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Digital journalism, also known as netizen journalism or online journalism, is a contemporary form of journalism where editorial content is distributed via the
Internet The Internet (or internet) is the Global network, global system of interconnected computer networks that uses the Internet protocol suite (TCP/IP) to communicate between networks and devices. It is a internetworking, network of networks ...
, as opposed to publishing via print or
broadcast Broadcasting is the data distribution, distribution of sound, audio audiovisual content to dispersed audiences via a electronic medium (communication), mass communications medium, typically one using the electromagnetic spectrum (radio waves), ...
. What constitutes digital journalism is debated amongst scholars. However, the primary product of journalism, which is news and features on current affairs, is presented solely or in combination as text, audio, video, or some interactive forms like
storytelling Storytelling is the social and cultural activity of sharing narrative, stories, sometimes with improvisation, theatre, theatrics or embellishment. Every culture has its own narratives, which are shared as a means of entertainment, education, cul ...
stories or newsgames and disseminated through digital media technology.Kawamoto 2003, p. 4. Fewer
barriers to entry In theories of Competition (economics), competition in economics, a barrier to entry, or an economic barrier to entry, is a fixed cost that must be incurred by a new entrant, regardless of production or sales activities, into a Market (economics) ...
, lowered distribution costs and diverse
computer networking A computer network is a collection of communicating computers and other devices, such as printers and smart phones. In order to communicate, the computers and devices must be connected by wired media like copper cables, optical fibers, or b ...
technologies have led to the widespread practice of digital journalism. It has democratized the flow of information that was previously controlled by traditional media including newspapers, magazines, radio and television. In the context of digital journalism, online journalists are often expected to possess a wide range of skills, yet there is a significant gap between the perceived and actual performance of these skills, influenced by time pressures and resource allocation decisions. Some have asserted that a greater degree of creativity can be exercised with digital journalism when compared to traditional journalism and traditional media. The digital aspect may be central to the journalistic message and remains, to some extent, within the creative control of the writer, editor and/or publisher. While technological innovation has been a primary focus in online journalism research, particularly in interactivity, multimedia, and hypertext; there is a growing need to explore other factors that influence its evolution. It has been acknowledged that reports of its growth have tended to be exaggerated. In fact, a 2019 Pew survey showed a 16% decline in the time spent on online news sites since 2016.


Overview

Digital journalism flows as
journalism Journalism is the production and distribution of reports on the interaction of events, facts, ideas, and people that are the "news of the day" and that informs society to at least some degree of accuracy. The word, a noun, applies to the journ ...
flows and is difficult to pinpoint where it is and where it is going. In partnership with
digital media In mass communication, digital media is any media (communication), communication media that operates in conjunction with various encoded machine-readable data formats. Digital content can be created, viewed, distributed, modified, listened to, an ...
, digital journalism uses facets of digital media to perform journalist tasks, for example, using the internet as a tool rather than a singular form of digital media. There is no absolute agreement as to what constitutes digital journalism. Mu Lin argues that, “Web and mobile platforms demand us to adopt a platform-free mindset for an all-inclusive production approach – create the igitalcontents first, then distribute via appropriate platforms." The repurposing of print content for an online audience is sufficient for some, while others require content created with the digital medium's unique features like
hypertext Hypertext is E-text, text displayed on a computer display or other electronic devices with references (hyperlinks) to other text that the reader can immediately access. Hypertext documents are interconnected by hyperlinks, which are typic ...
uality. Fondevila Gascón adds multimedia and interactivity to complete the digital journalism essence. For Deuze, online journalism can be functionally differentiated from other kinds of journalism by its technological component which journalists have to consider when creating or displaying content.Deuze 2003, p. 206. Digital journalistic work may range from purely editorial content like CNN (produced by professional journalists) online to public-connectivity websites like Slashdot (communication lacking formal barriers of entry). The difference of digital journalism from traditional journalism may be in its re-conceptualised role of the reporter in relation to audiences and news organizations.Wall 2005, p. 156. The expectations of society for instant information was important for the evolution of digital journalism. However, it is likely that the exact nature and roles of digital journalism will not be fully known for some time. Some researchers even argue that the free distribution of online content, online advertisement and the new way recipients use news could undermine the traditional business model of mass media distributors that is based on single-copy sales, subscriptions and the selling of advertisement space.


History

The first type of digital journalism, called teletext, was invented in the UK in 1970. Teletext is a system allowing viewers to choose which stories they wish to read and see it immediately. The information provided through teletext is brief and instant, similar to the information seen in digital journalism today. The information was broadcast between the frames of a television signal in what was called the vertical blanking interval or VBI. American journalist Hunter S. Thompson relied on early digital communication technology beginning by using a fax machine to report from the 1971 US presidential campaign trail as documented in his book Fear and Loathing on the Campaign Trail. After the invention of teletext was the invention of
videotex Videotex (or interactive videotex) was one of the earliest implementations of an end-user information system. From the late 1970s to early 2010s, it was used to deliver information (usually pages of text) to a user in computer-like format, typi ...
, of which Prestel was the world's first system, launching commercially in 1979 with various British newspapers, such as the
Financial Times The ''Financial Times'' (''FT'') is a British daily newspaper printed in broadsheet and also published digitally that focuses on business and economic Current affairs (news format), current affairs. Based in London, the paper is owned by a Jap ...
lining up to deliver newspaper stories online through it. Videotex closed down in 1986 due to failing to meet end-user demand. American newspaper companies took notice of the new technology and created their own videotex systems, the largest and most ambitious being Viewtron, a service of Knight-Ridder launched in 1981. Others were Keycom in Chicago and Gateway in Los Angeles. All of them had closed by 1986. Next came computer Bulletin Board Systems. In the late 1980s and early 1990s, several smaller newspapers started online news services using BBS software and telephone modems. The first of these was the Albuquerque Tribune in 1989. ''
Computer Gaming World ''Computer Gaming World'' (CGW) was an American Video game journalism, computer game magazine that was published between 1981 and 2006. One of the few magazines of the era to survive the video game crash of 1983, it was sold to Ziff Davis in 199 ...
'' in September 1992 broke the news of
Electronic Arts Electronic Arts Inc. (EA) is an American video game company headquartered in Redwood City, California. Founded in May 1982 by former Apple Inc., Apple employee Trip Hawkins, the company was a pioneer of the early home computer game industry ...
' acquisition of Origin Systems on Prodigy, before its next issue went to press. Online news websites began to proliferate in the 1990s. An early adopter was ''
The News & Observer ''The News & Observer'' is an American regional daily newspaper that serves the greater Triangle area based in Raleigh, North Carolina. The paper is the largest in circulation in the state (second is the '' Charlotte Observer''). The paper has be ...
'' in
Raleigh, North Carolina Raleigh ( ) is the List of capitals in the United States, capital city of the U.S. state of North Carolina. It is the List of municipalities in North Carolina, second-most populous city in the state (after Charlotte, North Carolina, Charlotte) ...
which offered online news as Nando. Steve Yelvington wrote on the Poynter Institute website about Nando, owned by The N&O, by saying "Nando evolved into the first serious, professional news site on the World Wide Web". It originated in the early 1990s as "NandO Land". It is believed that a major increase in digital online journalism occurred around this time when the first commercial web browsers,
Netscape Navigator The 1990s releases of the Netscape (web browser), Netscape line referred to as Netscape Navigator were a series of now discontinued web browsers. from versions 1 to 4.08. It was the Core product, flagship product of the Netscape, Netscape Comm ...
(1994) and
Internet Explorer Internet Explorer (formerly Microsoft Internet Explorer and Windows Internet Explorer, commonly abbreviated as IE or MSIE) is a deprecation, retired series of graphical user interface, graphical web browsers developed by Microsoft that were u ...
(1995).Scott 2005, p. 94. By 1996, most news outlets had an online presence. Although journalistic content was repurposed from original text/video/audio sources without change in substance, it could be consumed in different ways because of its online form through toolbars, topically grouped content, and intertextual links. A twenty-four-hour news cycle and new ways of user-journalist interaction web boards were among the features unique to the digital format. Later, portals such as AOL and Yahoo! and their
news aggregator In computing, a news aggregator, also termed a feed aggregator, content aggregator, feed reader, news reader, or simply an aggregator, is client software or a web application that aggregates digital Content (media), content such as online newsp ...
s (sites that collect and categorize links from news sources) led to news agencies such as The Associated Press to supplying digitally suited content for aggregation beyond the limit of what client news providers could use in the past. Also, ''
Salon Salon may refer to: Common meanings * Beauty salon A beauty salon or beauty parlor is an establishment that provides Cosmetics, cosmetic treatments for people. Other variations of this type of business include hair salons, spas, day spas, ...
'', was founded in 1995. In 2001, the ''
American Journalism Review The ''American Journalism Review'' (''AJR'') was an American magazine covering topics in journalism. It was launched in 1977 as the ''Washington Journalism Review'' by journalist Roger Kranz. It ceased publication in 2015. History and profile T ...
'' called ''Salon'' the Internet's "preeminent independent venue for journalism." In 2008, for the first time, more Americans reported getting their national and international news from the internet, rather than newspapers. Young people aged 18 to 29 now primarily get their news via the Internet, according to a Pew Research Center report. Audiences to news sites continued to grow due to the launch of new news sites, continued investment in news online by conventional news organizations, and the continued growth in internet audiences overall. Sixty-five percent of youth now primarily access the news online. Mainstream news sites are the most widespread form of online news media production. As of 2000, the vast majority of journalists in the Western world now use the internet regularly in their daily work. In addition to mainstream news sites, digital journalism is found in index and category sites (sites without much original content but many links to existing news sites), meta- and comment sites (sites about news media issues like media watchdogs) and share and discussion sites (sites that facilitate the connection of people, like Slashdot). Blogs are also another digital journalism phenomenon capable of fresh information, ranging from personal sites to those with audiences of hundreds of thousands. Digital journalism is involved in the cloud journalism phenomenon, a constant flow of contents in the Broadband Society. Prior to 2008, the industry had hoped that publishing news online would prove lucrative enough to fund the costs of conventional newsgathering. In 2008, however,
online advertising Online advertising, also known as online marketing, Internet advertising, digital advertising or web advertising, is a form of marketing and advertising that uses the Internet to promote products and services to audiences and platform users. ...
began to slow down, and little progress was made towards development of new business models. The Pew Project for Excellence in Journalism describes its 2008 report on the State of the News Media, its sixth, as its bleakest ever. Despite the uncertainty, online journalists report expanding newsrooms. They believe advertising is likely to be the best revenue model supporting the production of online news. Many news organizations based in other media also distribute news online, but the amount they use of the new medium varies. Some news organizations use the Web exclusively or as a secondary outlet for their content. The
Online News Association The Online News Association (ONA), founded in 1999, is a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization of digital journalists headquartered in Washington, D.C., Washington D.C., United States. The founding members first convened in December 1999 in Chicago. ...
, founded in 1999, is the largest organization representing online journalists, with more than 1,700 members whose principal livelihood involves gathering or producing news for digital presentation. The Internet challenges traditional news organizations in several ways. Newspapers may lose
classified advertising Classified advertising is a form of advertising, particularly common in newspapers, online and other periodicals, which may be sold or distributed free of charge. Classified advertisements are much cheaper than larger display advertisements use ...
to websites, which are often targeted by interest instead of geography. These organizations are concerned about real and perceived loss of viewers and circulation to the Internet. Hyperlocal journalism is journalism within a very small community. Hyperlocal journalism, like other types of digital journalism, is very convenient for the reader and offers more information than former types of journalism. It is free or inexpensive.


Reports of Facebook interfering in journalism

It has been acknowledged that Facebook has invested heavily in news sources and purchasing time on local news media outlets. Tech Crunch journalist Josh Constine even stated in February 2018 that the company "stole the news business" and used sponsorship to make many news publishers its "ghostwriters." In January 2019, founder Mark Zuckerberg announced that he will spend $300 million in local news buys over a three-year period.


Impact on readers

Digital journalism allows for connection and discussion at levels that print does not offer on its own. People can comment on articles and start discussion boards to discuss articles. Before the Internet, spontaneous discussion between readers who had never met was impossible. The process of discussing a news item is a big portion of what makes for digital journalism. People add to the story and connect with other people who want to discuss the topic. The interaction between the press and the online public has led to a shift towards a participatory model in news framing, where alternative discourses emerge alongside traditional journalism. Digital journalism creates an opportunity for niche audiences, allowing people to have more options as to what to view and read. Digital journalism opens up new ways of storytelling; through the technical components of the new medium, digital journalists can provide a variety of media, such as audio, video and
digital photography Digital photography uses cameras containing arrays of electronic photodetectors interfaced to an analog-to-digital converter (ADC) to produce images focused by a lens, as opposed to an exposure on photographic film. The digitized image is ...
. Regarding to how this affects the users and how it changes their usage of news, research finds that, other than a different layout and presentation in which the news are perceived, there is no drastic difference in remembering and processing the news. Digital journalism represents a revolution of how news is consumed by society. Online sources are able to provide quick, efficient, and accurate reporting of breaking news in a matter of seconds, providing society with a synopsis of events as they occur. Throughout the development of the event, journalists are able to feed online sources the information keeping readers up-to-date in mere seconds. The speed in which a story can be posted can affect the accuracy of the reporting in a way that doesn't usually happen in print journalism. Before the emergence of digital journalism the printing process took much more time, allowing for the discovery and correction of errors. News consumers must become Web literate and use
critical thinking Critical thinking is the process of analyzing available facts, evidence, observations, and arguments to make sound conclusions or informed choices. It involves recognizing underlying assumptions, providing justifications for ideas and actions, ...
to evaluate the credibility of sources. Because it is possible for anyone to write articles and post them on the Internet, the definition of journalism is changing. Because it is becoming increasingly simple for the average person to have an impact in the news world through tools like blogs and even comments on news stories on reputable news websites, it becomes increasingly difficult to sift through the massive amount of information coming in from the digital area of journalism. There are great advantages with digital journalism and the new
blogging A blog (a Clipping (morphology), truncation of "weblog") is an informational website consisting of discrete, often informal diary-style text entries also known as posts. Posts are typically displayed in Reverse chronology, reverse chronologic ...
evolution that people are becoming accustomed to, but there are disadvantages. For instance, people are used to what they already know and can't always catch up quickly with the new technologies in the 21st century. The goals of print and digital journalism are the same, although different tools are needed to function. The interaction between the writer and consumer is new, and this can be credited to digital journalism. There are many ways to get personal thoughts on the Web. There are some disadvantages to this, however, the main one being factual information. There is a pressing need for accuracy in digital journalism, and until they find a way to press accuracy, they will still face some criticism. One major dispute regards the credibility of these online news websites. A digital journalism credibility study performed by the
Online News Association The Online News Association (ONA), founded in 1999, is a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization of digital journalists headquartered in Washington, D.C., Washington D.C., United States. The founding members first convened in December 1999 in Chicago. ...
compares the online public credibility ratings to actual media respondent credibility ratings. Looking at a variety of online media sources, the study found that overall the public saw online media as more credible than it actually is. A separate study on Finnish online journalism sourcing practices suggests that while transparency is valued, there's a notable gap between audience expectations and actual journalistic practices, highlighting the need for a closer alignment between journalistic standards and audience perceptions in digital media. The effects of digital journalism are evident worldwide. This form of journalism has pushed journalists to reform and evolve. Older journalists who are not tech savvy have felt the blunt force of this. In recent months, a number of older journalists have been pushed out and younger journalists brought in because of their lower cost and ability to work in advanced technology settings. In the dynamic landscape of journalism, as news consumption habits evolve and traditional outlets face declining audiences, there's a growing imperative to reevaluate established models of information dissemination. Exploring diverse storytelling approaches, beyond the conventional inverted pyramid, offers an opportunity to optimize communication effectiveness in the digital realm, catering to the evolving needs and preferences of contemporary audiences.


Impact on publishers

Many newspapers, such as ''
The New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''NYT'') is an American daily newspaper based in New York City. ''The New York Times'' covers domestic, national, and international news, and publishes opinion pieces, investigative reports, and reviews. As one of ...
'', have created online sites to remain competitive and have taken advantage of audio, video and text linking to remain at the top of news consumers' lists as most of the news enthusiasm now reach their base through hand held devices such as smartphones, tablets etc. Hence audio or video backing is a definite advantage. Newspapers rarely break news stories any more, with most websites reporting on breaking news before the cable news channels. Digital journalism allows for reports to start out vague and generalized, and progress to a better story. Newspapers and TV cable are at a disadvantage because they generally can only put together stories when an ample amount of detail and information are available. Often, newspapers have to wait for the next day, or even two days later if it is a late-breaking story, before being able to publish it. Newspapers lose a lot of ground to their online counterparts, with advertising revenue shifting to the Internet, and subscription to the printed paper decreasing. People are now able to find the news they want, when they want, without having to leave their homes or pay to receive the news , even though there are still people who are willing to pay for online journalistic content. Because of this, many people have viewed digital journalism as the death of journalism. According to communication scholar Nicole Cohen, "four practices stand out as putting pressure on traditional journalism production: outsourcing, unpaid labour, metrics and measurement, and automation". Free advertising on websites such as
Craigslist Craigslist (stylized as craigslist) is a privately held American company operating a classified advertisements website with sections devoted to jobs, housing, for sale, items wanted, services, community service, gigs, résumés, and discussi ...
has transformed how people publicize; the Internet has created a faster, cheaper way for people to get news out, thus creating the shift in ad sales from standard newspapers to the Internet. There has been a substantial effect of digital journalism and media on the newspaper industry, with the creation of new business models. It is now possible to contemplate a time in the near future when major towns will no longer have a newspaper and when magazines and network news operations will employ no more than a handful of reporters. Many newspapers and individual print journalists have been forced out of business because of the popularity of digital journalism. The newspapers that have not been willing to be forced out of business have attempted to survive by saving money, laying off staff, shrinking the size of the publications, eliminating editions, as well as partnering with other businesses to share coverage and content. In 2009, one study concluded that most journalists are ready to compete in a digital world and that these journalists believe the transition from print to digital journalism in their newsroom is moving too slowly. Some highly specialized positions in the publishing industry have become obsolete. The growth in digital journalism and the
2008 financial crisis The 2008 financial crisis, also known as the global financial crisis (GFC), was a major worldwide financial crisis centered in the United States. The causes of the 2008 crisis included excessive speculation on housing values by both homeowners ...
also led to
layoff A layoff or downsizing is the temporary suspension or permanent termination of employment of an employee or, more commonly, a group of employees (collective layoff) for business reasons, such as personnel management or downsizing an organization ...
s for those in the industry. Students wishing to become journalists now need to be familiar with digital journalism in order to be able to contribute and develop journalism skills. Not only must a journalist analyze their audience and focus on effective communication with them, they have to be quick; news websites are able to update their stories within minutes of the news event. Other skills may include creating a website and uploading information using basic programming skills. Critics believe digital journalism has made it easier for individuals who are not qualified journalists to misinform the general public. Many believe that this form of journalism has created a number of sites that do not have credible information. Sites such as PerezHilton.com have been criticized for blurring the lines between journalism and opinionated writing. Some critics believe that newspapers should not switch to a solely Internet-based format, but instead keep a component of print as well as digital. Digital journalism allows citizens and readers the opportunity to join in on threaded discussions relating to a news article that has been read by the public. This offers an excellent source for writers and reporters to decide what is important and what should be omitted in the future. These threads can provide useful information to writers of digital journalism so that future articles can be pruned and improved to possibly create a better article the next time around.


Implications on traditional journalism

Digitization is currently causing many changes to traditional journalistic practices. The labor of journalists, in general, is becoming increasingly dependent on digital journalism. Scholars outline that this is a change to the execution of journalism and not the conception part of the labor process. They also contend that this is simply the deskilling of some skills and the up-skilling of others. This theory is in contention to the notion that
technological determinism Technological determinism is a reductionist theory in assuming that a society's technology progresses by following its own internal logic of efficiency, while determining the development of the social structure and cultural values. The term is ...
is negatively affecting
journalism Journalism is the production and distribution of reports on the interaction of events, facts, ideas, and people that are the "news of the day" and that informs society to at least some degree of accuracy. The word, a noun, applies to the journ ...
, as it should be understood that it is just changing the traditional skill set. Communication scholar Nicole Cohen believes there are several trends putting pressure on this traditional skill set. Some of which being
outsourcing Outsourcing is a business practice in which companies use external providers to carry out business processes that would otherwise be handled internally. Outsourcing sometimes involves transferring employees and assets from one firm to another ...
,
algorithm In mathematics and computer science, an algorithm () is a finite sequence of Rigour#Mathematics, mathematically rigorous instructions, typically used to solve a class of specific Computational problem, problems or to perform a computation. Algo ...
s and automation. Although Cohen believes that technology could be used to improve journalism, she feels the current trends in digital journalism are so far affecting the practice in a negative way. There is also the impact that digital journalism is influencing the uprising of citizen journalism. Because digital journalism takes place online and is contributed mostly by citizens on user-generated content sites, there is competition growing between the two. Citizen journalism allows anyone to post anything, and because of that, journalists are being forced by their employers to publish more news content than before, which often means rushing news stories and failing to verify the source of information. Outlets such as Vice Media have also created a resurgence in Gonzo journalism in the form of digital videos and articles. With the rise of digital journalism, it has shown to affect more than just the location of where information is gathered. In a Pew Research Group Study, they have found that there has been a steady decline in the traditional journalism industry. Many outlets have had to redefine how they report and distribute news to stay current to consumers in the new digital time. The study shows that newsroom employment dropped 47% between 2008 and 2018, while ad revenue fell from $37.8 billion to $14.3 billion in that same time frame.


Work outside traditional press

The Internet has also given rise to more participation by people who are not normally journalists, such as with Indy Media (Max Perez). Bloggers write on web logs or blogs. Traditional journalists often do not consider bloggers to automatically be journalists. This has more to do with standards and professional practices than the medium. For instance, crowdsourcing and crowdfunding journalism attracts amateur journalists, as well as ambitious professionals that are restrained by the boundaries set by traditional press. However, the implication of these types of journalism is that it disregards the professional norms of journalistic practices that ensures accuracy and impartiality of the content. But, , blogging has generally gained at least more attention and has led to some effects on mainstream journalism, such as exposing problems related to a television piece about President
George W. Bush George Walker Bush (born July 6, 1946) is an American politician and businessman who was the 43rd president of the United States from 2001 to 2009. A member of the Bush family and the Republican Party (United States), Republican Party, he i ...
's National Guard Service. Recent legal judgements have determined that bloggers are entitled to the same protections as other journalists subject to the same responsibilities. In the United States, the
Electronic Frontier Foundation The Electronic Frontier Foundation (EFF) is an American international non-profit digital rights group based in San Francisco, California. It was founded in 1990 to promote Internet civil liberties. It provides funds for legal defense in court, ...
has been instrumental in advocating for the rights of journalist bloggers. The
Supreme Court of Canada The Supreme Court of Canada (SCC; , ) is the highest court in the judicial system of Canada. It comprises nine justices, whose decisions are the ultimate application of Canadian law, and grants permission to between 40 and 75 litigants eac ...
ruled that: " 6A second preliminary question is what the new defence should be called. In arguments before us, the defence was referred to as the responsible journalism test. This has the value of capturing the essence of the defence in succinct style. However, the traditional media are rapidly being complemented by new ways of communicating on matters of public interest, many of them online, which do not involve journalists. These new disseminators of news and information should, absent good reasons for exclusion, be subject to the same laws as established media outlets. I agree with Lord Hoffmann that the new defence is "available to anyone who publishes material of public interest in any medium": Jameel, at para. 54." Other significant tools of online journalism are Internet forums, discussion boards and chats, especially those representing the Internet version of official media. The widespread use of the Internet all over the world created a unique opportunity to create a meeting place for both sides in many conflicts, such as the
Israeli–Palestinian conflict The Israeli–Palestinian conflict is an ongoing military and political conflict about Territory, land and self-determination within the territory of the former Mandatory Palestine. Key aspects of the conflict include the Israeli occupation ...
and the First and Second Chechen Wars. Often this gives a unique chance to find new, alternative solutions to the conflict, but often the Internet is turned into the battlefield by contradicting parties creating endless "online battles."
Internet radio Internet radio, also known as online radio, web radio, net radio, streaming radio, e-radio and IP radio, is a digital audio service transmitted via the Internet. Broadcasting on the Internet is usually referred to as webcasting since it is not ...
and
podcast A podcast is a Radio program, program made available in digital format for download over the Internet. Typically, a podcast is an Episode, episodic series of digital audio Computer file, files that users can download to a personal device or str ...
s are other growing independent media based on the Internet. In addition, many journalistic media have created
Application Programming Interfaces An application programming interface (API) is a connection between computers or between computer programs. It is a type of software interface, offering a service to other pieces of software. A document or standard that describes how to build su ...
( APIs) that provide online access to their data and content for research, to encourage links in other publications, or the development of specialized apps.


Blogs

With the rise of digital media, there is a move from the traditional journalist to the blogger or amateur journalist. Blogs can be seen as a new genre of journalism because of their "narrative style of news characterized by personalization" that moves away from traditional journalism's approach, changing journalism into a more conversational and decentralized type of news.Wall 2005, p. 157. Blogging has become a large part of the transmitting of news and ideas across cities, states, and countries and bloggers argue that blogs themselves are now breaking stories. Even online news publications have blogs that are written by their affiliated journalists or other respected writers. Blogging allows readers and journalists to be opinionated about the news and talk about it in an open environment. Blogs allow comments where some news outlets do not, due to the need to constantly monitor what is posted. By allowing comments, the reader can interact with a story instead of just absorbing the words on the screen. According to one 2007 study, 15% of those who read blogs read them for news. However, many blogs are highly opinionated and have a bias. Some are not verified to be true. The
Federal Trade Commission The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) is an independent agency of the United States government whose principal mission is the enforcement of civil (non-criminal) United States antitrust law, antitrust law and the promotion of consumer protection. It ...
(FTC) established guidelines mandating that bloggers disclose any free goods or services they receive from third parties in 2009 in response to a question of the integrity of product and service reviews in the online community. The development of blogging communities has partly resulted because of the lack of local news coverage, the spread of misinformation, and the manipulation of news. Blogging platforms are often used as mediums to spread ideas and connect to others with similar mentalities. Anonymity lives within these platforms that circulates different perspectives. Some have postulated that blogs' usage of public opinions as facts has gained them status and credibility. Memes are often shared on these blogs due to its social phenomenon and its relation to existing subcultures which often attain high engagement. Traditional journalism has helped set the foundation for blogs, which are frequently used to question mainstream media reported by journalist.


Citizen journalism

Digital journalisms lack of a traditional "editor" has given rise to
citizen journalism Citizen journalism, also known as collaborative media, participatory journalism, democratic journalism, guerrilla journalism, grassroots journalism, or street journalism, is based upon members of the community playing an active role in the pro ...
. The early advances that the digital age offered journalism were faster research, easier editing, conveniences and a faster delivery time for articles. The Internet has broadened the effect that the digital age has on journalism. Because of the popularity of the Internet, most people have access and can add their forms of journalism to the information network. This allows anyone who wants to share something they deem important that has happened in their community. Individuals who are not professional journalists who present news through their blogs or websites are often referred to as citizen journalists. One does not need a college degree to be a citizen journalist. Citizen journalists are able to publish information that may not be reported otherwise and the public has a greater opportunity to be informed. Some companies use the information that a citizen journalist relays when they themselves can not access certain situations, for example, in countries where
freedom of the press Freedom of the press or freedom of the media is the fundamental principle that communication and expression through various media, including printed and electronic Media (communication), media, especially publication, published materials, shoul ...
is limited. Anyone can record events happening and send it anywhere they wish, or put it on their website. Non-profit and grassroots digital journalism sites may have far fewer resources than their corporate counterparts, yet due to digital media are able to have websites that are technically comparable. Other media outlets can then pick up their story and run with it as they please, thus allowing information to reach wider audiences. For citizen journalism to be effective and successful, there needs to be citizen editors. Their role being to solicit other people to provide accurate information and to mediate interactivity among users. An example can be found in the start-up of the South Korean online daily newspaper,
OhMyNews ''OhmyNews'' () is a South Korean online news website. It was founded by Oh Yeon Ho on 22 February 2000. The site's motto is "Every Citizen is a Reporter", which reflects its status as the first news website in Korea to accept, edit, and publi ...
, where the founder recruited several hundred volunteer "citizen reporters" to write news articles that were edited and processed by four professional journalists.


News collections

The Internet also offers options such as personalized news feeds and aggregators, which compile news from different websites into one site. One of the most popular news aggregators is
Google News Google News is a news aggregator service developed by Google. It presents a continuous flow of links to articles organized from thousands of publishers and magazines. Google News is available as an app on Android, iOS, and the Web. Google ...
. Others includ
Flipboard.com
an
Feedly.com
But, some people see too much personalization as detrimental. For example, some fear that people will have narrower exposure to news, seeking out only those commentators who already agree with them. As of March 2005,
Wikinews Wikinews is a free-content news wiki and a Wikimedia project, project of the Wikimedia Foundation that works through collaborative journalism through user-created content. Wikipedia co-founder Jimmy Wales has distinguished Wikinews from Wikipe ...
rewrites articles from other news organizations. Original reporting remains a challenge on the Internet as the burdens of verification and legal risks (especially from plaintiff-friendly jurisdictions like BC) remain high in the absence of any net-wide approach to defamation.


Ethics and morals of digital journalism

When journalism started and was consolidated to print they followed the ethical practices of informing consumers promptly and regularly, writing articles with credible information, operating for the public and to publish information that is unbiased. As discussed in previous sections, digital journalism has opened a door to publish stories that are less traditional. This can be through blogs or citizen journalism, but neither require a traditional background or higher level education to take part in creating journalism, this can affect the different ways that people now approach creating information and their ethical understandings of journalism. In a study published by José Alberto García‐Avilés, he discussed that the innovation created by digital journalism doesn't have to be a negative thing. It is just something that now needs to be re-navigated so as to not go against the ethic and morals that journalism was founded on. Some ethical issues that were listed in his study were verification of information, verification of accuracy, low quality, clickbait, a lack of input from users, a difficulty in making corrections and transparency to consumers. While ethical challenges are now broadened by this form of innovation, this study discusses that innovation is meant to cause tension between change, it is then a journalist's task to address and find solutions for those challenges. This challenge ultimately goes back to finding ways to normalize traditional journalistic values in digital journalism and promoting credible information, unbiased facts and making corrections when mistakes are made.


Impacts in accessibility

Digital journalism created a new age of information accessibility, not only are writers given more of a platform to create content but consumers also gain more access to information. A large contributor to this wave of accessibility comes from new social media platforms. Social media allows information to be codified, searched and shared by different organizations. In a study done by the Pacific Asia Journal of the Association for Information Systems, they found that social media usage positively influences the information accessibility of the organizations that are publishing the information. However, digital journalism accessibility isn't always viewed in a positive light, a critique that is made towards information accessibility is that technology impacts too much of the context the consumers have towards their digested information. While digital spaces open up accessibility options, consumers and journalists are again faced with the implications that come with the ethics in digital journalism. When information is presented to a consumer online, it may be written with motivation to sway their beliefs and there is also inherent bias in digital search engines that affect the stories that are likely to be populated. Another issue in relying on digital journalism is that this form of accessibility doesn't always mean that it's equally accessible for everyone. Navigating a digital space comes with its own challenges, challenges that are often easily navigated for younger audiences and more challenging for others.


Speed in digital journalism

Introducing journalism to a digital sphere changed the way that society consumes news and content. The digital space has created a form of connection between people that has completely altered the speed in which information is created, published and shared. This concept, like previous ones discussed, comes with both pros and cons. With digital speed, journalists have found a new pride in being the first to break a story, and because of digital spaces it has become much easier to write and publish news. With this, journalists face the challenge of avoiding being the cause of spreading misinformation. When publishing information quickly it is important to ensure accuracy of sources, vet all data and remain committed to facts and unbiased truths. On top of creating misinformation with the speed that articles are being written, there is a new opportunity to spread misinformation quickly and to a large audience. In a study done by the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America they found that digital misinformation has become so pervasive in online social media that it has been listed by the WEF as one of the main threats to human society. While different information can be debunked in different intervals, most of the time the spread of misinformation happens much faster than the spread of clarification, this can lead to a longer lasting effect and damage towards consumers. In a study done by the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, they found that consumers are more skeptical to share information when they are asked to consider the facts that are used in it. They suggest that digital journalists encourage their readers to be an active contributor to the work that is produced. Something as small as asking them to rate the accuracy of a sub-head to help inform algorithms can influence them to be more aware of what they are consuming and help lessen the spread of misinformation.


Social Media

In a study from the University of Oxford, they analyzed the challenges and opportunities for news media and journalism in a digital environment. The study found that social media has created a space where most people have access to more news and information about many issues but many do not necessarily engage with the information. They identified that this digital environment has created intense competition for attention, putting pressure on traditional news sources to adapt, there's been a growing importance for there to be a limited number of large technology companies to play important roles in distributing news and the development of social media has influenced a large number of people to opt for more casual and passive forms of information. With this in mind it is important for journalists to understand how to cater to a digital platform to keep their work alive but it is also important to continue creating work that beats out competitors with information that is rooted in facts. One way that news organizations can combat the notion that they produce unethical work by issuing guidelines and expectations as to what their journalists are allowed to publish, this way they can stay on top of the ever changing digital space while also maintaining notable work.


See also

*
Online newspaper An online newspaper (or electronic news or electronic news publication) is the electronic publishing, online version of a newspaper, either as a stand-alone publication or as the online version of a printed periodical literature, periodical. Goin ...
* Open source journalism *
Wikinews Wikinews is a free-content news wiki and a Wikimedia project, project of the Wikimedia Foundation that works through collaborative journalism through user-created content. Wikipedia co-founder Jimmy Wales has distinguished Wikinews from Wikipe ...
* Toons Mag *
User-generated content User-generated content (UGC), alternatively known as user-created content (UCC), emerged from the rise of web services which allow a system's User (computing), users to create Content (media), content, such as images, videos, audio, text, testi ...


References


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