THE NATIONAL UNION OF
JOURNALISTS OF UKRAINE
Communicating with editors from the de-occupied and front-line territories during the offline training organized by the National Union of Journalists of Ukraine (NUJU), Journalist/media trainer of the Academy of Ukrainian Press/digital transformation mentor within the educational project titled Steps To Sustainable Development, Andrii Yurychko, convincingly proved that digitization of print media gives them a chance for survival and development.
The digital revolution is rapidly changing our world
For example, one of the manifestations of digitalization is the popularity of cashless and mobile payments. People have already made sure that it is not only convenient but also safe, as the risk of money theft is reduced.
At the same time, digitalization is becoming increasingly popular in the Ukrainian mass media. Traditional print media is gradually losing its audience because young people actively use Telegram, Instagram, and TikTok to get information. This poses a challenge to print media editors, forcing them to adapt to new trends in order to attract attention to their media and a young audience.
On the one hand, digitalization has brought us many advantages: convenience, speed, accessibility, and preservation of information. On the other hand, it requires new skills and adaptation to changes. The unstable Internet and lack of digital skills among media newsroom staff stand in the way of digitization in Ukraine.
Are our media ready for digital transformation?
In order to stay abreast of the modern needs of the audience, it is necessary to change the strategy, to implement digital technologies more actively. It is a multifaceted process that affects the way we consume information, distribute content, and engage audiences. To remain competitive and maintain its role in society, the media must adapt to digital realities and acquire the necessary skills.
The digital age is upon us, and the media must be ready for this new challenge. Only with digital technologies and innovations in their arsenal can they maintain and expand their readership.
Digitization’s key aspects
One of the key aspects of digitization is staff training and development. To successfully adapt to the digital environment, journalists and other publishing workers need digital skills. These can include social media skills, video content creation skills, understanding of website analytics and monetization, and knowledge of SEO and other digital tools. Organizations should invest in training their staff and organize training sessions, seminars, and other activities that will help improve the team’s digital skills. This opens up new opportunities for media and contributes to their success in the digital world.
An additional important component of digitalization is adaptation to changes in content consumption. First of all, you should pay attention to the development of interesting, relevant, and high-quality content that can attract the attention of the audience and meet its needs.
And this is where digital technologies come to the rescue, which provides the opportunity to interact with the audience, collect their feedback and opinions, and create content based on their interests and requests.
Moreover, publications should adapt their platforms and content to mobile devices and provide fast loading, optimized mobile versions, and other functions to make content consumption convenient for the audience.
One of the key components of digital transformation is the use of social media. Through platforms like Facebook, Instagram, YouTube, and others, publications can actively distribute content and expand the audience of information consumers.
Facebook, for example, can make money by placing ads. And although some still question this practice, it is becoming more and more common.
However, it must be noted that an essential component of success remains the uniqueness of the content. In the digital world, where more and more publications appear, it is important to provide something unique to attract readers’ attention.
Digital transformation also involves the mobile adaptation of websites. In recent years, content consumption on mobile devices has increased significantly. Hence, media sites must be optimized for mobile devices, as it allows for convenient content consumption and thus attracts more audiences.
It should also be noted that in the era of digital transformation, it is important to build interaction with the audience. Traditional formats, such as a hotline or raffles, are gradually being replaced by new methods of communication. Now you can organize webinars, online conferences, and other interactive formats so that you actively involve the audience in the process and ensure interaction with it.
An important aspect is the development of media literacy. The media should promote the development of media literacy among its audience, provide reliable and verified information, and teach critical analysis of news and sources. At the same time, we should not forget that the users are more demanding and critical of the information they consume.
Traditional media have the right to live
Currently, the question arises: is there still a place for traditional publications? Sometimes it seems that social networks are becoming the primary tool of interaction with the audience. This is understandable because social platforms provide fast and convenient information transfer; on social networks, people can get quick access to news and entertainment content and communicate with other users.
However, traditional print media should not be discarded in favor of social media; they remain essential tools that provide objective and professional information. Such publications carefully check facts, develop analytical materials, and create unique content that is in demand in society.
Social networks potential
A change in the way content is consumed requires newsrooms to change their strategy. Social media can be a powerful tool for promoting content, engaging audiences, and saving money. They provide the opportunity to conduct live broadcasts, post videos and photo materials, as well as create discussions and groups to discuss topics.
During the digitization of regional and local media, it is important to monitor and analyze what users are interested in on social networks and what they are discussing. For example, observing discussions in chat rooms and groups can help journalists find topics for articles, understand the mood of the audience, and create content that will be interesting for readers.
Digital media has great potential in the use of photos, videos, and infographics. Publications that actively use these content formats have more reader attention. Especially effective are infographics, which can attract attention and explain complex concepts in a beautiful and concise form.
An additional advantage of social networks is their potential as an additional source of income for regional and local media. Many companies use social networks to attract visitors to their sites, where advertisements are placed or where paid services can be purchased. Thus, social networks help regional media to save on costs and attract additional funds.
Artificial intelligence or a person?
For all the benefits of digital technology, it also has its challenges. For example, the automation of the process of text generation with the help of artificial intelligence can change the approach to the development of materials due to its ability to generate text content according to the given parameters; it can be helpful for journalists in their daily work, save journalists’ time and increase their productivity.
However, it is worth noting that artificial intelligence has its limitations. For example, it cannot always recognize emotions or use informal language. Therefore, it is important to be careful and verify the results obtained from artificial intelligence, especially when creating essential materials.
But where artificial intelligence can find wide application is digital media. With the help of artificial intelligence, you can create exciting infographics, photos, and videos. This allows you to increase audience engagement and content popularity.
In addition, artificial intelligence can be helpful for newsroom work. It can help weed out unverified or unreliable information, as well as automate some editing processes. So, in general, artificial intelligence can provide faster and more accurate processing of information, more efficient use of resources, and increase the quality of content.
Currently, we have the opportunity to use the newest artificial intelligence model – GPT-4. This latest Open AI development represents a significant advance in meeting and understanding user requests. The same principle as Google works: correctly formulated questions give better answers.
GPT-4 better understands what exactly you expect from it, so her answers become more accurate.
GPT-4 also has a built-in prompt module. Prompts are ready-made roles that you can work with AI. For example, you can ask to act like an interviewer and ask you questions, and the program will generate answers to help you create an interview.
Despite all the advantages of artificial intelligence, it is important to remember that it is only a tool, and its use should be complemented by professional knowledge and ethical standards of journalism. It is necessary to maintain a balance and not abandon purely journalistic materials created by a living person.
Olha Voitsekhivska, Journalist of Ukraine
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