The Information age has brought with it both advantages and disadvantages. Many critics believe that the disadvantages far outweigh the advantages in terms of the stress created by the sheer volume of information, much of which cannot be verified. However, there are also marked advantages for the world and time in which we live today. One phenomenon that is for example changing the face of journalism is known as citizen journalism in the form of online media outlets.
Increasingly, both professionals and amateurs in any field can use the Internet as an outlet for their products and ideas. This has resulted in a remarkable change in journalism, which spurred the debate over whether blogging can truly be seen on the same level as professional journalism. Even the debate is changing, as it is becoming clear that the Internet is increasingly integrated in all areas of life. Instead of debating the merits of journalism vs. blogging, researchers are now considering the integration between the two forms of news outlet, and their influence upon each other. This is a good thing, according to writers such as Jay Rosen.
One important factor that Rosen points out is that online journalism in the form of blogging, which is open to all citizens and all professionals, is also free from the ethical obligations of traditional journalism. This means that the traditional press was often subject to manipulation by powerful interest parties, which by definition made reporting inaccurate. Hence citizens were beginning to substantially lose their trust in the press. According to Rosen, this trust is to be reestablished by citizen journalism, not least because it is a much more interactive phenomenon than the traditional press. Online journalists can build their reputation by means of networking with their colleagues and their readership. As such, the value as well as validity of blogging is established by its readership. Most importantly, this also influences the way in which traditional journalism will operate in the future if it is to remain competitive.
NB C-notes
14 years ago
1 comment:
Very Interesting details. I propose setting some guidelines for blogging. For example, an external policy, which must be agreed upon before posting, allowing the blogger to be held responsible for some of their actions. By taking away the anonymous nature, each and every post can now be traced to an email or IP address. Second, set up a automated system for deleting comments which do not serve a better purpose by providing registered users the ability to delete comments that may be unethical.
Do you think this type of oversight would work to eliminate useless blogs?
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