Mobile news is a 21st century development around the world. With the advancing of cellular technology and mobile developments across the globe, this phenomenon became prominent in the early 2000s. Mobile phone news or cell phone news refers to the creation and delivery of news using mobile devices. A kind of mobile newspaper in an era of declining print information, this medium is at the forefront of the online revolution that began with the widespread popularity of the World Wed Web in the 1990s.
Emerging as a replacement to a traditional journalistic industry, and even cable and Internet news, mobile news started the trend of a new media wave. With mobile phones in every pocket — often with cameras, text messaging capabilities and video recorders — people everywhere gained the capability to create news with their phones. Mobile news could be created by filming an event, taking a picture or witnessing it firsthand, and reporting it or posting it immediately on a web site or blog using a cell phone. These practices became popular for both professionals and non-professional bloggers.
Mobile news not only refers to the act of reporting news with a mobile device, but to the way of delivering news to mobile devices as well. As people rely more and more on their cell phones, over even their computers, it has become essential for news outlets to drive traffic and get the first scoop by delivering news directly to people’s cell phones. This delivery of news took on a new form with the advent of the text alerts. A text alert serves much like a text message, but from a website. These text alerts must be subscribed to and allow a news site to send instant text messages to followers when breaking news happens.
In addition to alerts, mobile news can also be found in news applications for devices like the iPhone, Blackberry® or other smart phones. Companies like the Wall Street Journal and the New York Times were quick to jump on the mobile news bandwagon by allowing phone owners to subscribe to their mobile applications. These applications provide user interfaces meant for cell phones that are easy to navigate and provide instant mobile news.
Mobile news can also be found by searching the web from your cell phone on a regular Internet server. While not all cell phone support applications, and not all organizations offer applications, most news web sites offer easy to navigate web sites for cell phones that can be searched in an instant for mobile news from any device.