People say that we are living in an era of cyberspace, where physical boundaries and geographical boundaries are not a problem. We can connect with people in different parts of the world in real time. New media allows it all to happen. New media is a term that emerged in the late 20th century to include the incorporation of traditional media, such as movies, pictures, music, oral and words, with the interactive power of computers and communication technologies over the internet. New media offer possible access to content anytime, anywhere, on any digital device, as well as interactive, creative user feedback and community participation around media content. Here I will review one example of new media, namely BBC News.
BBC News as A New Media
The BBC or the British Broadcasting Corporation is one of the largest broadcasting industry in the world. This company network has reached almost all regions in various parts of the world. That's why almost all the policies that corporate strategy is often used as a reference by many broadcasting companies around the world. The principle of BBC journalism is to present the news by bringing accuracy, justice, and transparency and independence.
The internet can be said as a new medium that has many advantages over the old media. According to Feldman (in Flew, 2005: 101), new media is easy to manipulate. This often gets a negative response and becomes a debate, because new media allows everyone to manipulate and change data and information freely. New media is networkable. That is, the content contained in new media can be easily shared and exchanged between users through the internet network available. This characteristic may be referred to as an advantage, as new media allow everyone to connect quickly and provide solutions to distance and time constraints between users. In addition, the new media is compressible. The contents of the new media can be reduced in size, so that the capacity can be reduced. This makes it easy to save the content and share it with others.
The new media is solid, where we only need a small space to store content in new media. For example, we only need one "PC" connected to the Internet to store information from different parts of the world within the PC. On the other hand, the new media is impartial. The content in it does not take sides with anyone and is not controlled by a handful of people. That's why new media is often referred to as a very democratic media, because media capitalization is no longer valid (Shinta & Loisa, 2011). Everyone can become producers and consumers simultaneously and each user can be active there.
The emergence of the term "new media" is very closely related to the internet presence in this world. Although in its development the new media is not only limited to internet, but internet is the most dominant tool or media in new media era. As Flew (2005) points out: ”The idea of new media captures both the development of unique forms of digital media, and the remaking of more traditional media forms to adopt and adapt to the new media technologies………………. The internet represents the newest, most widely discussed, and perhaps most significant manifestation of new media.”
In this case some experts agree that the term new media is used to distinguish from old media or traditional media first there. Internet as a new media in principle can be utilized by anyone and for any purpose. Many years after the internet appeared, then began the era of online news. So is the case with BBC News which then appears on the online site and load the news online, so that can be accessed by all users in various parts of the world. BBC News is accessible for 24 hours, so it does not matter whether someone reads news at midnight or early morning. As an online news site, BBC News is networkable where the content / news that is in it can be easily shared and connected quickly and provide solutions to the constraints of distance and time between users. The ability of BBC News to distribute news free of charge, faster, interactive, and at the moment is considered an appropriate condition for expanding the reader network. The synergy between audio-visual (television) and online platforms gives birth to the power of forming a convergence medium. From here, it was born as an illustration of Jhon V. Pavlik that the convergence medium is the merging of all forms of media communication to an electronic form, a digital form, computer-driven and the functioning of network technology (Pavlik, 2006: 134). BBC News is an integration of radio and television news in an online news site, capable of expanding the network to the world.
Denis McQuail (2000) shows four new media categories: (1) Interpersonal communication media, such as telephones (which are increasingly mobile and even connected to the internet) and e-mail; (2) Interactive media, for example all software in computer and video games; (3) Information search media, the most relevant example is the internet which is a virtual world library, including in it are google.com, yahoo.com, msn.com. aol.com. This new technology allows the audience to be active and subject while technology becomes its object; and (4) Collective participatory media. An example is the use of the internet for sharing and exchanging information, ideas, and experiences. Here it is clear that BBC News meets all four new media categories raised by McQuail. BBC News is a medium of interpersonal and interactive communication where the audience can provide information that is responsible to the editor by telephone or e-mail. Use of the internet also facilitate the audience to participate actively in the exchange of information, ideas, or experience.
Denis McQuail (2000) also provides five differentiation concepts between new media with conventional media, namely: (1) Degree of interactivity, where interaction in new media more flexible and higher than conventional media; (2) A degree of secial presence where the mass media is more personal, reducing ambiguity. In its application, BBC News as a new medium allows the audience to be able to communicate personally with the media by making direct contact; (3) The degree of autonomy, in which the user in this case the netizen has the ability to control the content and use of its own media and become an independent source; (4) Playfullness degree, media ability to provide entertainment for the users; And (5) The degree of privacy associated with the content edges of media users. They are free to display anything in new media (internet) so as to produce unique media (different) and personal.
In the new media theory, McQuail also shows 6 differences between old media and new media, namely: (1) old media concept is an object of talking to many people, while new media is decentralized, which means everyone has the opportunity to speak to anyone; (2) old media is one way communication, while the new media two way communication that allows the feedback from the audience; (3) old media under state control, while new media out of state control, can even be enjoyed by anyone in the world without state restrictions; (4) old media produce social layers while new media is producing the concept of democratization; (5) old media fragmented the audience, while new media put the audience in the same position; And (6) old media form social confusion, while new media are oriented towards individuals.
Online news sites such as BBC News allow for feedback from the audience. Also note that BBC News not only appear in online news sites, but also present in social networks, such as: facebook, twitter, and flickr. Audience has the opportunity to comment and share on news updates of BBC editors. This will help the realization of citizen journalism and also help mainstream media to integrate their information with information made by citizens. Richard Sambrook (2005) writes about the experience experienced by the BBC during coverage of terrorist bombings on the London subway where within 6 hours the BBC's editor received 1.000 photos, 20 amateur videos and 20.000 emails sent by residents. From here, the BBC realizes that citizens are already partners of the BBC in searching for information that citizens need, so BBC News as a new media also creates a condition of "citizen news for citizens", meaning BBC News has produced democratization in the social life of citizens. It is seen here that the BBC is a new, interactive media and the level of accuracy is much higher than that of mainstream media. In addition, BBC News with its online news site does not fragment the audience as it puts them in the same position. There is no limit to who is eligible or not entitled to access the BBC News website. Here all the audience are placed in the same position, all have the same rights in terms of access to the latest news and updated. The BBC also conducts broadcast education and free online media training to get closer to the audience by making their audience as a contributor. In a small case example, the BBC involved 10 local journalists who had been trained, who would later become part of the BBC's coverage team. A leap of change that has not happened in the television media in Indonesia.
Conclusion
From the explanation above, it can be concluded several things. First, the presence of an online news site, such as BBC News, can strengthen the function of conventional media to expand the reader network through a more diverse news distribution. Second, multimedia capabilities based on digital platform, interactive online media quality, and the arrangement of conventional mass media features overcome the declining number of readership of newspapers. Third, adding platforms through online news sites, can slightly increase the number of readers on conventional media, especially newspapers. Fourth, an interactive and creative new media, such as the online news site BBC News, is one of the efforts in realizing citizen journalism.
The BBC or the British Broadcasting Corporation is one of the largest broadcasting industry in the world. This company network has reached almost all regions in various parts of the world. That's why almost all the policies that corporate strategy is often used as a reference by many broadcasting companies around the world. The principle of BBC journalism is to present the news by bringing accuracy, justice, and transparency and independence.
The internet can be said as a new medium that has many advantages over the old media. According to Feldman (in Flew, 2005: 101), new media is easy to manipulate. This often gets a negative response and becomes a debate, because new media allows everyone to manipulate and change data and information freely. New media is networkable. That is, the content contained in new media can be easily shared and exchanged between users through the internet network available. This characteristic may be referred to as an advantage, as new media allow everyone to connect quickly and provide solutions to distance and time constraints between users. In addition, the new media is compressible. The contents of the new media can be reduced in size, so that the capacity can be reduced. This makes it easy to save the content and share it with others.
The new media is solid, where we only need a small space to store content in new media. For example, we only need one "PC" connected to the Internet to store information from different parts of the world within the PC. On the other hand, the new media is impartial. The content in it does not take sides with anyone and is not controlled by a handful of people. That's why new media is often referred to as a very democratic media, because media capitalization is no longer valid (Shinta & Loisa, 2011). Everyone can become producers and consumers simultaneously and each user can be active there.
The emergence of the term "new media" is very closely related to the internet presence in this world. Although in its development the new media is not only limited to internet, but internet is the most dominant tool or media in new media era. As Flew (2005) points out: ”The idea of new media captures both the development of unique forms of digital media, and the remaking of more traditional media forms to adopt and adapt to the new media technologies………………. The internet represents the newest, most widely discussed, and perhaps most significant manifestation of new media.”
In this case some experts agree that the term new media is used to distinguish from old media or traditional media first there. Internet as a new media in principle can be utilized by anyone and for any purpose. Many years after the internet appeared, then began the era of online news. So is the case with BBC News which then appears on the online site and load the news online, so that can be accessed by all users in various parts of the world. BBC News is accessible for 24 hours, so it does not matter whether someone reads news at midnight or early morning. As an online news site, BBC News is networkable where the content / news that is in it can be easily shared and connected quickly and provide solutions to the constraints of distance and time between users. The ability of BBC News to distribute news free of charge, faster, interactive, and at the moment is considered an appropriate condition for expanding the reader network. The synergy between audio-visual (television) and online platforms gives birth to the power of forming a convergence medium. From here, it was born as an illustration of Jhon V. Pavlik that the convergence medium is the merging of all forms of media communication to an electronic form, a digital form, computer-driven and the functioning of network technology (Pavlik, 2006: 134). BBC News is an integration of radio and television news in an online news site, capable of expanding the network to the world.
Denis McQuail (2000) shows four new media categories: (1) Interpersonal communication media, such as telephones (which are increasingly mobile and even connected to the internet) and e-mail; (2) Interactive media, for example all software in computer and video games; (3) Information search media, the most relevant example is the internet which is a virtual world library, including in it are google.com, yahoo.com, msn.com. aol.com. This new technology allows the audience to be active and subject while technology becomes its object; and (4) Collective participatory media. An example is the use of the internet for sharing and exchanging information, ideas, and experiences. Here it is clear that BBC News meets all four new media categories raised by McQuail. BBC News is a medium of interpersonal and interactive communication where the audience can provide information that is responsible to the editor by telephone or e-mail. Use of the internet also facilitate the audience to participate actively in the exchange of information, ideas, or experience.
Denis McQuail (2000) also provides five differentiation concepts between new media with conventional media, namely: (1) Degree of interactivity, where interaction in new media more flexible and higher than conventional media; (2) A degree of secial presence where the mass media is more personal, reducing ambiguity. In its application, BBC News as a new medium allows the audience to be able to communicate personally with the media by making direct contact; (3) The degree of autonomy, in which the user in this case the netizen has the ability to control the content and use of its own media and become an independent source; (4) Playfullness degree, media ability to provide entertainment for the users; And (5) The degree of privacy associated with the content edges of media users. They are free to display anything in new media (internet) so as to produce unique media (different) and personal.
In the new media theory, McQuail also shows 6 differences between old media and new media, namely: (1) old media concept is an object of talking to many people, while new media is decentralized, which means everyone has the opportunity to speak to anyone; (2) old media is one way communication, while the new media two way communication that allows the feedback from the audience; (3) old media under state control, while new media out of state control, can even be enjoyed by anyone in the world without state restrictions; (4) old media produce social layers while new media is producing the concept of democratization; (5) old media fragmented the audience, while new media put the audience in the same position; And (6) old media form social confusion, while new media are oriented towards individuals.
Online news sites such as BBC News allow for feedback from the audience. Also note that BBC News not only appear in online news sites, but also present in social networks, such as: facebook, twitter, and flickr. Audience has the opportunity to comment and share on news updates of BBC editors. This will help the realization of citizen journalism and also help mainstream media to integrate their information with information made by citizens. Richard Sambrook (2005) writes about the experience experienced by the BBC during coverage of terrorist bombings on the London subway where within 6 hours the BBC's editor received 1.000 photos, 20 amateur videos and 20.000 emails sent by residents. From here, the BBC realizes that citizens are already partners of the BBC in searching for information that citizens need, so BBC News as a new media also creates a condition of "citizen news for citizens", meaning BBC News has produced democratization in the social life of citizens. It is seen here that the BBC is a new, interactive media and the level of accuracy is much higher than that of mainstream media. In addition, BBC News with its online news site does not fragment the audience as it puts them in the same position. There is no limit to who is eligible or not entitled to access the BBC News website. Here all the audience are placed in the same position, all have the same rights in terms of access to the latest news and updated. The BBC also conducts broadcast education and free online media training to get closer to the audience by making their audience as a contributor. In a small case example, the BBC involved 10 local journalists who had been trained, who would later become part of the BBC's coverage team. A leap of change that has not happened in the television media in Indonesia.
Conclusion
From the explanation above, it can be concluded several things. First, the presence of an online news site, such as BBC News, can strengthen the function of conventional media to expand the reader network through a more diverse news distribution. Second, multimedia capabilities based on digital platform, interactive online media quality, and the arrangement of conventional mass media features overcome the declining number of readership of newspapers. Third, adding platforms through online news sites, can slightly increase the number of readers on conventional media, especially newspapers. Fourth, an interactive and creative new media, such as the online news site BBC News, is one of the efforts in realizing citizen journalism.
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