QUESTION #4• “Ever since the arrival of printing - thought to be the

invention of the devil because it would put false opinions

into people's minds - people have been arguing that new

technology would have disastrous consequences. . . .

Scares accompanied the introduction of the telegraph,

telephone, and broadcasting” (Crystal, 2008).

• Discuss some of the fears of the impact of internet on

journalistic and communication standards.

*N.B.

Since the internet is relatively young as a

media platform when compared to traditional

media, in this presentation, the “Internet” is

placed synonymously with “Modern/ New

Media”, being compared to “Journalistic and

Communication standards” that refer to those

of “Traditional Media”.

What are Journalism and

Communication Standards?

• Professional polls taken worldwide have

brought across five common values shared in

journalism and communication alike, that are

seen to be the most critical and fundamental.

• It is from these values, that standards and

practices arise.

What are these values?

• ACCURACY

• INDEPENDENCE

• FAIRNESS

• TRANSPARENCY

• PROFESSIONAL RESPONSIBILITY

Standards derived from some of these values…

1.) Accuracy.

• Standard: To maintain high standards of

reporting, writing, and editing in order to

produce work that is as error-free as possible.

2.) Fairness.

• Standard: To be fair in publications and in the ways

in which journalists interact with subjects and

consumers of their coverage. This also deals with

acknowledgement of relevant points of view and

representing them in an even-handed way,

especially when they conflict with that of the

publishers.

3.) Transparency.

• Standard: To make every effort to disclose

information that constituents and critics may find

relevant, useful, and helpful about the way

journalists do business – and publish.

4.) Professional Responsibility.

• Standard: To stand for high quality journalism, good

taste, and genuine regard for the subjects and

consumers of all publications.

FEARS

1.) Accessibility to information:

• The platform on which news is released to the public is

no longer narrowed with limitations to television, radio

and print, with the arrival of the internet. People no

longer need to wait on news from these outlets.

• Information ‘pours out of digital spigots [sic]’

(Stephens 2007, p. 35) and news now arrives

‘astoundingly fast from an astounding number of

directions’ (Stephens 2007, p. 35) and it is often free.”

• As the quote above suggests, persons are able to

access information via the internet based on their

own time. This information may then appear to

reach users much faster and by extension,

information may be obtained from countless

sources.

2.) Appeal to audience:

• Online journalism has a strong advantage over

traditional journalism where appearance is

concerned. Simply put, online journalists can

provide a variety of media--text, audio, video, and

photographs in very appealing combinations--unlike

other media.

• Data searching provides a means to access

information unable in other media.

• From both numbers 1 and 2 Journalists now have a

fear of losing their trust and attention as sole

owners and publishers of news, their accessibility

to information is limited when compared to that of

the internet.

• THREAT: To the standard that follows accuracy.

3.) Counteraction and feedback from consumers:

• . Through the internet, persons are able to make

comments and therefore give feedback on whatever

publication they choose. They are therefore able to

highlight and voice their agreements with and

counteraction to whatever is published

• For both journalism and communication, the

internet opens up to allow users freedom of choice

in developing or editing content based on their

own standards. It can therefore be said that the

internet being open offers a unique character over

other forms of communication.

• Journalists in traditional media therefore fear this

freedom to the public, as persons are able to

question their publications directly and openly,

that may cause conflicts and give consumers a

voice in changes to be made.

• THREAT: To the standards that follow

Transparency and Fairness.

4.) Professionalism:

• It must be noted that online “journalists” are not

always those professionally trained and qualified as

the internet allows anyone to publish information

through it.

• The internet provides outlets for nontraditional

means of news and information - as A.J. Leibling

once said: "Freedom of the press belongs to those

who own one." The Internet enables everyone who

owns a computer to have his or her own printing

press.

• Professionalism also suffers in the sense that

Traditional media loses gains in the market, where

more businesses are using the internet as their

avenue for advertising. Internet ads are somehow

more appealing and can be thrown out over

various pages, from that of search engines and

websites, to social media platforms.

• For example:

Classified advertising, a key revenue stream for newspapers

may abandon printed publications. Information can be far

more easily found on line about the right job, apartment, or

roommate than in print. Just go to the classified ads of an

on-line paper and enter a search word like "engineer" or

"bus driver." The computer will provide a list of possible jobs

by city, state, or even nationwide within seconds. An

apartment? Simply type in number of bedrooms, square

footage, location, and price range.

• Journalists of traditional media fear their media

losing credibility, as well as their professional

status becoming devalued, which will also

affect their economic status.

• THREAT: To the standard that follows

professional responsibility.

CONCLUSION

The internet places unlimited power into the hands of

all its users, allowing them to compete with the act of

traditional media being the gatekeeper of information

and news items alike. Where news is generally filtered in

traditional media, therefore putting restrictions on

journalism and likewise communication, the internet

opens a platform for any user to exercise freedom of

choice in choosing what material they wish to digest and

further communicate.

By extension, the reader has a wider variety of sources

from which to obtain information and can therefore draw

comparisons among the sources if they wish. The

technological advancement held by the internet, creates a

more user friendly and appealing medium through which

users can be informed and entertained simultaneously.

Most of all, with the grand power of “freedom” being in

the hands of all users of the internet, the internet strikes

multiple fears in one string to journalistic and

communication standards.

THANK YOU!!!