Reportr.net

This blog is run by Professor Alfred Hermida, an award-winning online news pioneer and journalism educator.

The BBC veteran leads the integrated journalism programme at the Graduate School of Journalism at the University of British Columbia. The course focuses on innovative story-telling methods, looking at new styles of narrative that take advantage of the simultaneous use of text, hypertext, photos, audio, video and interactive elements.

He is an authority on multimedia journalism, having been a founding member of the BBCNews.com website. He was the news editor from 1997 to 2001, during which time the website became widely recognized as one of the best news sites in the world.

Later, as technology editor for the website, he wrote extensively about the intersection of media and technology. During a total of 16 years at the BBC, he worked in TV, radio and online, covering regional, national and international news.

Prof Hermida’s research interests include the impact of digital communications technology on journalism and new multiplatform models of journalism education. He is a frequent commentator in the media on leading Internet trends, such as the rise of social media and the role of citizen journalism. He is currently working on a book about the history of BBCNews.com.

He believes that journalism is going through a revolution, fueled by the advent of new information communication technologies. Audiences have an ever-increasing power to shape their consumption around their own lifestyle and preferences.

There is more opportunity for participation in a new world where audiences are less deferential, more global and keener than ever to offer and exchange views. In a multimedia world, the news junkie is just as likely to get their news via the cell phone as they are to tune in to the radio.

This internet-driven shift presents new challenges for journalism. Digital journalism is often viewed with trepidation by traditional media. But these technologies offer extraordinary opportunities to tell stories in different ways and communicate with audiences in ways that were impossible in an analogue world.