Online Journalism: Theory and Practice Week 2 Lecture 1 Summer 2011 G. F Khan, PhD

Last lecture… What is the Internet? And where did it come from? History of the Internet Properties of the Internet Convergence Issues and challenges related to internet Discussion

This lecture…  The technological evolution of journalism  The development of online journalism  Advantages of online Journalism  New journalism forums

Online journalism is defined as the reporting of facts produced and distributed via the Internet. journalism is when private individuals do essentially what professional reporters do - report information.

Why is online journalism different, and why should we care?

Why is it different? Major Tragedies in American history  9/11 attacks (September. 11, 2001)  President William’s Assassination (September 6, 1901) V.S

What is different between the two tragedies from the view point of NEWS?

September 11, 2001 attacks New media  People know it within minutes  Television and radio stations run live coverage  Internet outlets updated its information regularly  People were altered so quickly to the first world trade center attack that many watched live as the second plan hit.

President William’s Assassination (September 6, 1901) Old media  People didn’t know about it for days  No Television and radio stations to run live coverage  No Internet outlets (bbc.com or cnn.com)

Timeliness—Technology has allowed reports and news organizations to transmit information almost instantly.  Audience also expect immediate coverage of any breaking news  In old days, publishing an international news story within few days of their occurrence was considered timely.  What is timely now? Live? The technological evolution of journalism

Proximity—Technology has allowed reports and news organizations to transmit information without constraints of distance.  Breaking boundaries between local and global news.  Local news is no more local and global is no more global news  Due to the Internet time and distance is irrelevant while reporting news The technological evolution of journalism

Interactivity  Readers can interact by posting comments  People's comments can effect public opinion about an issue (e.g. Positive comments V.S negative comments)  Enable readers to react to, criticize, or praise The technological evolution of journalism

Prominence—notion of prominence (i.e. fame) has changed as well due to explosion of media outlets over the Internet.  Before only famous outlets used published news and stories, but now everyone can publish news and stories online. The technological evolution of journalism

Tools of journalism The technological evolution of journalism

Advantages of Online Journalism Audience control Nonlinearity (hyperlinks) Storage and retrieval Unlimited space Immediacy (Live) Multimedia capability (Audio & Video) Interactivity and user-generated content (e.g. comments and uploading contents)

Example of interactive and user generated contents

Types of Online Journalism Sites Sites associated with already existing media organizations Sites associated with local TV and radio stations Sites that exist only on the Internet— salon.com, slate.com News aggregators e.g. Google and Yahoo news Hyper local sites Personal Blogs

Key Terms for Online Journalism Shovelware Convergence Backpack Journalist

Shovelware Already existing media organizations provide most content in online journalism sites. Material is taken from newspaper or wire services and “shoveled” onto Web site with little or no modification.

Convergence Involves two or more media (e.g., local newspaper and TV station) partnering to produce an alternate form of journalism, usually a multimedia Web site Allows different media to share content and personnel

Backpack Journalist Someone who covers a news story for more than one type of media and knows how to produce content for all.

Producing Online Journalism 24/7 news cycle Some content is “shovelware”—print or broadcast stories put online Some content is revised and supplemented with Web extras Legacy media – the original media operation that began the online operation

New Journalistic Forms News aggregators  e.g. Google news Hyper-local sites focus on very specialized topics—stories and issues of interest only to people in a very limited area (e.g. YU news) And your group project Blogs-citizen journalism

Part 2 Citizen Journalism

Thank You Questions & Comments