Origins and Development of Digital Journalism: Influence of Culture and Practices

Abstract

Notably, a Google search with the statement “articles on digital journalism” provides readers with more than 700,000 results. That number truly vouches for increasing research in this field. However, it has been over three decades since digital technologies were introduced into journalism. It is noted that not many agree with the term digital journalism and the processes attached to it. For others, it is more like a routine process; they consider it as mere “journalism” rather than digital journalism. In this chapter, while the author explores the definitions of the expression digital journalism, the researcher also comes up with a narrative review of the origins and development of this journalism stream. This chapter discusses the history of digital journalism, where the earliest reference to using technology in journalism was recorded in the 1950s. It also tries to define it through an extensive study of available literature. In this research, the author investigated and evaluated the influence of convergence culture in shaping digital journalism. This led to the current scenario where everything is interconnected, in the cloud, readily available and on-demand for consumption. While concluding this chapter, the author highlights how different streams of journalism have adjusted to the new wave of technology, giving rise to new skill-based job opportunities. Ultimately, the author elucidates how digital journalism is an ever-evolving process by discussing new and ongoing changes on various digital platforms that are changing the whole game in today’s times and will be even more relevant for future journalism practices. Keywords: Digital Journalism, Convergence Culture, Journalism and Technology, History of Journalism, Digital Media, Evolution of Journalism.