The Advantages of Online Journalism - Essay Example

The Internet: Online Journalism Introduction Online journalism is simply the reporting of news, facts which are disseminated through the internet or the online medium. Although many websites and online bulletins tend to inform people about news and events, it is the dissemination of supported and journalism backed information which categorizes it as online journalism. The source of the journalism that I online is usually lies with the brick and mortar news companies and organization, however in the eight years since 2000 internet as well as online journalism has coma long way, with online based websites providing news to readers on the internet exclusively. The main source of journalists and online reporters for the internet medium is the Online News Association which has 800 members. The different forms of online journalism pertain to forums, discussion boards, epapers, online news boards as well as blogs and RSS feeds. The nature of the medium and the ease of information dissemination on the internet have made it a very competitive field for online journalism. The internet is in fact challenging the traditional form of reporting and journalism as the classified advertising as well as advertisements are shifting to the online medium for newspapers. Aside from this the niche as well as general scope of journalism online makes it much more appealing for readers than the hardcopy based newspapers and magazines. People even consider online journalism to be broader in scope, more informative as compared to those conducted through the traditional medium. There is more freedom of speech online, as official journalists as well as volunteers can provide information on various topic. Aside form this online journalism is also considered to be less biased as compared to the traditional medium for journalism. According to Cohen as per her article in the Journal of Broadcasting and Electronic Media in 2002, online journalism is depicted as a form of journalism which is entirely driven by the market. However, opposition to the benefits of online journalism and its advantages the form of journalism also is considered to be of temporary nature, with the news structure being more random than properly structured. Advantages of Online Journalism As mentioned earlier, the advantage of online journalism pertain to the fact that the online medium is less biased than the traditional medium for journalism, has more information and is more specialized for the niche market of readers. However the most significant benefit that is reported for online journalism is the real time dissemination of information and the immediacy. The publishers in the online medium have the opportunity and the facility to publish news about news and events as it happens. "Other advantages of online journalism relate to other medium-specific characteristics. The incorporation of multimedia elements makes news websites more informative and entertaining. Hyperlinks, blogs and discussion forums allow web-users a more hands on experience, allowing them to be participants in the news process. The archiving ability of news websites is also a great advantage as it provides an extensive research resource to the public." (Rayment, 2004) Other benefits of online journalism also include the positive effect it has on the social and the culture of the people in the regional and global community. Moreover the online news channel is available to the readers twenty four hours a day, seven days a week, making it one of the most accessible medium for disseminating news and opinions. Aside from this the journalism on the online medium also allows the people to access news and opinions which are regional as well as global in nature providing them an increased scope of information and knowledge. The ease and the convenience provided through the online nature of the online journalism is the biggest advantage that is available to readers as well as information publishers in the world of today. This is because people can access epapers as well as forums and new boards and bulletins through their cell phones, PDAs, laptops as well as through their personal computers. Moreover a study by Wise, Bolls and Schaefer, published in Journal of Broadcasting & Electronic Media provided that online journalism and internet based content can have choice effects on the cognitive processing of online news reading individuals. Example of Online Journalism An example of online journalism that can be offered for the purpose of this paper is that pertaining to the news articles for current events and news on Yahoo and MSN websites. The article titled 'AP poll: Mortgage payments worry many' on Yahoo, published on April 14, 2008 provides information on how the events taking place in the housing and the mortgage and lending industry are effecting the people. The article talks about the depression in the real estate market and how an AP based poll provided that the high level of mortgage payments are affecting the choice of the people in the market for buying house right now as well as in the future. Moreover the article also provides that people who have taken on mortgage loans on their houses and property are unable to afford the mortgage payments, therefore reporting to defaulting on their loans and shifting to new replacing accommodations. The article is provided by Alan Fram from Washington a writer for the Associated Press and is based on the public opinion and the AP based poll. This article is therefore well founded and provides information based on public opinions and well grounded sources. This is a prime example of how online journalism disseminated through professional and authorized mediums and sources can help in voicing the opinion of the general people and disseminate it to a vast and wide audience. Flaws of Online Journalism Aside from having the numerous advantages as depicted earlier in the essay, online journalism and electronic technology based newspapers available on the internet have significant constraints and limitations as well. The ease of dissemination and availability of diverse range of information online as well as the freedom of speech offered on the internet makes way for ethical issues. These issues pertain to publishing of wrong and misguiding information, publishing unverified information as well as back lashing and targeting individuals negatively on the internet through online journalism. Moreover it is also sometimes difficult for the reader to distinguish between websites having credible sources of information and websites which are not supported with research and verified sources. "There are also limitations in online journalism regarding the issues of surveillance, censorship and privacy." (Rayment, 2004) The highly versatile nature of the internet medium and its decentralization puts another constraint on it in terms of limitations. While on one hand the internet provides access to all for information accessing and publishing as well as encouraging fast and easy dissemination of information and information sharing, this specific characteristic of the internet and online journalism also makes way for privacy issues, censorship issues as well as those of control and regulation. "One point is that the Internet provides a gateway to complete anonymity. It is said that anyone with a modem can become a journalist and names, as well as entire organizations can be made up, and who's to say that the articles are not fake, or invalid as well. Even well known news organizations have the potential to give unreliable information through links. When linking to another site, they could be leading the reader to false information, as it may be hard to find out if the information on that site is in fact accurate. Many distrust the Internet in general, due to the mass amount of pornography and entertainment content. The viewpoint is that with much profanity and junk floating around the Internet, how could any reliable and quality information get squeezed in" (Christie) The lack of regulation has a cyclical effect on the information on the internet medium and online journalism by allowing cyber crime as well as dissemination of misinformed data and information. A pilot project was conducted to determine the ethical issues faced by online journalists and online journalism based graduate students by Dueze and Yeshua where it was determined that what is actually taught in universities and actually in practice in Netherlands pertaining to ethical practices and codes of conduct in Netherlands has a large discrepancy favoring unethical behavior on the net. Conclusion The field of online journalism is a very vast field which is mostly based on the internet and derives its characteristics. The fast and easy dissemination information to a wide audience and the real time nature of the medium also is one of the highlighted benefits of online journalism. Moreover people are also of the opinion that online journalism is less biased than other traditional forms of journalism. Aside from this it also provides information for general as well as niche readers. However aside form having the mentioned advantages, the online journalism has specific flaws and disadvantages as well pertaining to privacy issues, lack of verification of sources for the information, misguiding information while also exploiting the freedom of information and speech act. Aside from this the lack of regulation, control and the censorship on the internet is also one of the major issues for online journalism. References Brodsky, L. N. 2007, "Internet News, the Changing Nature of Journalism and Misinformation: What are the Risks for Scholars", Annual meeting of the International Studies Association 48th Annual Convention Online, available at http://www.allacademic.com/meta/p180076_index.html Burke, J., 2005, 'Multimedia reporters: adapting to online journalism', World Editors Forum, available at http://www.editorsweblog.org/analysis/2005/12/multimedia_reporters_adapting_to_online.php Dueze, M., 1998, Online Journalism: Modeling the first generation of News Media on the World Wide Web, First Monday, available at http://www.firstmonday.org/issues/issue6_10/deuze/ Christie, J., Online Journalism, available at: http://studentworks.onlinedemocracy.ca/car/jess/online_journalism/onlinejournalism.html Cohen, Elisia L., 2002, 'Online Journalism as Market-Driven Journalism', Journal of Broadcasting & Electronic Media, Vol. 46 Issue 4, p532, 17p, available at http://web.ebscohost.com/bsi/detailvid=1&hid=15&sid=d4354e3a-d010-4ac7-9ec4-1e46014cea82%40sessionmgr2 Deuze, M., Yeshua, D., 2001, 'Online Journalists Face New Ethical Dilemmas: Lessons from The Netherlands', Journal of Mass Media Ethics, Vol. 16 Issue 4, p273-292, 20p, available at, http://web.ebscohost.com/bsi/detailvid=1&hid=109&sid=06851687-2fd3-4af9-99dc-7b33a136b22c%40sessionmgr103 Fram, A., 2008, 'AP poll: Mortgage payments worry many', YAHOO NEWS, available at http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20080414/ap_on_bi_ge/housing_crisis_ap_poll_8 Neuberger, C., Tonnemacher, J., Biebl, M., Duck, A., 'Online--The Future of Newspapers Germany's Dailies on the World Wide Web', Department of Journalism Catholic University of Eichsttt, available at http://jcmc.indiana.edu/vol4/issue1/neuberger.html Outing, S., 1999, 'Why online journalism is a great career choice', Editor & Publisher, Vol. 132 Issue 18, p49, 1p, available at http://web.ebscohost.com/bsi/detailvid=1&hid=17&sid=6eb82699-e341-455a-94ee-f1b73539a579%40SRCSM1 Paul, N., 2005, ''New News' retrospective: Is online news reaching its potential', AUSC ANNEBERG - ONLINE JOURNALISM REVIEW, available at http://www.ojr.org/ojr/stories/050324paul/ Rayment, H., 2004, 'Applications of Online Journalism - Advantages and Limitations', available at http://wiki.media-culture.org.au/index.php/Applications_of_Online_Journalism_-_Advantages_and_Limitations Sousa, H., 2006, 'Information Technologies, Social Change and the Future', European Journal of Communication, Vol. 21 Issue 3, p373-387, 15p, available at http://web.ebscohost.com/bsi/detailvid=1&hid=109&sid=0b122aec-6ff5-4d47-94c9-93fb6a221159%40sessionmgr109 Stern, G.M, 1999m 'Online Journalism Review', Link-Up, Vol. 16 Issue 1, p21, 1p, 1bw, available at http://web.ebscohost.com/bsi/detailvid=1&hid=15&sid=3aa97560-9caf-46ec-838c-13fb94fd9f84%40SRCSM2 Wise, K., Bolls, Paul D., Schaefer, Samantha R., 'Choosing and Reading Online News: How Available Choice Affects Cognitive Processing', Journal of Broadcasting & Electronic Media; Mar2008, Vol. 52 Issue 1, p69-85, 17p, available at http://web.ebscohost.com/bsi/detailvid=1&hid=109&sid=54e8b5c4-4294-4905-ba28-d84508f96689%40sessionmgr107 Read More