Contents |
Online journalism refers to the discipline of computer-assisted reporting (CAR) journalism. The first online newspaper service Chicago Online was launched by the Chicago Tribune in the United States in May 1992. Soon, in April 2001, the US-based database Editor & Publisher Interactive already contained 12878 records of online newsmedia. The industry has grown rapidly since the Internet allows news readers to obtain more information and sources easily. Furthermore, the Internet can provide the function of two-way communication which enable readers to interactive with writers and others. Different types of journalism are located within two domains: content-connectively and closed participatory communication. The content-connectively domain is regarded as the participatory communication domain which the site allows people to share comments, discuss issues, and communicate in a participatory way. The site in close participatory communication domain has strict editorial control so that readers may only receive information without making comments (Deuze 2001).
There are four primary types of online journalisms online. The most widespread form is mainstream news site. This kind of news media production is fundamentally the same as printed or broadcasting media in terms of news value, relationship with audiences, and the approach to telling news. The website of CNN and BBC are illustrations of it. The second type of online journalism is index & category site. It is often attributed to search Engine such as Google and Yahoo, and news agencies like Newsindex. These news sites do not edit news themselves, but provide news articles or links which are published by many other mainstream news sites. Meta & comment site is a kind of online journalism which is used to discuss news contents which are found somewhere else on the Internet. The function of this journalism is described by Mediachannel (2005), “as the media watch the world, we watch the media�?. The last type is share & discussion site. Sites within this category facilitate platforms for the exchanges of ideas and stories such as Indymedia and Slashdot. This type is also described as ‘group weblong’, offering individuals a chance to post their experiences on the Internet (Deuze 2001).
Although many people regarded weblog as a new kind of journalism, Blood (2002) argues that webloggers are not journalists and the sites such as Slashdot and Kuro5hin are only the example of information sharing, analysis, and dissemination, but can not be seen as journalism. In his point of view, journalism begins with reporting; and journalism components such as news analysis, news selections, and distribution are developed to support this essential objective. However, weblogs work in a different way. Blood (2002) uses Oprah Winfrey as an example to support his argument. Oprah uses her television show to educate and tell her large audiences some important issues. She is indeed an important media personality, but no one will say she is a journalist.
BBC
CNN
Google News
Yahoo News
Newsindex
Mediachannel
Indymedia
Slashdot
Kuro5hin
Deuze, M. 2001. Online Journalism: modelling the first gengeration of new media on the World Wide Web. www.firstmonday.org/issues/issue6_10/deuze/ (accessed October 25, 2005).
Mediachannel. 2005. Who we are. www.mediachannel.org/about/ (accessed October 25, 2005).
Blood, R. 2002. The weblog handbook. Boston: Perseus Publishing.
--Chih-Yen Li 13:36, 27 Oct 2005 (EST)
