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There is no real dispute; the Internet has become one of the most substantial technological developments in the history of human civilization. Never before has any one medium been able to offer such informational, recreational and commercial diversity to such a vast network of connected users.
Journalists, whose profession centres on the distribution of the news to the general population, quickly took advantage of the countless possibilities the Internet provided them with, and hence, Online Journalism was born.
Online Journalism is most simply defined as Journalism in the online environment. The primary role of Online Journalism is to report and analyse facts and events that are firmly rooted in time (either topical or historical), using the unparalleled technological abilities of the Internet.
As Robert DeWolk acknowledges, “the combined power of pictures, graphics, audio, text, and interactivity available to millions of people online is the most significant change in mass communication since television.�
The immediacy of the news has always been the most important aspect of Journalism. Traditionally, print journalism was not very immediate; readers would have to wait an entire day before the next paper was published with updated local news and they would have to wait even longer for national and world news, as it took longer to transport information across large distances.
Television and Radio Journalism were more immediate, with several broadcasts throughout the day highlighting major news stories. If a really important story came up, regular broadcasts could be interrupted and the breaking news would be aired.
However, online journalism has taken the next step; providing it users with the most immediate source of news. Online news sites are updated hourly, providing their users with instant access to local, national, and international news.
Online Journalism offers its users interactivity unlike any of its predecessors. As McMillan explains, Online Journalism offers two styles of interactivity.
One dimension can be identified as interpersonal interactivity, or the extent to which audiences can have computer-mediated conversations in the ‘spaces’ created for them by journalists. The other dimension can be defined as content interactivity in which journalists technologically empower consumers over content.
In one way, online journalism offers users interactivity by allowing them to respond to articles, give feedback on the services provided, email journalists and hold discussion forums on topics of interest. However, it also allows the user interactivity with the online news site itself. This is known as content interactivity and allows users the power to interact with the content they choose to, ie, browsing local stories only, or getting the most up to date information on special topics such as the War in Iraq.
The advances in technology have enabled Online Journalists to offer multimediality to their readers. Multimediality is the use of multimedia in the telling of the news. No longer are journalists restricted to telling the news in one format; they have the opportunity to let the story unfold throughout the use of a variety of mediums, giving the user the power to determine for themselves which medium tells the story in the best way. In the online news environment, video, audio, print and interactive software have converged, allowing the user the ability to choose which medium they would have their news served in.
Online Journalism also provides it users with hypertextuality, that is, the option to link to related articles, forums, websites etc with the click of a button. Hypertextuality essentially links one internet page to another. This new feature offered on news sites acts as a gateway to information, not only empowering the user to follow up stories if they choose, but to search for related material on the Internet.
Online journalism is becoming more important within our society as it continues to play a more integral role in the shaping of the news. No longer is Online Journalism seen as a threat to its traditional conterparts, but as a welcome competitor in the never ending race to tell the news. Offering unprecedented new features such as interactivity, immediacy, multimediality and hypertextuality, combined with a vast array of new technological developments, Online Journalism will continue to grow and be an important part of our online society.
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Gavin Meakin 12:27, 10 Sep 2004 (EST)
