Online Journalism and Its Impact on the 21st Century
News is that segment of communication that keeps you constantly informed about the latest changing affairs, problems, and personalities in the global scene. News is of great significance not only for those who are deeply interested in world affairs, but also for anyone who are interested in current affairs. Even if it is entertaining or interesting, the first and foremost value of news is of course as a useful utility to empower and educate the public about current affairs. For this reason, news is one of the most important segment of our media and communication hierarchy. It informs the general public about what is happening in their lives in a very wide manner.
News consists of a variety of mediums namely newspapers, magazines, radio and television news. All these forms of news coverage have a common set of feature that informs the public about the happenings all over the country and the globe in particular. There is a widespread use of computers and other information appliances like mobile phones in daily life and so news reports can also be accessed through this medium as well.
The mass media is mainly comprised of four sources namely television news, radio and newspaper news. In every source of news, there are various special features which are developed to enhance the clarity of the output. In the case of television news, the first segment, the news reports are broadcasted live on the screens of the television sets of all the houses and they are later transmitted to the viewers in slow motion. In the case of radio news, the news is repeated over the radios throughout the country or abroad in short bursts lasting for just a few seconds, while in the case of newspapers, the published news items are arranged in an oblong format and they are distributed to the subscribers in batches.
However, as the name suggests, news media is largely developed by the mass media as against the personal journalism. All the major print and broadcast media houses have developed a newsroom where in different correspondents write different news items for the different channels that they are associated with. In some cases, there are dedicated desks set up by the journalists working for the mass media, and these desks consist of a group of people who meet at least twice a day to discuss the different news items. The journalists and correspondents employed by the mass media houses have to be very close friends and they are supposed to get along well even if they are from completely different worlds. They have to report the news as fast as possible and the only way they can do this is by chatting to each other in English.
However, the difference between this form of news reporting and the personal journalism lies in the fact that the personal journalist has to follow his own deadlines and he has to have a clear mind. This form of news organization is limited in its scope because it does not allow for much speculation on its topics. Therefore, it has been seen that very seldom major news organizations carry out investigations of a specific topic, unless they feel the need to do so. But, the online journalism is very broad because they cover any subject including business, politics, entertainment, finance, health, education, etc. This wide access has led to many new forms of news organizations, which include blogging, live streaming, video blogging, podcasting, and many more.
The first decade of the 20th century witnessed a massive evolution in the field of news stories, which had then become popular with the public. The evolution of this field was helped along by the wide exposure that the first wave of online news stories received. Today, almost every day millions and billions of people around the globe are accessing news stories through the Internet. This is mostly attributed to the huge investment in digital media by several news organizations and the fact that the Internet has become a global medium that penetrates all aspects of human life.
