Reflective Essay

Crystal Jefferson

June 29, 2013

WRTG 101

Annemarie J Chiarini

Impact of Internet on Journalism

‘Welcome to Cyberspace’ was the headline on the front cover of Time Magazine’s March 1, 1995 issue. This special issue was devoted to the exploration of the term cyberspace, as well as offering an outlook of the state of internet technology and the impact it had on daily life (Allan, 2006). While insignificant when looked at singularly, the publication of this issue was meaningful since it heralded the arrival of a new age in information technology; the internet and the fact that it was published in a mainstream news publication shows that it had the potential to grow further, with network news being perceived as the first electronic media to understand the necessity of creating a presence in the internet. Nonetheless, with increased online news and reporting, a credibility crisis has engulfed the journalism profession, with a markedly growing disconnect between journalists and audience being apparent (Lowrey & Anderson, 2005). There have been questions raised about the credibility of online news following accusation of bias, sensationalism and misplaced priorities in delivery of news using various media. Events such as the overplay of the Monica Lewinsky and Chandra Levy stories or the misplacement of the 2000 presidential election support this argument about credibility concerns that has led to news media being questioned on how it affects discourse and formation of personal and public opinion. Therefore, the impact of internet on journalism is wide ranging, it affects public discourse, controls opinion on conventional issues, and at the same time due to bias in multimedia reporting has widened the gap between reporters and audiences, due to a perceived lack of credibility on reporting.

Journalism affects public discourse and the control of information more than any other medium. Today, journalism is currently at the point where ideology has been replaced by image and cosmetics. In the book Amusing Ourselves to Death, Neil Postman (2005) points out that technology seem to have negatively affected the quality of journalism and the perception of culture. Gerhards and Schäfer (2010) argue that multimedia content is inferior to print media due to a bias in reporting that occurs due to the manner content is selected by search engines, as opposed to conventional reporting like print media that employs “. . . journalistic norms like balanced reporting and neutrality”(p. 156). The biasness in online journalism is compounded further since many online websites provide users with a filtering method to access a wide range of news selectively. These classifications consist of content-based technique and collaborative filter technique. In content-based technique, a user enters specific keywords or chooses a preferred news section to access a customized online newspaper or television channels such as CNN or BBC online news. In collaborative filter technique, a news platform employs another person’s opinion (Knobloch-Westerwick, Sharma, Hansen & Alter, 2005). Thus, news reporting rather than take an all encompassing view, can be approached from a singular point of view, either in reporting, or viewing of content by audiences. Culture is also affected negatively because print media was the main means of reporting, but this has changed with a large percentage of people today accessing newspapers online. Postman (2005) states that technology, notably the television is changing culture into a vast arena for show business and it has also “. . . achieved the power to define the form in which news must come, and it has also defined how we shall respond to it" (p. 111).

Apart from controlling and determining how the public responds to news, online news also affects public opinion and personal preferences. Today, internet news websites provide journalists and the public, various options when making personal decisions, especially those that relate to public governance like elections. About 38 out of 57 editors claim that their websites offered or had links for users to actively engage in sociopolitical discourse. About 43% of people accessing online political news confirmed that it had an effect on their voting decision (Singer, 2003). In a study conducted by Pew Internet & American Life, 37% of the American adult population (75 million) used the internet to access political information during the 2004 election. According to findings from this study, 18% confirmed that the internet was their source of information that determined their vote (Kim, 2008). Additionally, Singer (2003) states that studies conducted on the 1996 elections revealed that political candidates avoided interaction with voters due to fear that their message will be lost as a result of message control in television.

So, this shows that online news as well as multimedia is not only a source of information, but it also affects public opinion as well as personal choices.

In addition, to controlling public opinion and personal choices, online news and media have also negatively affected the journalism profession, by increasing the perception that internet media lacks credibility. Today, many media houses use electronic media as entertainment with an aim of raising their ratings instead of focusing on providing people with reliable and trusted news. This is a major negative effect of internet on journalism, and one which Postman (2005) presents in the book Amusing Ourselves to Death, depicting television (media) as entertainment instead of being a source of reliable news. When people give up their lives to electronic media, they lose the ability to be involved in rational and meaningful social affairs, which may make society lack the will to pursue important things, and thus it may “. . . dance and dream themselves into oblivion than march into it"(Postman, 2005, p. 111).

Furthermore, apart from negatively affecting the credibility of the journalism industry, the manner in which information is presented in online media as well as in multimedia has taken an entertainment angle. Postman (2005) argues that today the potential or depth of any piece of information or story is on the basis of the entertainment value of a program. Thus, rational, non-biased and neutral reporting has been given up in favor of offering entertainment and greater value for audiences. This is an outlook that is also supported by Singer (2003) in Campaign Contribution: Online Newspaper Coverage of Election; he quotes an online editor saying

"We were trying to beat the TV stations at their game, and we succeeded with better live coverage. We also scooped them on the biggest local race". Thus, online news media are today concerned with the survey and interpretation of social environment in order to succeed, rather than simply conventional reporting of news. This is done by increasingly incorporating collaborative filters like most emailed article or rating associated with a news article to indicate what online news is being consumed. It is though such techniques that news editors choose what information will be published or broadcasted (Knobloch-Westerwick, Sharma, Hansen & Alter, 2005). Thus, news is considered newsworthy by the popularity that it gains from audiences rather than the content of the news. Additionally, apart from news taking an entertainment angle, it has also taken a commercial outlook with producers usually under pressure to produce a show that will have a large audience. Therefore, in order to do this, presenters of news, need to not only be likable, but they also ought to have credibility so that viewers can believe them. Postman (2005) supports this premise by citing the case of Christine Craft who got fired after affecting the ratings of her show because she was “not adequately attractive or not believable”. In fact, Postman (2005) again argues that it is quite surprising that perception concerning the truth of a story depend on the person telling or delivering the news.

The effects of internet on journalism are not only wide ranging, but they have also affected the practice of journalism to both journalists and audiences. Today, online news centers report news to ensure that they not only report, but ensure that they maintain control of their audiences who today have a wide range of news sources thanks to the proliferation of the internet. Today, the wide acceptance of internet use on journalism has affected the manner in which information is offered to the public, and the response that is expected. This is because news is not only offered to the public to educate and inform them, rather news is offered to entertain them, and keep them hooked to that particular news source. A scenario that Postman (2005) sums up succinctly; "All that has happened is that the public has adjusted to incoherence and been amused into indifference" (p. 110-111). Additionally, the increased use of the internet on news reporting and journalism has widened the gap between reports and audiences as audiences perceive that online reporting is now a business, rather than a quest to present the truth. The fact that audiences today can be able to report on their own has eroded the journalistic integrity that was attributed to conventional media reporting and especially print media (Lowrey & Anderson, 2005). Therefore, it is evident that the impact of internet on journalism has been detrimental to the practice of journalism. It has eroded public confidence in the practice and it is only by establishing credible reporting practices that the internet can aid journalism regain its lost glory.

References

Allan, S. (2006). Online News: Journalism and the Internet. Open University Press.

Bromley, R. V., & Bowles, D. (1995). Impact of Internet on Use of Traditional News

Media. Newspaper Research Journal, 16(2), 14-27.

Gerhards, J., & Schäfer, M. S. (2010). Is the Internet a Better Public Sphere? Comparing Old and