3.1 Inform me! news media.

So far in the course of this unit, we have looked at the production and distribution of media, as well as the role digital gaming plays in media. Were now up to Module 3 and we are taking a more in depth look at online jounralism. 

Its argued that the profession of journalism is changing for the worse as there is minimal structure in online journalism. In newspaper or television journalism, you have educated journalists writing their stories, and a senior person acting as the editor to oversee all the final decisions and to assist with any discrepancies. The internet cuts it all out. You don't need a degree to contribute to certain sites, and you certainly don't need an editor. The freedom on the internet means that basically anybody can report the news and not necessarily report it correctly. This is not to say that there are not still reputable journalists writing for online publications. Most major credible newspapers also have online counterparts - and I think also that the internet means you can get world breaking, history changing, law making news updates at anytime, any place. I personally enjoy and prefer to read the news online, you just need to know where to read and what to take seriously. Harper (2003) argues that the media, once able to set trends by acting as a "gatekeeper" to news topics, have now lost this control. This may be true to a certain extent, but the media doesn't just control the news. They also control advertising and entertainment which has the ability to set trends just as well as the stories they chose to use for the news. I, for one, don't want to be dictated to as to what the trend in the news is. News is news and I want to know the truth and more importantly, I want to know whats important. What affects my present and future so I can make informed decisions on what choices to make in my life. If I have to trawl the internet to find it, I am ok with that - it means I can weed out the tabloid stories which bear no relevance on my existence (most of the time...)


As I live in the UK, I tend to read and watch the Sky news online. I can watch the headlines and pick and chose which stories I am interested in reading and researching further. I also like to keep in touch with the Australian news but struggle to find a news site as good as the Sky news. The Herald Sun website is good for reading important headlines, but it still lacks the visual experience I get from the Sky news in the UK. 

Harper, C (2003)  Journalism in a digital age. In H. Jenkins  & D. Thorburn (Eds), Democracy and New Media (pp. 271-280). Cambridge, Mass: MIT Press.