Research and Convergence - The Tech Affect

Bob Dylan once wrote,"For the times they are a-changin'."


Sure he is a musician, and I am a journalist (well studying to be one at-least!), but that phrase is the perfect description for what is going on in the world of journalism.


Journalism is at an interesting point in its existence. In my opinion, this time (and what happens in the next few years) will be studied as an important era in the evolution of media as we know. It will be just as important as the emergence of radio, tv, printing press, internet, etc. With the state of the global economy and the constant improvement/growth of the tech world, it is no secret that the old fashioned newspaper is dying out. In fact, it is not a matter of if, but rather when print will die out and move online completely. This online swing will have a direct effect on the world of journalism as we know it 


The people who will be affected the most, will be the copy editors. The journalists themselves will face less of an impact. Stories will always need to be written, people will always need to be interviewed, and topics will always need to be investigated. The writers will need to adjust with the varying forms of media such as twitter, foursquare, etc. However, copy editors look to be the ones that can get basically "screwed". 


The emergence of technology could eliminate the need for copy editors in the future. At the very least, it will minimize the need for a human copy editor. Computers, or technology, can and are programmed to recognize these mistakes and correct them. Plus, when you have humans doing work, there is always that natural possibility of human error. Humans make mistakes, there is no arguing that fact. Although one can argue that copy editors can use the technology to their advantage and help them in their work, the reality is how much are they really needed then?