As a student journalist working towards entering this changing industry, I find the concept of the changing face of journalism very troubling. Journalism is no longer straightforward, but is morphing into something completely different, and I am unsure what exactly I will be doing when I enter the workplace. With the bankrupt state of certain news agencies I am wondering if I will be entering the workplace at all.
As we are now in the age of digital literacy, experienced and respected journalists are finding themselves thrust into a whole new form of writing and investigating. They are experiencing a whole new world of media communication, which they have to learn.
One of the most prominent points in favor of digital journalism is the fact that information is accessible all around the world in an almost instantaneous manner. Another is that there is an opportunity for virtual collaboration with almost anyone and the news and the people that choose to report it. Anyone with a computer can be vocal and active with internet journalism. If you are displeased with the news or the way that it was reported you can instantly comment on it. Also, internet media could prove to be a lucrative business if advertising is used responsibly- it would have a low overhead. Journalists' travelling expenses will be nonexistent because travelling is unnecessary with the internet. Why send a journalist to cover a story in another country when there is a journalist that is living there that could get the story in a matter of minutes?
The negative points of internet journalism are far more daunting than one might expect. There is a lack of accuracy and credibility when one is reading news on the internet. Research must be done to find out which sites provide news that is correct and trustworthy. There is also a lack of editing, which leads to greater chances of slander or libel within news stories. Also, there is no set of ethical rules for citizen journalists like there is for journalists. This could prove difficult when trying to vie for attention with news stories that citizen journalists can write in a “juicier” manner, perhaps with information that as a responsible journalist, we cannot provide.
I believe that now the days of “selling” the news are over, and what people will pay for is accuracy, trustworthiness, and respectability because news is simply too easy to obtain at this point.
Print and daily television are becoming aged methods of gaining news information. They are less intriguing when one may access information minute-by-minute via the web at a computer all day at work. When this is a regular occurrence, how do you capture the public attention with old information? The only defense is to make it trustworthy.
It is in my opinion that when the seniors of our generation pass, so will the archaic methods of news transmission. I believe that they exist now only as a method of informing those who do not have the technological skills to access information the digital way.
Not only hard news, but comics, horoscopes, community events and job searches can all be found on the internet now rather than in a newspaper.
In a way, trained journalists are much more equipped to write for the web because they must be well versed in many topics; health, court, technology, etc. whereas citizen journalists seem to have only one or two areas of expertise that they cover. Trained journalists can seguey from topic to topic. Also, student journalists that are graduating in this age of digital information are trained to write for the internet, radio, print and television and to take their own news quality photos. We are more equipt to provide news to the public that will be valuable. We are the “credible bloggers.”
I believe it is important for us as journalists to grow with technology and to create a niche for ourselves in this ever-changing industry. As Hunter S. Thompson said, we must, “Buy the ticket, take the ride.”
As we are now in the age of digital literacy, experienced and respected journalists are finding themselves thrust into a whole new form of writing and investigating. They are experiencing a whole new world of media communication, which they have to learn.
One of the most prominent points in favor of digital journalism is the fact that information is accessible all around the world in an almost instantaneous manner. Another is that there is an opportunity for virtual collaboration with almost anyone and the news and the people that choose to report it. Anyone with a computer can be vocal and active with internet journalism. If you are displeased with the news or the way that it was reported you can instantly comment on it. Also, internet media could prove to be a lucrative business if advertising is used responsibly- it would have a low overhead. Journalists' travelling expenses will be nonexistent because travelling is unnecessary with the internet. Why send a journalist to cover a story in another country when there is a journalist that is living there that could get the story in a matter of minutes?
The negative points of internet journalism are far more daunting than one might expect. There is a lack of accuracy and credibility when one is reading news on the internet. Research must be done to find out which sites provide news that is correct and trustworthy. There is also a lack of editing, which leads to greater chances of slander or libel within news stories. Also, there is no set of ethical rules for citizen journalists like there is for journalists. This could prove difficult when trying to vie for attention with news stories that citizen journalists can write in a “juicier” manner, perhaps with information that as a responsible journalist, we cannot provide.
I believe that now the days of “selling” the news are over, and what people will pay for is accuracy, trustworthiness, and respectability because news is simply too easy to obtain at this point.
Print and daily television are becoming aged methods of gaining news information. They are less intriguing when one may access information minute-by-minute via the web at a computer all day at work. When this is a regular occurrence, how do you capture the public attention with old information? The only defense is to make it trustworthy.
It is in my opinion that when the seniors of our generation pass, so will the archaic methods of news transmission. I believe that they exist now only as a method of informing those who do not have the technological skills to access information the digital way.
Not only hard news, but comics, horoscopes, community events and job searches can all be found on the internet now rather than in a newspaper.
In a way, trained journalists are much more equipped to write for the web because they must be well versed in many topics; health, court, technology, etc. whereas citizen journalists seem to have only one or two areas of expertise that they cover. Trained journalists can seguey from topic to topic. Also, student journalists that are graduating in this age of digital information are trained to write for the internet, radio, print and television and to take their own news quality photos. We are more equipt to provide news to the public that will be valuable. We are the “credible bloggers.”
I believe it is important for us as journalists to grow with technology and to create a niche for ourselves in this ever-changing industry. As Hunter S. Thompson said, we must, “Buy the ticket, take the ride.”
Interesting reading by a self-proclaimed blogger on journalism 2.0, who has some good points on the blogger vs. journalist debate.
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Image from http://images.dailyme.com/websites/corporate/26newsie.jpg
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