The internet plays a huge part in the future of journalism. The internet is home to online news websites, online magazines, independent news websites and countless blogs. In the future, I'm certain that we will be seeing much more of these sites because, well, starting one is free (or a low yearly fee should you have your own domain). This is the future of journalism. But the million dollar question – is online journalism real journalism?
Because of its ubiquity, REAL traditional media journalists and educators have been asked if citizen journalists/participatory journalists/bloggers ARE journalists.
Many newspapers and magazines have online versions to complement their traditional, hard-copied counterparts and to facilitate features like video, audio and images to provide their readers with a more personal experience. Some examples are The Straits Times online and herworldplus. The journalists have been trained and require a certain qualification before being accepted into the company and there are editors who conduct fact checks before the news goes live. Therefore, I can say that such online news websites are credible.
However, this is not the case for most blogs. Blogs are usually run by an individual and are highly opinionated. Sure, some bloggers have connections to big brands and are constantly invited to attend media launches, the exact same ones that traditional media journalists attend. They receive the same press kits and take in the same information at the event. But bloggers are not journalists. Most bloggers are/were not even communication students and have never been trained in the field of journalism. Atrocious grammar and sentence structure aside, they are unaware of basic journalistic practices such as fact checking.
Jack Kapica, a former reporter for Canada's Globe & Mail and writer and editorial advisor for DigitalJournalism.com, reiterates my point, "Much of the writing I’ve read, on most citizen journalism sites, shows little understanding of the process of gathering the news and writing it in a conventional form. Conventionality of presentation is important because it can give readers a recognizable framework to assess and understand what’s being written." "One of the critical things many citizen journalism writers do not understand is the necessity of interviewing people and quoting them. The value of original quotes cannot be overstated. Too frequently I see citizen journalists quoting the mainstream media stories and I can’t see how this differs from mainstream media."
Writer, communications coach, broadcast journalism trainer and filmmaker, Tim Knight agrees that bloggers are not journalists, "Bloggers are not by nature into accuracy, balance and fairness, the
hallmarks of good journalists" "And just so you know, before anything we write can go to print or on air, a senior journalist first checks and edits it for accuracy and grammar etc." "Bloggers' contributions can be extremely important to a news story. But before their information can be used it has to be checked by professionals. Only then, only if the information proves to be correct, can it be trusted and used."
Pakistani news executive, Talat Hussein does not think so either. He feels that unlike journalists, bloggers aren't backed by any sense of accountability or responsibility. This is true. Since they are individually run and do not represent any company which they can potentially ruin the reputation of, they are free to post their honest opinion and not get into trouble as long as it isn't against the law. Hussein also feels that there's too much idle talk and dumbed down content. This is especially true when they have to constrict the information to fit the character count on Twitter. Journalists are trained to report news straight to the point, eliminating unnecessary "fluff" but blogs on the other hand, have too much "fluff" distracting the readers from the main content. In addition, many are paid for their blog posts so it might be biased towards the brand they're advertising.
Well this guy got his facts AND grammar wrong #definitelynotajournalist
Bloggers are not true journalists, but this does not mean that other online news sites aren't as credible as The Straits Times online or herworldplus. There are some highly respected online magazines that function just like traditional media. One example is local pop-culture website, Popspoken.
Because of its ubiquity, REAL traditional media journalists and educators have been asked if citizen journalists/participatory journalists/bloggers ARE journalists.
More opinions by affluent journalists as we go along!"I would trust citizen journalism as much as I would trust citizen surgery ... The blogosphere is no alternative, crammed as it is with ravings and manipulations of every nut with a keyboard." - Morley Safer, co-host of CBS's Sixty Minutes
Many newspapers and magazines have online versions to complement their traditional, hard-copied counterparts and to facilitate features like video, audio and images to provide their readers with a more personal experience. Some examples are The Straits Times online and herworldplus. The journalists have been trained and require a certain qualification before being accepted into the company and there are editors who conduct fact checks before the news goes live. Therefore, I can say that such online news websites are credible.
However, this is not the case for most blogs. Blogs are usually run by an individual and are highly opinionated. Sure, some bloggers have connections to big brands and are constantly invited to attend media launches, the exact same ones that traditional media journalists attend. They receive the same press kits and take in the same information at the event. But bloggers are not journalists. Most bloggers are/were not even communication students and have never been trained in the field of journalism. Atrocious grammar and sentence structure aside, they are unaware of basic journalistic practices such as fact checking.
Jack Kapica, a former reporter for Canada's Globe & Mail and writer and editorial advisor for DigitalJournalism.com, reiterates my point, "Much of the writing I’ve read, on most citizen journalism sites, shows little understanding of the process of gathering the news and writing it in a conventional form. Conventionality of presentation is important because it can give readers a recognizable framework to assess and understand what’s being written." "One of the critical things many citizen journalism writers do not understand is the necessity of interviewing people and quoting them. The value of original quotes cannot be overstated. Too frequently I see citizen journalists quoting the mainstream media stories and I can’t see how this differs from mainstream media."
Writer, communications coach, broadcast journalism trainer and filmmaker, Tim Knight agrees that bloggers are not journalists, "Bloggers are not by nature into accuracy, balance and fairness, the
hallmarks of good journalists" "And just so you know, before anything we write can go to print or on air, a senior journalist first checks and edits it for accuracy and grammar etc." "Bloggers' contributions can be extremely important to a news story. But before their information can be used it has to be checked by professionals. Only then, only if the information proves to be correct, can it be trusted and used."
Pakistani news executive, Talat Hussein does not think so either. He feels that unlike journalists, bloggers aren't backed by any sense of accountability or responsibility. This is true. Since they are individually run and do not represent any company which they can potentially ruin the reputation of, they are free to post their honest opinion and not get into trouble as long as it isn't against the law. Hussein also feels that there's too much idle talk and dumbed down content. This is especially true when they have to constrict the information to fit the character count on Twitter. Journalists are trained to report news straight to the point, eliminating unnecessary "fluff" but blogs on the other hand, have too much "fluff" distracting the readers from the main content. In addition, many are paid for their blog posts so it might be biased towards the brand they're advertising.
Well this guy got his facts AND grammar wrong #definitelynotajournalist
Bloggers are not true journalists, but this does not mean that other online news sites aren't as credible as The Straits Times online or herworldplus. There are some highly respected online magazines that function just like traditional media. One example is local pop-culture website, Popspoken.
Like traditional media companies, Popspoken has a department of editors and contributors (affectionately known as "curators"), so you can be assured that the news isn't just meaningless rambles. Their layout is impressive – polished and professional, with news that fall into a variety of categories. The contributors brave the crowds at events to interview affluent and high profile people. This dedication and meticulous behind-the-scenes fact-finding is something that sets these credible online news sites apart from your average blogger. They've even been quoted by The Straits Times – definitely legit!
A DigitalJournal article reports, "The problem is, veracity is deleted and placed in the trash bin. Unverified opinion is taking its place. Well-written, fact-checked opinion has a storied place in journalism history. But off-the-cuff, on-the-take opinion does not. Yet there is much more of the latter on the Internet than the former." And the number of independent, opinionated blogs will only increase. Kapica believes that citizen journalism can be very powerful due to its speed and the fact that it can be reported anytime, anywhere, but the world of citizen journalism needs to be encouraged to hold high standards of itself and practice proper journalistic principles. This means that for more efficient news broadcasting, we'd need more websites like Popspoken, and blogs that strive to be like such respectable online sites instead of 16-year-old ramblings.
I do agree that bloggers are no journalists. Anyone can blog, but whether or not they are credible and un-opinionated is another question. When bloggers blog, they have a bias towards what they are blogging about, what they believe and what they would like to share with the world. However, journalist cannot pick sides. And has to basically detach their emotions from the piece of news they are assigned to. Bloggers do not have the skills to do this.
ReplyDeleteThis is an interesting topic and very well written! Hope to read more controversy discussions here xx
Hi Jolene! Firstly, thanks for sharing, I love to listen to opinions! :)
DeleteYes definitely, I agree, journalists have to angle their story in a certain way so a lot of the truth are actually hidden from us readers. Bloggers on the other hand can be brutally honest.
I must say it is good to finally read and see someone, anyone blogging about things that MATTER, especially in the current day and age of technology alongside with the proliferation of online media. I'm sure there are many Singaporeans who run such blogs too, but many girls our age usually run blogs about their lives, or fashion blogs, or a blog that's basically a homage to their good looks, wealth and social status. So mad props to you Collette, you have my respect. I look forward to read your next post.
ReplyDeleteReading your next post* oops.
ReplyDeleteAnon: To be honest, I'm doing this as part of my Internet class assignment (sorry to disappoint :( )! But I do put a lot of effort and research into my posts so I really appreciate this!
Deletehi, you might actually want to take a look at this... http://therealsingapore.com/content/ignorance-or-result-tightly-controlled-media
ReplyDeleteSorry I cannot take therealsingapore seriously.
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