A Comparison between the Traditional News Media and the Modern Day Blogging Culture - Essay Example

Additionally, the use of blogs permit people to run dedicated news websites through which they communicate relevant news items to their target audience. In this research, I will investigate the differences between the blogging culture and the traditional news media with the view of determining the differences and similarities in their reporting of news to their diverse audiences. By doing this, my research will help all stakeholders including traditional media companies, bloggers and the consumers of news items to employ caution when using the facilities their roles present.

Responsiveness is a journalistic value that news disseminators must maintain. The research investigates the prevalence of objectiveness and responsiveness in news dissemination and access and therefore advise accordingly. Research Background Blogging is a personal form of communication in which users maintain and market pages on the internet to their target audience. Traditional media on the other hand refers to the radio, television and newspaper some of the oldest modes of news dissemination.

Most of the traditional media companies currently run dedicated news websites owing to the technological developments and the conveniences of the internet. In their websites, such companies maintain the reporting standards used in their traditional media and therefore employ several gatekeepers and custodians of their information. Their use of the internet through dedicated websites puts them among the same companies and bloggers. Just any other social media, blogs permit anyone with the access to the internet to become a mass communicator.

This implies that both the traditional media and the bloggers compete for the same market even though the bloggers may not expect as much benefit as the traditional media. Since they serve the same purpose in the society, the application of journalistic ethics and discipline must be equal. However, this is never the case especially with bloggers most of who lack journalistic training and the financial ability to afford gatekeepers as is the case with the traditional news media. As a user of the different social media and a student of journalism, I foresee that the research will establish major discrepancies and conflict of interests in the manner in which the two news sources disseminate their news to their audiences.

Bloggers enjoy an anonymity and rarely face any legal tussle in relation to their news coverage. Traditional news media on the other hand have physical addresses, organizational structure with clearly labelled flow of information. It is therefore predictable that the news coverage by the two differs and has varied effects in the society. Scope In conducting the research, I will analyse how the media have covered the Australian forest fire, a major international disaster and a great human-interest story to the global audience.

I will observe the coverage of the tragedy by the CNN and the BBC two leading global traditional new media and compare the two with the numerous blogs that reported the tragedy. Both the CNN and the BBC have dedicated websites, which cover their stories a feature that makes the comparison and contrast an easy observation assignment. Theoretical framework The research requires adequate information on the journalistic principles and ethics in order to note the professional flaws and the difference in the two news sources.

To do this effectively, I will use three sources that address the issues therein, the