Ok, I had to think about this assignment before starting it. This may sound strange to you but I was thinking that the internet was journalism so how can one survive the other one? Its the same thing..... So here is the tid bits of information I present to you on this topic of journalism vs. the internet.
Journalism is in plain words, reporting the news. When you add the internet to the mix then traditional newspaper reporting gets pushed to the side. The internet is making newspapers disappear like there is no tomorrow. For example the Ann Arbor news now only prints their edition of the newspaper on Thursday and Sunday (AnnArbor.com).
Depending on who you talk to they will tell you either yes, the internet is hurting journalism or no, it is not hurting it but helping it. According to the website The Atlantic, it says that the internet "has mortally wounded the financial structure of the news business so that the cost of doing challenging, independent reporting has become all but prohibitive all over the world. It has blurred the line between opinion and fact and created a dynamic in which extreme thought flourishes while balanced judgment is imperiled.” I agree that it has taken away from the news business, but I have to say that it is much more accessible to people. I also have to think about quality control as I would call it, the range of quality on the internet is bigger than the range in a typical printed newspaper. The internet you would have numerous amounts of people posting to the site, whereas the newspaper would be much more limited. Another group of people that is for journalism being on the internet is Reuters. This website says that journalism will survive, " it will thrive. It will thrive as creators and publishers embrace the collaborative power of new technologies, retool production and distribution strategies and we stop trying to do everything ourselves."
Continuing on....Journalism is about reporting the news, like I said above. But what about when ordinary citizens what to report what is happening in the community or around the world? This is called Citizen Journalism and it's when the citizens play an active role in reporting or analyzing the news (Wikipedia). So that means that you or I can go out and report on the topics that interest us. We can even create blogs and use Twitter!
(Click here for more info on this topic and to learn how to get started in Citizen Journalism)
Businesses are adapting to digital media by means of the consumer...they are trying to meet the needs and demands of us. And by doing this they are getting the competitors advantage. Consumers are adapting to digital media by using online resources for news. They are now looking for online newspapers and blogs to keep up to date on events and things happening around the world and in their neighborhood. New forms of digital media are appearing everywhere, on the internet they are appearing as chronicles, like the Ann Arbor Chronicle, or they are appearing as blogs. People are using the internet to expand their readers.
Journalism in 10 years will be looking into Facebook and Twitter. Journalist will report there instead of in a newspaper. Journalists will need to be the center of attention and not the newspapers (If they still exists in 10 years). And the biggest thing is that they will need to be trustworthy and reliable!! (click here to learn more).Resources:
http://www.theatlantic.com/magazine/archive/2009/04/media-insiders-say-internet-hurts-journalism/7410/
http://blogs.reuters.com/from-reuterscom/2009/12/11/how-will-journalism-survive-the-internet-age/
http://annarborchronicle.com/about-us/
http://www.j-learning.org/
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Citizen_journalism
http://www.jasonkandel.com/2010/01/31/5-characteristics-of-journalism-in-10-years/
Image 1 courtesy of:
http://blogs.uscannenberg.org/claire_spera/ugh-journalistic-integrity-is-boring-thumb-300x257.jpg
Image 2 courtesy of:
http://minnesota.publicradio.org/collections/special/columns/loophole/content_images/WTD130.gif
Image 3 courtesy of:
http://www.media.asia/DigitalMedia/Awards/2008/images/index_main.jpg
I think that you are right in one aspect about the internet being journalism. It is reality that journalism via the internet is real journalism but the journalists have to live by the same rules and code of ethics that traditional journalists must follow.
ReplyDeleteJournalism has always been exciting but the internet has made it even more so - we as students blogging are journalists. That is why it is so important, if to be taken seriously, that our blog posts be accurate and that credit is given when we use someone else's words and pictures and videos. I have learned a lot as I know we all have from this course.
The opportunities of online news in the future wasn't included in your "what will the future look like" section but I think you mentioned it throughout your post. By embracing online journalism, companies have an opportunity to thrive with the availability in distribution and advertising. The companies can't let the culture destroy them, they will get it figured out. I also think that once more newspapers end up online, it will create a healthy completion to make sure each company has up to date, interesting, and accurate news. It will just take time to get there.
ReplyDeleteThat's an interesting point that you put about online news being trustworthy and reliable. Since so many people are embracing citizen journalism, it really is hard to tell what it reliable and what is not. What do you think is a good way to tell if something is reliable or not? It will be interesting to see what the future holds for digital media!
ReplyDeleteWith the new form of journalism, what becomes of the "professional journalist" and does our society and cultural still find individuals trained to be journalists valuable. I wonder if the individual journalist as a professional does not go through some major transformation then what are the consequences of a citizen journalists society if there are any?
ReplyDeleteI think that a quite a few people think how you do about the internet being journalism, however we really have to think of what the internet is: it's a place where anyone can have their own platform to have their voices heard. Which means that anyone can post any kind of blog or news story or resource and say what ever they want and no body can say "hey that's inaccurate (or a total fabrication) you have to take that down." That's why teachers hate it when people use Wikipedia for research papers, its kind of an unreliable source because anyone can contribute. The internet is full of unreliable news and facts like that. I see your point about having one article from one person in one news paper being very limiting, opinion wise but the internet is by no means a more quality resource than that would be. At least that one journalist probably actually talked to experts/professionals/people who know what they're talking about as opposed to some recluse in his mom's basement just preaching his thoughts.
ReplyDelete