INTRODUCTION
Communication can be defined as the process of sharing ideas, information and messages with others in a particular time and place. The very unity and sustainability of any society cannot be achieved without the element of communication. This is because progress and development cannot be achieved if the people do not find a common ground to come together and discuss about the various issues that they all face as members of the same society. Communication cannot be complete without a channel or medium. Most channels of communication use electricity to a certain degree in getting information across to people hence the coining of the word electronic media. Every medium of communication can be classified into electronic or non electronic media. Non electronic media are majorly traditional media of communication used in the rural communities. While electronic media refers to radio, television, internet and other media brought about by the development in information and communication technologies.
What is Electronic Media?
Electronic media are media that use electronics or electromechanical energy for the end-user (audience) to access the content. This is in contrast to static media (mainly print media), which today are most often created electronically, but don’t require electronics to be accessed by the end-user in the printed form. The primary electronic media sources familiar to the general public are better known as video recordings, audio recordings, multimedia presentations, slide presentations, CD-ROM and online content. Most new media are in the form of digital media. However, electronic media may be in either analog or digital format. Although the term is usually associated with content recorded on a storage medium, recordings are not required for live broadcasting and online networking. Any equipment used in the electronic communication process (e.g. television, radio, telephone, desktop computer, game console, handheld device) may also be considered electronic media. Below are some of the characteristics, advantages and disadvantages of electronic media:
Characteristics of Electronic media
• It is an immediate and timely medium of communication and information transfer.
• Electronic media has extensive coverage possible through radio and television
• Radio (as an electronic medium) is a low cost portable channel of communication.
• Television (as an electronic medium) has both positive and negative effects on viewers
• The audiovisual character of television makes it a magic medium for viewers.
• They are mostly electronic in nature
Advantages of electronic media
• They can be used to pass across information within no time
• They have vast geographical area coverage.
Disadvantages of electronic media
• It is less intimate.
• Its feedback mechanisms are slow and sometimes don’t exist.
The electronic media such as radio and television provides for the effective use of the ‘sight’ and ‘hearing’ senses. While radio stimulates the imagination and is a portable and low cost medium, television has visual and sound capabilities. Access to media, a basic understanding of the spoken language and very little training is enough to use many of the services in electronic media. With the advance in technology, it has become very easy and economical to cover vast geographical areas through the electronic media.
However, electronic media like television has impact on the lives of people as it has changed their living habits, styles and values. Many researchers (through their researches) have shown that viewing television can affect the behavior of viewers, especially children. It should be noted that we cannot have what we term today as the electronic media if there has not been development and discovery of new information and communication technologies (ICT’s) used as media of communication by scientists.
Dadebo (n.d) defines ICTs as basically information handling tools that is a varied set of goods, application and services that are used to produce, store, process, distribute and exchange information. They include radio, scanners, photocopiers, cell phones, digital cameras, recorders (video, audio etc.), television and telephone, computers and the internet as well as satellite and wireless technology. The term “ICT” was coined to reflect the seamless convergence of digital processing and telecommunications which include hardware, processes and systems that are used for storing, managing, communicating and sharing information. This could be seen as an integrated technology. ICTs therefore represent the different technologies involved in transferring information and reporting of events by journalists. Journalists use ICT’s to foster the processing and dissemination of information and knowledge by separating content from its physical location to save time and energy. They also use information to break boundaries-geographical, cultural thus making it possible for the resultant interconnected digital world to herald the fluid and seamless flow of information in McLuhan’s coinage of the global village.
The role of information communication technologies in journalism cannot be underestimated because such technologies present immense opportunities for information communication, storage and retrieval. Information communication technologies compel institutional reorganization. They have become the lifeblood of any successful business and professional operation and journalism is not an exception. To remain competitive and relevant, journalism operations need to adopt information communication technologies in their business strategies. The benefits of ICT’s to modern journalism include
1. ICTs offer the developing world the opportunity to leapfrog several stages of development
2. Timeliness (real-time) of communication.
3. The global village concept becomes real.
4. Confidence and reliability of communicated material.
It should be noted that ICT’s have affected the development of the electronic media in the areas of news gathering and reporting, editing of audio and visual coverage of recent and odd events and the production of quality programmes. Reporters are able to contact their home stations with relevant materials through the use of the e-mail on their computers and phones as well as send messages on recent happenings. ICT’s have also been able to remove the challenges encountered with transportation. The computer can also be used to check through news stories and reports to ensure there is no grammatical error and the right combination of words is used when editing.
REFERENCE
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Dadebo, E. K. (n.d). The concept of ICTs in modern journalism. Powerpoint presentation retrieved on 12th March, 2012
Electronic Media. Retrieved from http://www.wikipedia.rog/Electronic media /Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.mht on 12th march 2012.
Role of information communication technologies (ICT’s) in journalism. Retrieved from http://www.enter.com.np/Information, Communication & Technology/NEWS.mht on 12th March 2012
The writings of Babafemi Opeyemi Jacobs and his associates 