While the technological innovations are causing media convergence, the implications for the news industry may be less obvious. Some researchers question the speed of change in the news industry. Singer (1998), for example, studied convergence in print, broadcast, and online newsrooms. She concluded that print journalists are ambivalent about change and are in the process of resocializing themselves with a more omnipresent view of professionalism. This is due to ingrained habits and learned skills related to newsroom structure and storytelling.
While there are many challenges facing the news industry, a key question is: How is technology affecting the news business? It has changed the way news is produced and distributed. New technologies such as television and personal hand-held devices have revolutionized the news industry, affecting both the amount of news that is available and its accessibility. News businesses are increasingly dependent on speed and scale to survive in this new environment. This has implications for the ethics of reporting and the accuracy of news stories. The digital platform that supports these new platforms is upending the status quo, causing a massive shift in power. It also threatens to disintermediate traditional players. And the rise of the Internet has reshaped the media industry, changing the economics of news production and distribution.
While the US dominates the world news flow, the Top 10 countries have a smaller percentage. With almost 7,000 news records produced each day, the US leads the list of countries, followed by the UK, Canada, and France. The Top ten ex-US countries account for 37.6% of total news flow. Further, while the United States and Europe are now the two largest economies, news flow is still disproportionately concentrated in the United States.
