Journalism in the era of mobile technology: The changing pattern of news production and the thriving culture of fake news in Pakistan and Ghana

Abstract

The advent of new technologies has resulted in the rise of mobile journalism around the globe. Mobile devices have reformed the newsroom environments by introducing new means to connect with the audience and to communicate with other journalists within the same place. Many traditional media organizations already produce news content for mobile web-sites and apps in proportion to cross-media strategies, reflecting structural changes in the journalism industry and transformation in the process of news production in many countries and although coming from different cultural traditions and geographical locations, Pakistan and Ghana are no exceptions. However, there are concerns about the potential role of mobile journalism in fostering the culture of fake news in both countries. Thus, using the media convergence and social responsibility theories, this study aims to analyse how mobile journalism is altering the news production process and fostering the trend of fake news in Pakistan and Ghana. To accomplish this aim, this study uses the qualitative methods of document review and in-depth interviews and offers a thematic analysis of the qualitative data.

Keywords

• mobile journalism
• fake news
• media convergence
• social responsibility
• pakistan’s and ghana’s news media