INTERNET CHANGING JOURNALISM

Internet Changing Journalism



Table of Contents

Introduction2

Discussion3

Content:5

Production:6

Distribution and Revenues:6

Conclusion8

References10

Internet Changing Journalism

Introduction

At its most basic, journalism consists in finding things out then telling people about them via newspapers, radio, television or the Internet. It's not a product, but a process, one that used to be seen as a one-way street but more recently has been conceived as involving an audience which will filter messages through its own experiences and understanding (Harcup, 2004) and arrive at its own reading. The notion that journalism has a social role runs throughout many discussions of what it is. According to McNair (2002, Pp. 9), it is 'an account of the existing real world as appropriated by the journalist and processed in accordance with the particular requirements of the journalistic medium through which it will be disseminated to some section of the public'.

Basically journalism is the practice and profession of producing material of current interest for the press, broadcasting, and the Internet. Originally limited to the written word (print journalism), but now extended to the spoken word on radio and television (broadcast journalism) and pictures (photojournalism), the term applies to the collecting, working up, and editing of material, especially news. Journalism has its own trade unions, professional associations, codes of conduct, awards, and training schemes. Its laudable claim to 'Fourth Estate' status is often compromised by its collusion with those with power in society, invasions of personal privacy, and cheque-book journalism ('revelations' bought at great expense).

McQuail (2000) describes it as paid writing, or the audio-visual equivalent, for public media that refers to current events of public relevance, but the idea of a social role in the sense that journalism helps people understand the world around them and make informed decisions has mutated. As the structure of the media industries has changed, so, maybe, has journalism. Franklin picks up Malcolm Muggeridge's neologism 'Newszak' as identifying a retreat from investigative journalism and hard news reporting to lighter, softer and more celebrity-driven news. Curran and Seaton (1997, Pp. 259) say news values are becoming less about news in the social sense and 'more about scandals and attracting audience attention'. However, in the past few decades since the advent of internet the field of journalism has been significantly affected. This paper discusses how internet has changed journalism in a holistic context.

Discussion

In the physical sense, anyone connected to the Internet through their computer can be deemed to be online. The term can also have a conceptual value (Ward, 2002) in that it refers to a new form of journalism, which has become a mass communication medium in its own right in an age of globalization; for example, the world wide web version of a newspaper is said to be the online or web edition. Online journalism can be described as 'quality news and information posted on the internet (particularly the World Wide Web)' (De Wolk, 2001).

New media technology means content can be presented in a far richer way than possible in the traditional mediums of print and broadcast, leading to the ...