According to the recently published study by Pew Internet & American Life Project 2010, 33% of Americans mobile phone owners now access news on their mobiles. And 37 % of internet users create and share the news themselves.
During the last decade, the audience’s attitude towards the news have been changed. If , earlier, the audience had to get only what they were offered by the media, later they were given more choice of getting the news. And today the citizens participate in creating the news themselves.
What makes the audience more involved in creating the news today is social networking- sharing, commenting and participating in online discussions.
Besides being involved themselves, for the consumers the news has also become more personalized. According to the Pew Internet & American Life Project 2010 study, 28 % of internet users have customized their home page to include news from sources and on topics that particularly interest them.
Greater citizen participation in creating news doesn’t change the role of the journalism, but providing better quality news becomes increasingly challenging.