The idea that the digital revolution plays a major role in the way in which we receive our news might have seemed like a foreign thought before Hurricane Sandy hit the east coast. The quote the calm before the storm comes to mind when I think of how everyone’s lives changed after the storm because this storm showed just how much outlets like Twitter, Facebook and even Instagram play a major role in how we receive our news.
For example many people used Twitter as their new sources. With electricity out meaning they
could not watch television they had to rely on tweets from government officials for their news. For the New York Times Jennifer Preston and Brian Stelter wrote an article titled "How Government Officials are using Twitter for Hurricane Sandy". The article explained how many government leaders were able to get messages out to the people through Twitter. They were able to tweet people about Hurricane Sandy before it hit and also continued to tweet people throughout and
after the storm with regular updates.
For example I lost my power for about a week and a half. I was able to stay up to date with everything that was happening on Long Island because of Twitter, Facebook and Instagram. Through tweets and retweets I was able to learn about what parts of Long Island were hit the worst and also where FEMA was helping those in need. I was able to read statues on facebook and also see images of places that were heavily impacted through Instagram.
Hurricane Sandy made a lot people rely on social networks to get their news because it made it impossible to receive news from any other venues. The Hurricane not only affected electricity but it also closed down roads. Newspaper companies could not get their papers delivered to those who relied on a tangible form of News. In an article titled "Hurricane Sandy Sends News Media" Scrambling written by Christine Haughney and Bian Stelter for the New York Times it explains how newspaper companies like the Daily News was flooded and how the New York Post was only able to make a limited amount of distributions.
The only way in which people were really able to find anything out was through the internet, through social media; through the digital revolution. Never in a million years did I think I would use Twitter, Facebook and Instagram as a news form. But through the storm it seemed to be my only leeway in finding out just what was happening.