The advent of digital age has equipped everyone who has access to internet with a powerful tool to make his voice heard via a variety of Web 2.0 platforms, may it be social networking site, blog or video/photo sharing network. Blogging, in particular, has turned the table for news production which used to be a privileged profession for a number of traditional journalists but now has become the playground for numerous yet mushrooming bloggers, also known as citizen journalists. It is also worth noting that with the growing popularity of blogging as an alternative platform for delivering news and commentary, most journalists from conventional media have started to set up blogs either outside or within their news network so that they are able to communicate with readers on topical issues from a more personal perspective.
This essay aims to break the myth that the rise of citizen journalists is reducing the need for traditional ‘quality’ journalism. I will firstly invite a debate over several drawbacks of traditional media where citizen journalists can fill in the gap, then deal with the problematic conceptualization of blogging as a replacement for traditional media in the quest for quality journalism, and finally include my working definition of quality journalism. In this essay, I will focus on the nature of “blogging” and “citizen journalism” as news media so both terms are interchangeable.
1 Why blog instead of traditional media
Traditional media business proves financially and institutionally vulnerable, which may translate into poor execution in terms of accuracy and objectivity. Commercial news corporations heavily depend on avenue from advertising though many online news cites such as the Financial Times and the Wal...
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When discussing the media, we must search back to its primal state the News Paper. For it was the News paper and its writers that forged ahead and allowed freedoms for today’s journalism on all fronts, from the Twitter accounts to the daily gazettes all must mark a single event in the evolution of media in respects to politics and all things shaping. Moving on in media history, we began to see a rapid expansion around 1990. With more than 50% of all American homes having cable TV access, newspapers in every city and town with major newspaper centers reaching far more than ever before. Then the introduction of the Internet; nothing would ever be the same.
The “marketplace of ideas” would become a significant part of journalism and is still present and in effect today. One might argue that the “marketplace of ideas” has run amuck. As technology continues to advance we are witness to the ever-changing adaption made to journalism and its techniques. No longer is the schooled journalist, or the wealthy publisher the only ones to report our d...
The author provides a rough timeline of the objective norm emerging in American journalism, and explains the inner origin of these co...
I say this because there were points in which I personally could not really understand what was going on due to my lack of exposure to this problem that American journalism is facing. More specifically, terminology that was used, especially from business standpoints, and the different companies that were involved made it harder to keep up with the issue at hand. However, with a little editing and better explanation of terminology, I think that this film could extend to a wide audience that would include both digital natives and digital immigrants that are experiencing this transition within American news reporting. This paper will examine the difference between old and new journalism and its new standards, “The New York Times Effect” and its 21st century challenges, important qualifications to be a successful journalist, and the future role of journalism within American society.
Mainstream media such as television, radio, newspapers were the primary source of reliable information before the epoch of the internet. However, the situation has changed. The evolution of modern technology in the world today has led to the continuous increase in the methods of practicing journalism. Social and technological advancements have not only improved the pace and content of this field’s practice, but has extended its genre to online or cybernetic journalism. (Project for Excellence in Journalism, 2007). News websites most of which are owned by major media companies and alternative websites with user generated content such as social networking sites and blogs are gaining grounds in the journalism field of practice. (Nel, n.d). One of the chief forces affecting the practice of journalism nowadays is online citizen journalists. Nel (n.d) defines citizen journalism as “individuals playing an active role in the process of collecting, reporting, analysing and disseminating news and information”. He further adds that “citizen journalism is slowly being looked upon as a form of rightful democratic ways of giving hones news, articles, etc, directly by citizens of the world from anywhere.” One of the major researches conducted in the field of citizen journalism, describes the phenomenon as “individuals who intend to publish information online, meant to benefit a community”, and this information is expected to benefit the audience or the wider population in making decisions for the improvement of their community. (Carpenter, 2010.)
"Journalism Ethics Online Journalism Ethics Gatekeeping." Journalism Ethics for the Global Citizen. Web. 05 Dec. 2010. .
This class is based on an ideology that suggests “everyone can be a journalist in the digital age” (Splichal, 2015) (Dahlgren, Splichal 2016). Along with
An argument can be made that Journalism is one of the very few professions in the world of media that is handled with some sort of dignity and pride. After reading “The Elements of Journalism” by Bill Kovach and Tom Rosenstiel, I realized how important journalism is to each and every one of us. Whether you’re a writer or a reader, the back and forth exchange between provider and consumer is extremely important in pushing society forward. Journalism after all is designed to challenge society, promote new ideas and spark conversation between one another. Despite the positives of journalism, there are issues that exist within the profession that cannot be excused and cannot be ignored.
In trying to attract new audiences, news media have begun to transition from reporting to becoming a form of entertainment. With the meteoric rise of social media’s role as a news source, the fight for an increase of diversity in the media, and the ever-growing desire of immediate content, the future of responsible journalism is more important than ever. Ask yourself, why do I think the way I do? Where do my political views originate? How do I prove them? Most likely, it is due to the biased portrayal of issues in the media and the politicization that accompanies what we consume. Now, compare your views to your preferred news reporting entity. More than likely, they are the same.
Robinson, S. (2007). "Someone's gotta be in control here": The institutionalization of online news and the creation of a shared journalistic authority. Journalism Practice, 1(3), 305-321
There are two distinct sides to the debate of journalism, their journalists, and the consumers: traditional journalism and public journalism. In the current digital age there is a greater number of public journalism being practiced. However, journalists and their consumers run into several issues concerning that matter. To express more clearly, there are particular roles and characteristics in which journalism standards are being gauged.
Demir, Muge. "Importance Of Ethic, Credibility And Reliability In Online Journalism." European Journal Of Social Science 24.4 (2011): 537-545.
Print media is on the decline, this can be seen in the U.S.newspaper industry as it is facing “its worst financial crisis since the Great Depression” (Kirchhoff). A few huge newspaper chains declared their bankruptcy, while many others have shut down (Kirchhoff). This has lead to many reporters and editors to be out of the job, lesser pay and even becoming web-only publications (Kirchhoff).
Consequently, today’s audience is considered non-captive and far more empowered. This comes with challenges as well opportunities for journalists. Part of the challenge is that those who stick to a specialty area like radio or television, risk broadcasting themselves out of relevance. So, “rather than undermining the traditional narrative, the Internet is an opportunity to experiment with multi-dimensional storytelling and new narrative approaches that provide context and depth and also are more compelling and engaging.” (Grabowicz 2014) This requires the ability to reach the audience using more than one platform.
McLoed and Hawley (as cited in Wilson, 1995) elucidated appropriately, "a recurrent journalistic controversy has involved the question whether journalism is a true profession or merely a craft." Sparked primarily by Lippmann and Dewey, extending into the age of the penny press (mid 1980s) and later, the attempt to commercialise the news (late 1980s) to our present era, there has existed a contentious debate on journalism being distinguished as a profession (Wilson, 1995).