Impact of Internet on Journalism

{Name of the Institution]

Impact of Internet on Journalism

Introduction

The contemporary world can be ideally defined as a singular social entity; which is basically an amalgamation of the diverse cultural and social forces. In an era where the news from one country has a significant impact on global affairs; the responsibilities of the modern journalists have exponentially increased. No country in the modern world is isolated from the global affairs, as they all have an influence on the foreign policies of various other nations. The process of the unification of the world affairs has been aided by the phenomenon of the global operations of the multinational organizations. Even before the 21st century the process of globalization of the business environment was well established, however its significance has exponentially increased in the contemporary era. The complex global economic network formed by the operations of the multinational giants, which have a strong existence in several countries worldwide; have now paved the way for the political forces. The notion of countries forming their political strategies and foreign policies based on the economic needs; has now become a common practice. The fact is that majority of the political activity taking place on the world arena, which involves several countries, have a strong influence of the economic and business related factors. Through the internet the journalists can now access and share information regarding any event occurring in the globe, and provide the audience with a comprehensive analysis (Krotiski, 2011).

Thesis Statement

The internet has revolutionized the scope of journalism, and has resulted in an exponential increase in the phenomenon of information sharing. Through the internet, people have become significantly empowered and informed about world affairs.

Discussion

Historical Perspective

The concept of journalism was present in its basic form throughout the evolution of the human society. The ancient monarchial governments of the Roman Empire ruled by Julius Caesar; used to record and distribute the daily record of political developments to the Roman colonies. However the fall of the Empire caused a delay in the development in the field of journalism, as the news dissemination process now had to rely on outdated tools as travelers'' tales, songs, ballads and letters. The invention of the moveable type printing press; attributed to the work of Johannes Gutenberg in 1456, revolutionized the field of journalism. It made possible the distribution of print news to a wide geographic region and the majority of the population. The Church was able to extract the biggest advantage from the new technology, as it was able to spread printed biblical text all over the Christian populated nations. The Oxford Gazette was the first newspaper which was published on a regular basis, in 1665. By then a considerable amount of population in Europe was literate, and the journalists could play a vital role in developing the public opinion. After that era, the governments of the civilized countries realized the significance of the phenomenon of journalism, as it had become a cornerstone and the basic necessity for the social development ...