leads to distractions, promotes laziness and falsehood in journalism practice.

CHAPTER ONE

INTRODUCTION

1.1 Background to the Study

From the perspective of Craig (2000), contemporary development in journalistic reporting related to innovation in technology inevitably attracts interest. This means that the rise of digital technology, the convergence of media into multi-media formats and the ubiquity of the internet are focal points for contemplations about recent changes in journalism and possible future direction. This study seeks to orbit this above authors thesis from JMC/UB’s perspectives.

According to Belmaker (2003), say with the introduction of smart-phone technology in news gathering, has been a good news for reporters today, saying that the advent of Smartphone has made it possible for them to do part of their job with nothing more than a phone. The bad news is, the practice of “mobile reporting” is still so much more in its infancy that there are limited resources and experts out there for guidance.

There is no doubt in this day and age that we are greatly influenced by the media. This is why most researchers have taken up the mettle in understanding its functions, and the impact it makes in changing the matters pertaining to society, the least of which is that of public opinion. The technological advancements that the modern society is characterized with, make individuals today to experience and do things in the most efficient and effective way. The world has changed since the introduction of the computer and other technological innovations such as the smart-phone, for which the Time and Space barriers have long been overcome as the need for individuals to get connected.

The staggering effect of the new media (Smartphone) innovation in the social occasion and scattering of data among columnists consequently have offered a climb to an increment in expert and beginner news coverage. The media is not restricted to simply radio, print and TV alone; the web and advanced cell telephones have made an entire new stage for the social event and dispersal of news and data inside minutes. With online networking applications, for example, facebook, twitter, Youtube, Blogs, and Website, the world can be quickly mindful of any advancement. Cell phone makes utilization of features, sounds, and pictures, to spread data speedier than any daily paper, radio or TV house. Consideration is currently on the web reportage of news and occasions, implying that things are no more the same for customary manifestations of media in the realm of which Cameroon is not forgotten.

As of now, one of the best assets of the web is the informal communication Websites. Actually, their fame among youthful and old Cameroonians has constrained media associations in the nation to make their vicinity felt on the web. This unmistakably clarifies why most daily papers and television media houses in the nation have on-line version accessible for on-line gathering of people. These media associations similarly utilize person to person communication destinations to complement their sites. The point here is that, media associations use informal communication locales like facebook and Twitter to assemble furthermore advise on-line crowds of news and occasions. All these, plainly demonstrate how effective new media advances are and if successfully utilized will affects emphatically on journalistic news assembling and reporting

1.2 Statement of the Problem

Definition

It is the first major step of the researcher’s ideas in showing how the variable of the study shall be interrelated.

The usage of new media instruments in today’s universe of correspondence, particularly news coverage among writers can’t be over-looked. Since the landing of new media engineering, for example, the advanced mobile phone, it has surely changed the way journalists work furthermore how stories are created and spread.

Online networking have had positive effects. However there are likewise worries about their effect on profit and antagonistic impact it could have on writers working examples. New media have made a reliance among those working in the media and a lot of people are not able to manage without them.

New media have ended up journalistic vocabulary and it appears sourcing data has overwhelmed self-advancement as an essential social action. Columnists are becoming refined in their utilization of social networking, and are for example, utilizing an extraordinary mixed bag of devices to source news. A few writers are less positive about a portion of the ways online networking influences their journalistic exercises, their engagement with their group of onlookers, their profit and the nature of their work. In light of these differentiating perspectives, the issue this exploration tries to answer is; the way successful the utilization of a new media engineering device among journalist and journalism students in the town of Buea with respect to their journalistic obligations.

1.3 Aim and Objective of the study

The study seeks to focus on the criticalness of new media innovation usage among student journalists in the field of journalistic news gathering, understanding its level of viability amongst student journalists in the university of Buea

1. To look into how advanced mobile phones have Either improved or brought about a negative change in news gathering amongst student journalist
2. To see whether the advanced cell is a dependable tool for news gathering for journalistic creations
3. To find out if the use of smartphones in news gathering has affected the reporting style of students journalist.

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