Cyber journalism, also known as online or digital journalism, refers to journalistic content created and distributed via the internet. It has several advantages over traditional print and broadcast media, such as lower distribution costs, more opportunities for interaction and discussion, and new ways of storytelling using multimedia. However, online journalism also faces challenges including potential accuracy issues from speed of publication and verifying the credibility of sources.
2. AN INTRODUCTION TO CYBER JOURNALISM
Cyber journalism or Digital journalism also
known as online journalism is a contemporary
form of journalism where editorial content is
distributed via the Internet as opposed to
publishing via print or broadcast.
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 newsgames, and
disseminated through digital media technology.
3. Fewer barriers to entry, lowered distribution costs,
and diverse computer networking technologies have
led to the widespread practice of Cyber journalism. It
has democratized the flow of information that was
previously controlled by traditional media including
newspapers, magazines, radio, and television.
A greater degree of creativity can be exercised with
Cyber journalism when compared to traditional
journalism and traditional media.
4. EARLY DAYS
The first type of Online 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
Online journalism today. The information was
broadcast between the frames of a television signal
in what was called the Vertical Blanking Interval or
VBI.
5. After the invention of Teletext was the invention
of Videotex, of which Prestel was the world's first
system, launching commercially in 1979 with various
British newspapers such as The Financial
Times lining up to deliver newspaper stories online
through it.
Videotex closed down in 1986 due to failing to meet
end-user demand.
6. 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.
7. ADVANTAGES OF ONLINE JOURNALISM
Online 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 Online journalism. People add to the
story and connect with other people who want to
discuss the topic.
8. Online journalism creates an opportunity for niche
audiences, allowing people to have more options as
to what to view and read.
Online journalism opens up new ways of
storytelling; through the technical components of the
new medium, Online journalists can provide a
variety of media, such as audio, video, and digital
photography.
9. Online 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.
10. PITFALLS IN ONLINE JOURNALISM
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 Online 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 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.
11. 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.
12. There are great advantages with Online journalism and
the new blogging 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 Online 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 Online journalism. There are
many ways to get personal thoughts on the Web.
13. There are some disadvantages to this, however, the main
one being factual information. There is a pressing need
for accuracy in Online 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 Online journalism credibility study
performed by the Online News Association 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.
14. The effects of Online 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.
15. ONLINE NEWSPAPERS
An online newspaper is the online version of
a newspaper, either as a stand-alone publication or
as the online version of a printed periodical.
Going online created more opportunities for
newspapers, such as competing with broadcast
journalism in presenting breaking news in a more
timely manner. The credibility and strong brand
recognition of well established newspapers, and the
close relationships they have with advertisers, are
also seen by many in the newspaper industry as
strengthening their chances of survival.
16. The movement away from the printing process can also help
decrease costs. Online newspapers, like printed newspapers,
have legal restrictions regarding libel, privacy and copyright,
also apply to online publications in most countries as in the
UK.
OTHER ONLINE NEWSPAPERS
indiatimes
Dainik Bhaskar
NDTV
The Indian Express
The Hindu
rediff NEWS
Google News ….etc
17. BLOG
A blog is a discussion or
informational website published on the web
consisting of discrete, often informal diary-style text
entries ("posts").
Posts are typically displayed in reverse chronological
order, so that the most recent post appears first, at
the top of the web page.
Until 2009, blogs were usually the work of a single
individual, occasionally of a small group, and often
covered a single subject or topic.
18. In the 2010s, "multi-author blogs" (MABs) have
developed, with posts written by large numbers of
authors and sometimes professionally edited.
MABs from newspapers, other media
outlets, universities, think tanks, advocacy groups,
and similar institutions account for an increasing
quantity of blog traffic. The rise of Twitter and other
"microblogging" systems helps integrate MABs and
single-author blogs into the news media.
19. The emergence and growth of blogs in the late 1990s
coincided with the advent of web publishing tools
that facilitated the posting of content by non-
technical users who did not have much experience
with HTML or computer programming.
Previously, knowledge of such technologies
as HTML and File Transfer Protocol had been
required to publish content on the Web, and as such,
early Web users tended to be hackers and computer
enthusiasts.
20. In the 2010s, the majority are interactive Web
2.0 websites, allowing visitors to leave online
comments, and it is this interactivity that
distinguishes them from other static websites.
Blogging can be seen as a form of social networking
service. Indeed, bloggers do not only produce
content to post on their blogs, but also often build
social relations with their readers and other
bloggers. However, there are high-readership blogs
which do not allow comments.
21. Many blogs provide commentary on a particular subject
or topic, ranging from politics to sports. Others function
as more personal online diaries, and others function
more as online brand advertising of a particular
individual or company. A typical blog combines text,
digital images, and links to other blogs, web pages, and
other media related to its topic.
The ability of readers to leave publicly viewable
comments, and interact with other commenter’s, is an
important contribution to the popularity of many blogs.
22. However, blog owners or authors often moderate
and filter online comments to remove hate speech or
other offensive content.
Most blogs are primarily textual, although some
focus on art (art blogs), photographs (photoblogs),
videos (video blogs or "vlogs"), music (MP3 blogs),
and audio (podcasts). In education, blogs can be
used as instructional resources. These blogs are
referred to as edublogs. Micro blogging is another
type of blogging, featuring very short posts.
23. On 16 February 2011, there were over 156 million
public blogs in existence. On 20 February 2014,
there were around 172 million Tumblr and 75.8
million WordPress blogs in existence worldwide.
According to critics and other bloggers, Blogger is
the most popular blogging service used today.
However, Blogger does not offer public
statistics. Technorati lists 1.3 million blogs as of
February 22, 2014.
24. OTHER FAMOUS BLOGS
TechCrunch
Mashable
Gizmodo
Engadget
Gawker
Boing Boing
Lifehacker