Online Journalism

ONLINE JOURNALISM

Online journalism refers to news content produced and/or distributed via the Internet, particularly material created by journalists who work for mainstream market driven news organizations.

Online journalism is defined as the reporting of facts produced and distributed via the Internet.

Online journalism is vastly changing

·        the way news is brought to the reader,

·        As well as news itself.

Traditional news mediums – TV, radio and newspapers may be starting to take the backseat.

The respective attributes of the mainstream media have been transformed into one source through online journalism and computer-assisted reporting (CAR).

TV and radio

·        Real time

·        Audience witnesses or listens to news as it happens.

·        TV also offers video footage of events, while radio offers sound.

Traditional print media

·        Voices through the written word

·        Visuals through a still picture

·        Convenience of accessibility anywhere without the need for technology such as a TV, radio, or computer

·        Not time sensitive for the reader. A newspaper can be read at any time of the day whereas, with TV and radio, unless you are at a channel or station which is strictly news, you must be listening or watching at the programmed time that is slotted for news.

However, all three of these mediums are linear, each one offering only one path the reader can go, or one way in which they can receive the news.

ADVANTAGES OF ONLINE JOURNALISM

1. Non-linear

·        Able to receive the advantages of all three mediums

·        Video, sound and text can be available in one place, from one source

·        You can

o       Go to a news website

o       Browse through a story

o       Listen to an interview and

o       Watch video footage, you are not restricted to one medium.

2.      No time or space restraints

Also no time or space restraints in online journalism like there are in all three of the other mediums. Numerous interviews, documents as well as unlimited background information can be included on a news site as there is no stress about air time or column space.

3. Tools for Online Reporters

Through hyperlinks (links), bring the reader to

·        different sources

·        related stories

·        And supporting documents.

Links allow the reader to get more information about what they are reading with the simple click of a mouse. The reader can be taken from page to page within the website they are visiting, which are referred to as internal links; or to a completely different site with related information, through the use of external links. This gives the reader the advantage of having information from various different sources, and a lot of the time, many different viewpoints on one issue. 

4. Researching is faster and reasonable

·        Much faster than the traditional ways of researching, or looking up documents and other articles.

·        With other media, spending hours in the journalistic “morgue” pouring over old newspapers and searching through numerous books or scanning through tapes.

·        With internet information as fast as your modem allows, and no photocopying or taping is involved, all you need is a printer to spit out your very own copy.

5. RSS (Real Simple Syndication) feeds

This tool uses software downloaded onto your computer to compile news stories in a condensed form.

Many different news sites contain a feature which lets you sign up for their contributions to the program. Once you have signed up, the contents of the site are available to you. This tool uses “push technology,” which means the information it gathers is available to you with the most recent stories always appearing at the top, pushing the rest further down. This enables you to bring up the program and scan through headlines, plus a short summary of the top stories of the day. This technology allows you to get an intake of the day’s news in very little time. You do not have to search multiple sites; it puts everything right in front of you. You can simply scan through the list to get the gist of what’s going on in the world, and if you pass over something which you’d like to read more about, with a click of the mouse, it takes you to the full story on the site which it appeared. 

6. Blogs

Blogging, also called web logging, is a web-based journal a tool which brings the journalist and their audience closer. Blogging has been growing ever more popular among the top media organizations around the world and their reporters. This is because it lets the reader in behind the scenes, so to speak.

Blogs are often used

·        To give additional information about a story,

·        and to let the reader come along in the processes of researching, interviewing and writing a story.

Blogs also let the public get a sense of who the journalist is. They are often written in a much less structured way than articles and personal opinions and biases can be exposed. However, this does not seem to be a negative thing. In all reality it can humanize the journalist in the reader’s eyes and allow them to see who the journalist really is. This can in turn lead the reader to appreciate and trust the journalist to a larger extent.

7. Online Chats

Online chats based around issues and events in the news are becoming more popular as the mainstream media has started to adopt them. News sites have the ability to obtain chat software to host and facilitate chats, which are open to the public. This allows the public to get involved in their community and discuss and exchange ideas. This gives media organizations the chance to help the community become more proactive and productive, instead of simply being the bearers of bad news. The chats are in real time, and can be just like holding a public meeting. They can even be more productive than an in-person meeting, as people tend to have more courage in speaking their mind, and sharing their ideas when they are speaking through a computer instead of a microphone.

8. Online Forums

Another channel used to achieve this interactivity is online forums. This is where a virtual message board is put online with different “threads” or topics of discussion available for everyone to participate in. While chats are in real time, forums allow people to read comments and ideas, think them over, and reply. They encourage longer and more thoughtful comments and responses, and supply more time for discussion than a chat would. 

9. Solution oriented

Both online chats and online forums are taking journalism another step closer to being solution-oriented rather than stating facts and pointing fingers. They are encouraging and allowing the community to get involved. But, even without these tools, the public is getting ever more involved with the news, and having more of a say in what should and shouldn’t be covered.

10. Bridging gap between reader and journalist

A revolution is happening within the field of journalism, through the power of the internet and it is turning the reader and the journalist into one. News sites have been popping up over the past year which allow for the public to take charge of their news. In some cases, the public is responsible for the content of the site, which means they decide what is covered, and who is interviewed, and they write the stories. This helps build a strong relationship between the media and the community, as well as giving the community a chance to express itself in its own way. This allows for personal journalism as well. It gives a voice to the groups which are typically ignored by the mass media, such as ethnic groups and gay and lesbians. It gives everyone the chance to tell their story, the stories of their family, community, work place, school, church, etc. It ensures that the community is armed with the information that they feel is vital.

However, it doesn’t even need to go that far to get the public involved. It can be as simple as a letter to the editor, or a comments and questions. Often times with large newspapers, space is a precious commodity. Submitted stories and letters to the editor can get bogged down, and weeks can pass before they can be squeezed in to the publication. An online news website has complete freedom in terms of space. There is room for everything that is submitted and has merit, so there is no waiting. The point the reader wants to get across is put out immediately. Instant feedback is another advantage. The reader can look over the site, read the articles, and if they have a suggestion, question or complaint, an e-mail can be sent off immediately. This helps the news organization as well, as they can take these suggestions and make adjustments and improvements constantly and quickly.

DEBATABLE ISSUES

There is some debate as to whether online sources are reliable and credible.

·        One point is that the Internet provides a gateway to complete anonymity. It is said that anyone with a modem can become a journalist and names, as well as entire organizations can be made up, and who’s to say that the articles are not fake, or invalid as well.

·        Even well known news organizations have the potential to give unreliable information through links. When linking to another site, they could be leading the reader to false information, as it may be hard to find out if the information on that site is in fact accurate.

·        The viewpoint is that with much irrelevant stuff floating around the Internet, how could any reliable and quality information get squeezed in? 

·        Another issue that comes up is that while one of the major advantages to online journalism is the speed with which news can be pumped out to the public the rate of errors increases. When information is flowing through so fast, and stories are being pounded out in a hurry, carelessness and oversight can come into play. It has been said that in the need for speed, steps can be missed, and copy editing can go down the tubes. This leads to distrust and a loss of credibility from the public.

CONCLUSION

But, despite the disadvantages of online journalism, readers of online publications are on the rise.

·        The readership is at the level now where news organizations are actually starting to require a paid membership to view the contents of their site.

·        News websites of larger media organizations are beginning to require a subscription, just like a newspaper subscription. Readers are sometimes given the first paragraph or two of an article, but are asked to sign up for a monthly subscription for a fee if they wish to obtain the rest of the article. In some cases no access is granted to articles without payment.

So will online news eventually eclipse the traditional print news? There are two sides to the answer. Some say yes, that online news is faster, and offers more resources and options than print, but others argue that there are still many people who like the feel of an actual newspaper in their hands, and enjoy physically flipping the pages while sitting at the breakfast table with a coffee, not having to sit in front of their computer in the early hours of the morning, with mouse in hand. However, only time will tell.