A couple of weeks ago I wrote about the “new” media cycle. Today, the Fundamentals series continues with the “new” media landscape. The proliferation of social media has caused changes in the traditional media landscape. In this post, I’ll talk about what I think the impact has been and what the “new” media landscape looks like.

Over 20 years ago, the Berlin wall fell. This news was mostly followed on mainstream media, i.e. television, radio and print media. In 2001, when the 9/11 disaster took place, a lot of the news about the event was also followed through mainstream media but the effect of technology was already more visible as people were talking about it on emerging media such as bulletin boards, email and instant messaging. Moreover, part of the coverage was provided by consumers themselves through photos and videos shot on mobile phones. In 2009, the effect of technology and social media was more evident. One day after the death of Michael Jackson, search engines and social sites—such as Twitter, Facebook and blogs—were inundated with news, mentions and opinions as people were looking for information or looking to express their feelings.

Social media has made news travel faster, wider and in more diverse ways. The increased diversity with which people create and consume news has had its effect on mainstream media. Whereas print media and DVDs are in decline, social media is on the rise. Newspapers in particular have been hit hard. In the US, the total estimated revenue for 2009 had almost halved compared to 2005.

Nevertheless, the rise of social media should be considered a positive for media organizations. News interest has not changed, but the way news is consumed has. Fewer people dedicate a certain amount of time to sit down and read the newspaper, because the information is now part of the continuous information stream that also contains updates from work and friends. Social media has made news consumption an integral part of people’s daily lives.

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