From M/Cyclopedia of New Media
Gemma Kinslow is a second year student at Queensland University of Technology studying a double degree in Laws and Journalism.
You can contact her on [1]
My Group Proposal can be accessed here: Digital Journalism
Online Journalism and how it has changed the way we access the news
Annotated Bibliography
Cohen, E. (2002) "Online journalism as market-driven journalism," Journal of Broadcasting & Electronic Media vol.4, no.46, pp.532-48.
- Cohen’s article Online journalism as market-driven journalism discusses how the move towards online news has adapted patterns of news production and reproduction to the changes in audience consumption and viewing patterns thus altering the news environment. It explores how the development of new communication technology has created a medium that enables interactive and flexible text, changing the way news producers disseminate information, initiate discourse to activate a readership and satisfy commercial interests.
- Cohen argues that journalism has become market driven due to the profit motivation of investors and parent companies. Consequentially, more power is given to advertisers and consumers are left with little power to influence the news market when assigning news values and selecting news. Because of its interactive nature, online journalism gives power back to the consumer. They choose what stories they wish to read so the online news producer is more inclined to choose and present stories with the consumer in mind.
- Although Cohen’s article covers market driven journalism, which is not central to my topic, it does help outline why news producers are reluctant to fully explore the possibilities of online journalism and so explains why online journalism is developing slowly.
Cristol, H. (2002) "News in the Digital Age," The Futurist vol.36, no.5, pp.5-6.
- Some believe that the exodus of readers from print journalism to online journalism will cause the end of the newspaper. However, this does not worry some large media players as they believe the convergence of print, broadcast and online journalism will be the enterprise of the future.
- Traditionally, predominant news organizations owned most of the news outlets. Now however, the internet has provided the opportunity for independent people with some computer skills to create weblogs where they can view their opinions and publish their own stories.
- While their independence and lack of accountability may suggest they are less credible Cristol argues that some may be more credible than traditional media because they do not have to serve a corporate interest. They are not constrained by editorial policies and advertisers interests and so can be a more democratic medium.
De Wolk, R. (2001) Introduction to Online Journalism: Publishing News and Information, Allyn and Bacon: USA. ISBN 0205286895
- Introduction to online journalism is a good starting resource as it covers a wide range of online journalism aspects from issues of intellectual property to adapting and embracing this new media.
- Most relevant to my topic is a large section about convergence within new media and how online journalists can utilize this. The internet allows online journalists to add audio, visual and video to their stories thus combining the elements of print, radio and broadcast journalism altering the way people access news. Stopping journalists from embracing this convergence are the limitations of bandwidth, De Wolk acknowledges this and suggest ways in which online journalists can overcome it.
- De Wolk suggests that consumers absorb online content differently to traditional print and broadcast journalism. His studies show people do not read online content as carefully as they do print content and so journalists have to adapt fundamental practices to address this. He recommends reducing length and presenting the article in a tighter more efficient way and providing hyperlinks for people who wish to know more information.
Guensburg, C. (1999) "Online access to the war zone," American Journalism Review vol.2, no.21, pp.12-3.
- Online access to the war zone looks at online journalism coverage of the Kosovo crisis and the unprecedented coverage abilities the medium provided. The internet allows users to have a unique perspective and up close and personal view of events as they unfold in the war zone. An online site can provide statistics about casualties, follow the movement of the armed forces, call up pictures of the action, learn about the weapons being used, read email accounts of correspondents aught in the cross fire and even participate in chat rooms and online forums about the crisis. The site can also provide links to humanitarian sites so that audience members affected by the crisis can help or find out more information, an opportunity not offered by traditional forms of journalism.
- During the Kosovo crisis, the Serb parliament passed a law restricting the freedom of coverage of the news publications within the area. Because of online journalism, people within the area where able to access news sites outside the area to receive news free of censorship.
- The internet also allows the audience to access the sites of the opposing side of the conflict to get their view on what is happening so that the audience may go beyond the propaganda and form their own opinion on the crisis.
Gunter, B. (2003) News and the Net, Lawrence Erlbaum Associates, Inc. Publishers: New Jersey. ISBN 0805844996
- News and the Net examines the growth of online journalism and the implications it has had on news presentation, journalism practice, news consumers and the business of running news organizations.
- The internet offers a huge range of presentational formats so that now journalists cannot rely only on their writing skills but rather must present a news package on the screen. Simply posting a copy of a print article with an accompanying photo onto the screen does not take advantage of the opportunities the new media presents. The ability to combine images, audio and text presents a huge range of possibilities not previously available with traditional news outlets.
- Online newspapers do not have the constraints of deadlines like print, broadcast and radio journalism. If a newsworthy event occurs shortly after deadline then the news outlet must wait until the next publication before they can cover the story. In that time, they may be scooped by another news outlet. Online journalism provides perhaps the best arena for distributing news quickly. News can be posted within a short time of it occurring and updates can be posted as developments become available. This means up to date news can be accessed at any time of the day or night from any personal computer with an internet connection.
- However, many online news outlets also have a counterpart in the traditional news sector. Therefore, many new outlets feel hesitant about breaking stories online before they are published or broadcasted.
King, E. and Reddick, R. (1995) The Online Journalist: Using the Internet and Other Electronic Resources, Harcourt Brace & Company: USA. ISBN 0155020188
- The Online Journalist describes and demonstrates how reporters can use the internet and other online resources to do their jobs more efficiently and more effectively. It discusses the impact this new technology will have on journalism, the pitfalls reporters and editors must avoid, and the legal and ethical issues raised by online journalism.
- Access to information has defined journalism making interesting, timely and accurate information fundamental. The more access to information journalists have the more they are able to inform the public about key issues and interests of the day.
- A century ago, when the use of telephone exploded it had a profound effect on journalism. Journalists could collect more information much more quickly, call out to sources or call in stories back to the newsroom. The internet has had a similar effect on transforming journalism.
- Unfortunately, this book was published in 1995 when the internet was still being developed and was just only taking off. Online journalism had not yet been created. Interestingly, the writers makes projections about what they feel will be the role of the internet for the journalists of the future. :Therefore, it is a useful text for comparing the current situation with what was predicted.
Palser, B. (2002) "We've only just begun," American Journalism Review vol. 9, no.24, pp.39-42.
- This article by Barb Palser follows online journalism from its birth, through its early development, to the stage it is at now before projecting the possibilities that lay in the future. It looks at the obstacles once faced by the industry and how they overcame them, creating a sense of hope before it outlines the obstacles that still lie ahead.
- The pioneering stage of online journalism has ended and now is the time for it to properly develop. Palser believes that online journalism is still in its very early stages and that with the expansion of broadband, online journalism is facing a total reinvention allowing journalists to use their imagination. The costs involved with online journalism when it first began where quite high, but now are lean and efficient.
- When online journalism first began there was tension between online and the traditional news outlets. However, it has been found that online sites can complement the print or broadcast outlet meaning that many newspapers and broadcast stations have an online counterpart.
- Unfortunately, this article centres mainly around the history of online journalism in America. However, the worth of this article is its future projections and outlining of the many media that have affected online journalism.
Pavlik, J. (2001) Journalism and New Media, Columbia University Press: USA ISBN 0231114826
- Povlik believes the emergence of new media is transforming journalism in four ways:
- The nature of news content is changing
- The structure of the newsroom and news industry is undergoing a fundamental transformation
- New media are bringing a realignment of relationships among news organisations, journalists and the public
- Because of the lack of control, the internet provides access to news and information often censored by governments and others in control of traditional communication media.
- However, this lack of control also allows anyone to create an online news sites. Compared to traditional forms of journalism, an online news site can be low in cost if the creator has the relevant computer skills. Therefore, a person can get their stories out to anyone around the world. Consequentially, the credibility of online journalism has always been in question. Will the journalist then become obsolete?
- Pavlik believes the role of the journalist becomes even more important when dealing with the over abundance of information available on the web. Journalists need to amplify their role as sense-makers, helping direct the public to reliable information, and pointing out when certain online information should be questioned because of the partial nature of its source.
- In our Liberal Democratic society, journalistic institutions provide the fourth estate of government, making the other three branches (judiciary, legislature and the executive) accountable to the public for their actions. Journalism’s real power lies in the court of public opinion, and without credibility, this power is lost.
Ward, M. (2002) Journalism Online, Focal Press: Oxford. ISBN 0240516109
- Journalism Online is a wide ranging text that examines how traditional journalism skills are applied to the online medium. Most relevant to my subject is a section based on online story construction and how it differs to traditional story construction.
- Newspaper, radio and broadcast stories care based on a linear model. The audience read, listen or see the story as it is told to them, they do not get to choose the stories or the depth of coverage. With online journalism the consumption pattern is driven by the audience not by the provider. This has resulted in online journalism having a non-linear nature. Users are able to go where they please linking from information chunk to audio file, to database, to graphic, to text summary, to video, to archive and then onto another site via an external link.
- The traditional inverted pyramid style of writing used by other forms of journalism still apply but need not be strictly adhered to. Content should be presented in chunks. However, unlike the rigid formalities of print journalism, there are no rules for what each chunk should contain and how long it should be.
- Chunking a story maximises the potential readership. When presented with a single pyramid story, readers work through the piece to find the information they are interested in. Segmenting the story allows to reader to single out the elements of the story they are interested in.
Digital Journalism
Gemma Kinslow 22:55, 10 Aug 2004 (EST)
