How is the internet shaping the future of journalism?

Citizen journalism, also known as public or participatory journalism, is the act of citizens "playing an active role in the process of collecting, reporting, analyzing and disseminating news and information," according to the seminal report We Media: How Audiences are Shaping the Future of News and Information, by Shayne Bowman and Chris Willis. They say, "The intent of this participation is to provide independent, reliable, accurate, wide-ranging and relevant information that a democracy requires. Citizen journalism should not be confused with civic journalism, which is practiced by professional journalists. Citizen journalism is a specific form of citizen media as well as user generated content. (Wikipedia, 2008).


After all this talk about citizen journalism, what it is and how it is revolutionalizing the journalistic profession, let's look at the advantages of online journalism as compared to traditional journalism first.

1.Easy access: What were the chances before the Internet that someone abroad would read an article written in a small-town newspaper? Major metropolitan markets to heartland weeklies are getting exposure like never before by writing the right stories with key buzzwords to be picked up on news searches such as Google and Yahoo. It's truly an exciting era of news globalization.

2.Clips files: Instead of running to the Kinko's with a folder full of ragged clips every time an opportunity beckons, journalists can easily compile their work on Web sites for all to peruse. By using links to one's paper or freelance clients, a journalist can also show these entities that he or she is generating reader interest and driving traffic to their Web sites.

3.Reader feedback: In the print world, readers can respond with letters to the editor that most often don't wind up in front of the reporter. But when a journalist's work is online, discussion on blogs and other sites gives a reporter the opportunity to eavesdrop on the conversation -- and get invaluable feedback about what the readers really think.

4.No limits: Many publications have launched online publications bearing the same name with original content, such as The Wall Street Journal's OpinionJournal and National Review Online. Though these pay less than print, the exposure is great and -- because there are no ad stack design constraints -- one usually isn't hindered by maximum word counts.

In the future, a journalist may not see as much of his or her work on newsprint, a clipping stuffed in a scrapbook. But a lot more people will be reading that journalist's work, and that's really what it's all about.