Internet Changing Journalism - Essay Example

? Internet Changing Journalism Full s Full [Day Month Year] Journalism is the process of investigating, collecting, gathering, writing, editing and broadcasting different events, news, issues that may be social, political or general, trends and other information to a vast audience by various means. As quoted by Ward, “Journalism is merely history’s first draft” (Ward, 2006). The different means of transferring or communicating these information and news to the people can be television and radio broadcast, internet, newspapers, brouchers, leaflets, books, pamphlets, magazines, messaging, emails, websites and blogging, etc. Journalism besides covering political and social issues it also covers cultural aspects related to the concerned society like arts and entertainment. In the old times there were only three ways through which news and other information could be published or broadcasted but now in this modern era anyone can produce media if he has an internet connection and a computer or a smartphone. In the olden times journalism was an extremely professional career but now journalism has de-professionalized due to other forms of media and most importantly the internet (Whitman, Bergman, Noverr & Recchia, 1998). With the introduction of internet, journalism has quite changed in all aspects. The internet is a very wide network which comprises of many wide networks. It has become a very interactive form of media. Data through the internet is sent by means of packet switching. No form of media can attract such a large audience at a single time but through internet this is possible. The greatest advantage of internet being the ease of availability, use and cost effectiveness have made it even more common among the people. Anyone having access to the internet can have contact with all of the people of the world. Internet has removed all bounds and limits that were included with the traditional journalism. Internet has now become the center of all mass communication (Pavlik, 2001). There are various kinds of journalism that people are adopting as a profession or being practiced by amateurs. Internet has affected all types of journalism. Examples can include the following. Fashion journalism is one of the kinds of journalism in which the person has to write articles related to fashion and life style. People interested in fashion writing can opt for this profession; such articles can be read in newspapers and magazines and nowadays certain TV channels are there which only cover fashion related issues and trends. The internet has revolutionized the fashion journalism. We can now easily get access to the latest fashion trends and tips on the net in a jiffy anytime. If we were to watch a show on television we will have to wait until the show is aired on the television but through the internet we can access anything, any information without a time restriction. Tips to life style, health tips and other fashion related issues can easily be accessed through the web. Now almost all fashion magazines and fashion channels have correspondence with their own website. The journalist now has to work more hard and find more interesting and innovative ideas so that people are more attracted towards reading magazines and newspapers (Dreiser, & Nostwich, 1988). News journalism is another type of journalism in which news related to political, social issues, current issues, weather, entertainment news are covered. In the earlier times news could only be accessed by the people through the television and when there were no televisions then it was done through radio, and later on by newspapers as well. But all this required time and spending of large amounts of money. News through the newspapers could not be reached to the people instantly and the people had to wait a whole day long to read the news related to that day because it took time to gather, write and edit news and articles and then print them. For the news on television we had to wait for the time on which the news would be broadcasted. But now through the internet all these problems have been solved. We can get the news related to any country or any issue at any time without any difficulty. Headlines spread the world within no time through the net. Most of the news channels have also created their websites through which they also publish news, articles and headlines. But still aged people and people of the earlier ages still prefer to read newspaper (Quinn & Lamble, 2008). Feature writing is also a common type of journalism in which common issues, cultural issues, social issues, people, trends are discussed in varying depths, dimensions and aspects. These featured articles are usually written on unseen topics and untouched topics, issues and unseen or strange aspect of people which were generally unknown to the common people. The internet provides access to the articles in no time. We do not have to wait for the newspaper or the magazine in which it is published to come to our homes or we no need to go to libraries to get access to these; we can have access to any of the articles in a jiffy without any waiting. For featured journalism internet has over taken all forms of media. Celebrity journalism is quite evident from its name that it discusses celebrities not only related to the entertainment world but also personalities related to sports, music, dance, arts, politics, etc. It discusses the personal and professional life of the celebrities and their related gossips. This type of journalism is usually related to newspapers, magazines and television broadcasts. The people had to wait for the newspaper and magazines to reach their homes and then only they could get to read the gossip. But all this has been made easy through the net. You will only have to get connected to the net and all such gossip will be presented to you in no time. People prefer internet over magazines as they can get latest information without any delay Li (2006, pp. 47). Investigative journalism is the type of journalism in which the journalist does deep investigation, searches and collects evidence and unveils secrets and exposes scandals. They follow up stories an end up in solving cases. These are usually published in magazines and make headlines of newspapers. But again for the same reason the people prefer to go for the internet where they can get all such articles in no time. Internet has not completely overtaken other forms of media for investigative journalism. Sports journalism is another kind of journalism in which all news related to sports and sports related figures are written. Details about sports event are also discussed. Although the lovers of sports usually prefer live streaming but still they also like to read out the details. Internet has made this all very easy. We can do live streaming on the internet and read all stuff about sports events and sports figures. This is quite quicker and cheap as compared to newspaper and other forms. And so internet is preferred over other forms of media. And sports lovers love to scan the internet daily for news about sports. Citizen journalism is a journalism in which no actual journalist is working rather the normal people give information and report to the media about certain issues which the media have not highlighted. By the introduction of the internet citizen journalism has been greatly affected. The introduction of social websites like Facebook, twitter, etc. has greatly revolutionized. Video clips, news and other issues are commonly discussed on these websites and within no time the word spreads in every corner of the world. It so happens that the news channels pick information from these websites and then present it to the audience (Monaghan & Tunney, 2010). A more recent type of journalism is environmental journalism in which the journalist covers news and other information related to environment, they usually cover issues that are effecting the environment and what is being done to protect the environment. They also cover events and seminars that are being held related to the environment. They usually do not get much space of the media and are often a part of the news; they are not discussed in detail unless there is some serious issue. Internet again has affected environmental journalism. People now prefer to search the internet for any such issue or news and read it over the net instead of watching the television. They feel that the news is more informative over the net and can be further studied and understood in detail (Mcchesney & Nichols, 2010). Business and financial journalism is another type of journalism in which the journalist covers and presents detailed reports about the latest business trends that are being followed, the change in the market value, changes in stock exchange, etc. On television many shows are aired which are completely dedicated to news and information related to business. Even in newspaper a separate section which comprise of one or two pages of the entire newspaper have also been dedicated for business news. Internet has also greatly affected business journalism because in the business world the price of market and stock index changes within minutes and neither the television nor the newspaper can give you minute to minute information about the changes that are taking place whereas over the internet you can have the minute to information without any delay. Many news channels have their websites where they make updates minute to minute. Therefore people prefer that they watch or read the news on the internet Wolfe, T& Johnson (1973, pp. 25). Mainstream media or journalism also known as mass media is spreading the news and other information through the largest networks, and distribution channels for example BBC, CNN, Arab News, etc. In the last few years the development in connectivity, mobile devices and availability and easy to access to an internet connection have greatly influenced the mainstream media. The introduction of social websites like Facebook, etc. have greatly affected the mainstream media and mainstream news channels are in a dilemma and the journalists confused about what report should be given and when. The news channels and the journalists are now thinking ways to make people more attracted to them instead of social networking; it seems as if social networking has become the mainstream media. Internet have resulted in compression of the actual news and have changed the nature of headlines and news.in this fast moving world people usually prefer to just have a glimpse over the news and then carry on with their work. The greatest benefit is that we can get access to any news anywhere and anytime. In the earlier times the news channels would race to be the first to break out a headline but now due to the fast internet they do not race to be the first rather they prefer to give complete, accurate and verified news to the viewers. Internet has changed the outlook of mainstream media. As earlier discussed news channels and journalists have accepted the internet and the role being played by the internet. And now they also use social networking sites and blogs to present news and information but in their own style Weiner (2010, pp.14). It is not that internet and social networking sites and blogs have taken over the mainstream media and other forms of journalism. It is just that the people are always in search of new ideas and ways that will consume lesser time and provide them ease. And so they opt for the internet rather than other forms of media. But still the value that television, newspapers and magazine had can never be lost. People besides preferring the internet for news and other details also watch the television news and read newspapers so that they can assure the information that they have obtained from the internet and to get the accurate and correct information. News over the internet can be bogus also but news on the television and newspapers cannot be faked. Over the internet any information or news can be forged, millions of people use the internet and post information which they have got without any verification and mostly without any evidence so we cannot trust the internet completely for the news and other information. Websites of news channels and magazines however present accurate information. It can be concluded that internet has just provided an important extra source of information and a platform where you can present you opinion (Allan, 2006). References ALLAN, S. (2006). Online news: journalism and the Internet. Maidenhead, England, Open University Press. DREISER, T., & NOSTWICH, T. D. (1988). Journalism. Philadelphia, University of Pennsylvania Press. LI, X. (2006). Internet newspapers: the making of a mainstream medium. Mahwah, NJ, Lawrence Erlbaum Associates. MCCHESNEY, R. W., & NICHOLS, J. (2010). 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