Topic > Journalism in the Internet Age

10 years ago, journalists were simply people who made a living by creating editorial material that was then published for readers, listeners or viewers. In today's digital age it is not so easy to say what I as a journalist am dealing with. Nowadays with the Internet and social media, there are more opportunities than ever to publish. This leads to the big question: If someone tweets about a major story or creates their own blog, does that make them a journalist? And should these tweeters, bloggers and citizen journalists be held to the same standards as people in more traditional journalism roles? (Marsh, 2012) Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on "Why Violent Video Games Shouldn't Be Banned"? Get an original essayWhat is quality journalism? There are no written criteria to define what quality journalism is. Much depends on a person's interests, knowledge and preferences. If we look at the Guardian and the Sun, both have very different views, but both have large audiences with trust from their audiences, both rated by their audiences as quality journalism. The digital age has been a blessing when it comes to breaking news, making it easy for the public to get continuous information about the crisis thanks to the ability to constantly upload news sources online. In 1995, online news sites typically published articles that had first been published elsewhere. Within minutes of the attack, journalists and their editors at online news services rushed to publish whatever information they could find. Eyewitnesses posted their version of what happened online. After a few days, the amount of information on the Internet was astonishing. (Allan, 2006) In the months following the Oklahoma City bombing, it became clear that the online network had great potential when it came to breaking news reporting and for those working in the newspaper industry it became clear that they would not be able to able to compete with their online rivals when it came to breaking news. (Allan, 2006) Chris Oaks (1995) wrote during the attacks “perhaps more than any other use of the web, this response of the Internet to a national tragedy portends what the future of online will be.” In a time of crisis people need information quickly as events unfold, online news can constantly upload content during a crisis while newspapers cannot. Online isn't always a good thing when it comes to breaking news. The internet has made it very easy for anyone to publish theories of an event even to the public without any facts or evidence to support their points, these theories can then easily be spread like wildfire and make their way into mainstream journalism. The crash of TWA Flight 800 is a good example. In July 1996 the airliner crashed into the Atlantic Ocean. Since the latest news there has been a lot of speculation about what/who caused the explosion. Many eyewitnesses claimed to have seen some kind of object or beam of light approaching the airliner at high speed. The "terrorist experts" were quick to declare that those responsible for the explosions were Arabs and Muslims. Breaking news and mainstream journalists have begun to rely on these sources for their content. Conspiracy theories began to make their way across the Internet, the most popular theory being that TWA 800 had been accidentally shot down by a US Navy cruiser engaged in exercises. Apparently this theory first came from the newsgroup alt.conspiracy.com, where it is, 2017)