Global Journalism in the days of Digital Divide

The Digital Divide

The term digital divide refers to the gap between those people with effective access to digital and information technology and those without access to it. It includes the imbalances in physical access to technology as well as the imbalances in resources and skills needed to effectively participate as a digital citizen. In other words, it’s the unequal access by some members of the society to information and communications technology, and the unequal acquisition of related skills The term initially referred to gaps in ownership of computers between groups. The term came into regular usage in the mid-1990s. President of the United States Bill Clinton and his Vice President Al Gore used the term in a 1996 speech in Knoxville, though the term had appeared in several news articles and political speeches as early as 1995. There are various definitions of the term "digital divide". Bharat Mehra defines it simply as “the troubling gap between those who use computers and the internet and those who do not”. The term initially referred to gaps in the ownership of, or regular access to, a computer. As Internet access came to be seen as a central aspect of computing, the term’s usage shifted to encompass gaps in not just computers but also access to the Internet. Recently, some have used the term to refer to gaps in broadband network access. The term can mean not only unequal access to computer hardware, but also inequalities between groups of people in the ability to use information technology fully. Recognition of digital divide as an immense problem has led scholars, policy makers, and the public to understand the “potential of the internet to improve everyday life for those on the margins of society and to achieve greater social equity and empowerment.” The global digital divide is a term used to describe “great disparities in opportunity to access the Internet and the information and educational/business opportunities tied to this access … between developed and developing countries” (Lu 2001 p. 1). Unlike the traditional notion of the "digital divide" between social classes, the "global digital divide" is essentially a geographical division.

The Global Journalism

The Global concept of journalism has been developed with the help of technology, more specifically after the introduction of cable network throughout the whole world. But this is an unavoidable truth that after the invention and availability of internet and other smarter information technology like mobile-telecommunication and satellite-communication the concept of global journalism and global reporting has achieved a huge turn over and a breakthrough all over the world. This days the journalistic task has been become hugely dependant on technology. From information gathering in various aspects (Either text, sound, visual or still photographs) to reporting the whole media is got the full dependency on digital or computer based information technology. In the current information technology era web journalism or the involvement of new media (The web based news service) has got a huge popularity. Even in most cases the wire services are also been involved in the contemporary computerized information technology in their tasks.

On the other hand the global journalism in digital era has unleashed a new window to information freedom by ensuring the ability of reader’s feedback to react on news articles or by allowing the concept of citizen journalism it has been opened a new dimension to the information freedom and journalistic approach. Though there is also some problems exist as the demerits of this type of free comment facility or citizen journalistic method, like unworthiness of information used in news or lesser ability of the citizen reporter or defamatory information used in news but the fact is unavoidable that this free information era has draw a new dimension in the sector or globalization of journalism throughout the world.

Digital Divide and Global Journalism

It is very easy to say that digital divide is one of the most significant obstacles against the establishment and flourish of global journalism practice. When the main objective of Journalism or press is to inform the mass or to interpret the mass people then digital divide is the fact which can push a large number of people back from the facility to be informed, which ruins the basic objective of journalism in fact. Now days more or less every news media acquires an internet or online edition, either it is a print media or a broadcast one. And the flourish of that type of digital edition is making the sociologists and scientists that very recently this online or digital edition will take place of the contemporary edition fully. Then the compact information including text, photograph, video, in a single world everything will be provided to us via internet to our local computer. No extra newspaper buying or Television watching will not be required to be informed about the world around us. Yes, it is a good thing to be applied, but that will be good if and only if it could cover the whole world under it. Otherwise the partial digital movement will not affect the society in such way we expect. To make the digital era more than successful we have to remove the digital divide, and make the whole human kind facilitated under the same quality of technology and information services all around the world. Now the most vital question arises, is it really possible? If yes then how?

Removing the Digital Divide

To make the information revolution go on and establish the new era of Global Journalism based on Information Technology some very important and vital steps should be taken. Each of the process is dependable to each others: • Developing the economic infrastructure to make the people afford the costly technology • Make the technological support and equipments cheaper for the people to buy • Establishing E-Governance • Ensuring E-Democracy • Awareness about mass education and advancement in e-Education • Access to internet (More specifically the Broadband Connection) To make each and every person of a nation capable to handle digital information, it is government’s duty to make the whole nation able to afford such this expensive technology.

And to do so the government’s main role is to make the economic infrastructure strong enough to build such a financially solvent society. On the other hand it is also government’s role to make the technological devices and services to the reach of the mass people to afford. In that case government might have to bear some extend of financial burden to support all these if needed. To make the people aware about Information Technology as long as the new media services firstly they has to be made educated as well. To do so it is also needed to ensure the general education, moreover the IT education or E-Education to make the society capable to handle the new technology to get information. E-Government refers to the use of internet technology as a platform for exchanging information, providing services and transacting with citizens, businesses, and other arms of government. E-Government may be applied by the legislature, judiciary, or administration, in order to improve internal efficiency, the delivery of public services, or processes of democratic governance. The primary delivery models are Government-to-Citizen or Government-to-Customer (G2C), Government-to-Business (G2B) and Government-to-Government (G2G) & Government-to-Employees (G2E). The E-Governance is the best way to start the new way to the technology era of a nation. E-Democracy as long as any citizen’s democracy to express his own opinion through open source methods like wikipedia / blogs. As long peoples right to express could not be reserved, the best output of digital global journalism could not be retrieved from any society. The proper planning and implementation of plans in ICT (Information and Communication Technology) Sector of any country can make the internet access or computer access to the general people more than possible. The only thing is needed here to inform the people and make them aware about the good things about it.

Global Journalism in Digital era

Though the concept of Global Journalism has been innovated in the early 80’s with the introduction of satellite communication technology but after the involvement of Information Technology, more specifically The Computer / Digital Technology it has become easier to work with, faster than ever and most interactive media than ever before. Now days this media support does not come from only a desktop pc, but the invention of mobile technology and its excellence in 3G (third generation) made the journalisms global view more accessible and easier to all. The mobility, faster speed to access, getting updated whenever needed, interactive media supports with full access to feedback or making comment made the new digitally mastered global journalism concept unique and preferable to all.

Some Negative Aspects

• This digital supported Media Technology may work against Green Environment Policy.

• Fully technology might be subjected to Data manipulation or piracy by hacking activities or information loss due to system failure disorder.

• Technologically advanced nations may reign over the third world countries in media. • The proper thing will never come out as the whole world not be come to the same technological support in a sense of Technological equity.

From the Bangladeshi overview

Bangladesh could be a good example of digital divide in this topic. When the fast countries have more than 95% internet and new media access people in a nation, in Bangladesh a huge number of people even don’t know how to read or write properly. So in that case removing digital divide is just a day dreaming as I think. But this is a matter of hope that the mass education and compulsory education for all projects throughout the country from the last decade is really effecting the situation to make the people educated and aware in all aspects of rights. Though ICT products are quite unreachable to most of the population, but some organizations like Bangladesh Association of Software and Information Services (BASIS), BCS (Bangladesh Computer Samity), Bangladesh Computer Council is working heart and soul to make the situation different and actually they have changed the picture of local ICT sector within few years and expecting to do a lot more in upcoming years. But the most important thing, internet access facility in Bangladesh is still not so much established as long. Very low bandwidth, limited connectivity is making the new media support for the local people a very hard job. But some recent steps by Bangladesh Telecommunication Regularity Commission (BTRC) and the internet connectivity provided by local mobile and telephone companies are making a good hope of a better situation in near future. If all they sectors could move together to make it happen, I thing it is not so far to build a digital divide free and IT aware Bangladesh with the excellence of global media and play a vital role in global media world in near future.

Reference: Wikipedia: www.wikipedia.org