Kysa's View on 'Online Journalism'

In the 19th century, the newspaper industry flourished and became a popular way for people to find out about happenings in their environment and around the world. This business created jobs for many young, and even old, people and they were referred to as newsboys. Subscribing to a newsletter was a ‘big craze’ for Americans and even the British. Receiving a newspaper was so important to civilians that in some parts of America, after hearing rumors of a much-anticipated story, civilians would fight amongst newsboys to ensure themselves a copy.

Because evolving is inevitable, receiving information became something that was soon accessible over the radio and even on television. This new ‘craze’ quickly became popular among civilians because it was a more efficient way for them to receive information about current affairs. Soon enough, the newspaper industry began to decline.

Though the newspaper industry was experiencing a decline, it was still stable. As fate would have it, social media began to grow and had become more than institutions for entertainment. Sites like Facebook, Buzzfeed, Instagram, and email sites were now providing users with entertaining content and news updates. News organizations even started to create social media accounts to ensure reachability to all audiences. The fact that one no longer had to go out to buy a paper, or wait for it to be delivered to their house, and could receive updates from just a touch of a button on their cellular device, caused the newspaper to experience an even bigger decline.

The world started to take note of these changes and popular newspaper organizations, like ‘The New York Times’ and ‘The Washington Post’, made apps and websites that allowed dedicated customers to have access to the news the organizations were distributing without having to leave their homes to buy a physical paper.

Authors from different news publications have shared their views on the idea of ‘online journalism’ and its future. Of the many articles written, the one that I enjoyed the most was, “Does Journalism Have a Future”, by Jill Lepore. This article, published in ‘The New Yorker’, painted a perfect picture for the readers to understand the transition from the life of having a physical newspaper to the life of having access to the news with the touch of a button. Other articles such as “Regulating Facebook and Google Won’t Save Journalism” by Alex Shephard, posted on ‘The New Republic’ and “Facebook should treat the cause, not the symptoms, of journalism’s plight” by Emily Bell, posted on ‘Columbia Journalism Review’, ‘chimed in’ on the ‘online journalism’ conversation.

Lepore added a human factor to the article by speaking of his own experience of being a newsboy. From this simple human factor, I was taken back to a moment where I would read the cartoon section of every newspaper my parents would bring home. Lepore made me feel nostalgic about a newspaper – something I never thought I cared about.

One point Lepore touched on was the fact that social media sites, like Facebook, focused more on commercialism than they did actual news. Reading this made me think about the term ‘yellow journalism’ which, plainly put, can be described as fake news. I have found that although social media sites like Facebook provide ‘news’, I always make sure to corroborate it. There are commercial companies that use news updates as clickbait for the purpose of advertising which can be very annoying to someone that is just trying to get to the news.

Journalism, I believe, is something that will never be removed from the world. Persons will always want to be ‘in the know’. Alex Shephard, in his article, “Regulating Facebook and Google Won’t Save Journalism” said that ‘moving’ journalism online would not, as the title suggests, save journalism. He said, “It will help. But the industry needs much more to survive.” With this statement, I completely agree.

In my view, ‘moving’ journalism online ensures that persons all over the world can have access to news updates as quickly as the blink of an eye. For example, I have the liberty to be up to date with current affairs from my country, Guyana, by reading the news on sites the news organizations created.

Also, it is more efficient in the sense that if a story requires an update, users no longer have to wait 24 hours. I believe that the digital age will continue to grow, so having news online is not something we can dismiss or get rid of but for journalists, and aspiring journalists, I believe it is our job to ensure that information we share with the public are known to be completely factual so that we never lose the true sense of what journalism is. If this is done, not only will journalism have a future, but I believe it will be a bright one.