Top Tool for a Journalist

Every journalist needs what is considered the top tool in some form.

There is a list of the top five tools for journalists, and the voice recorder is number one.

They are crucial to a journalist's writing.

So many mistakes can be made if the journalist doesn't have this tool.

When writing an article that involves interviewing, which I've found that most do, having some form of voice recorder is an absolute necessity.

If a journalist doesn't happen to have some type of recording device on them, they may be in a critical condition later on when trying to write the story.

The reason for the voice recorder is to make interviewing and jotting notes simpler. If something is missed it may be listened to later on to see what was said.

Another reason voice recorders are important is that when quoting somebody, a journalist must use exactly what they said. If the journalist merely jots notes instead of writing word for word then there will be no quotes to use.

Without quotes the article or story will be bland. The public will not want to read anything they can't relate to.

To avoid these mishaps, get some form of voice recorder.

Now, get out there and start interviewing.

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Communication or Entertainment...Or both?

Media consumption has skyrocketed over the past two years.

A study done by Ipsos OTX of 7,000 online consumers ages 13-74 shows that people now spend over half of every day consuming media. New technology like smart phones and high tech laptops has fueled this increase in consumption.


The big form of media that has been fueled by new technology is social media. The study showed that 77 percent of the people who participated in the study were members of one or more social Media site.

So, what is it big deal with social media?

Bruce Friend, president of Ipsos OTX Media CT said in an interview with TheWrap, "Communicating is now entertaining, and entertainment is communication."

Social media has broken its boundaries with the help of new media to take on the role of communication and entertainment combined.

Media consumers want to be informed, they want to be in touch and they want to be entertained. Social media has all of these aspects. Social media sites are constantly changing and revamping in order to attract media consumers who have these demands.

Thanks to new technology, social media sites are also being forced into making products available through every different type of smart phone or other media device on the current market.

Are media consumers demanding too much out of their media outlets?
Is entertainment becoming more important than communication, or can they coexist equally through social media?

Only time, and an eye on new technology, will answer that.

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