Everyone is aware that traditional journalism is on it’s way out, things like magazines, newspapers, and other kinds of publications are losing readers fast. Many people feel like the reason for this is that things like mobile and internet technologies are replacing these old ways to get news, with cutting edge technology that can instantly get the most up to date news any time you want. How will this impact journalists, and the level of quality that you can expect from your news sources?
Traditional Journalism Doing Good
Several years ago, those old types of journalism like television and print journalism, were the most authoritative means of getting news, and were often independently produced. Let me give you an example, back in the day Walter Cronkite was one of the main opponents of the war in Vietnam, and his effort to make the government accountable for the actions it took there helped turn the tide of public opinion. Reporting found in television and newspapers is still regarded as a reliable source for things like academic publications.
Does The Internet Hurt Accuracy?
There are many people that feel that the internet has had a very negative effect on the accuracy as well as the independent nature of journalism. Ever since 24 hour coverage of the news has been available, many experts think that journalism hasn’t really been about truth, so much as it has been about getting the latest ‘news’ before the other stations, and entertaining the viewers. An example of this can be seen when Bill Clinton had his famous affair in the White House. Lots of journalists on the internet had no interest to cover such a silly story, while the main stream media couldn’t air enough stories about it. After that event took place, more and more people have been turning to the internet to get their news.
Who Has The Stronger Set Of Ethics?
It has been noted by some that many publications from traditional media have a code of ethics that it instills within their reporters. With this code many reporters keep the standards of independence and accuracy in mind while pursuing truth. While on the internet, many people have no code of ethics at all. Which makes it impossible to be sure what bias someone may have when they write a piece online.
That’s not a very strong argument though, remember when William Randolph Hearst and many others around the turn to the 21st century used their newspapers to promote certain causes and agendas. And these newspapers were trusted by most people at the time. Instead of trying to serve and promote educated citizens, this yellow journalism was simply political rambling. That’s opposed to trying to give the citizens the important events of the day. So you can make the argument that journalism influencing people’s opinions is not from the internet.
While it can be tricky to tell truth from fiction online, never before have we been able to get such an unfiltered view of the events going on around the world.
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