Journalism vs. the Internet > the change > Credibility > Propaganda > Censorship
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What advantages do newspapers and old-school journalism provide to the public over net-journalism?
Credibility.
It is more credible to find a newspaper article, a hard news article for a paper than it would to find it on the Internet The job of the writer of that article is exactly that, it's his/her job. The Internet however holds thousands of want to be reporters posting their opinions and replies to blogs everyday. With every blog, every amateur news video, every opinionated post, journalism is being weakened. For every good journalist on the Internet there are five more hoping on blog bandwagons. Journalism is like a fragile hourglass. Every reporter can sway the grains of sand, the public, from fact to fiction, against to for, etc. With every hand comes sweeps of misinformation or truth to the public. The Internet is so personal and caters to our wants that it is very hard to tear ourselves away from it. It is hard to not personify it and give it a place at our kitchen table. Putting up opinions about current news is exactly what journalism is suffering from. A job of a reporter is to report the current news, straight information with no hopes of swaying public opinion. To sway public opinion would be to publish propaganda in a journalist's eyes.
Report what is done, not what could be, not what will happen, and absolutely not what people “think.” the great journalist Marvin Kalb said “Please, please let us stop using the words “I think.” These two words have infected radio and cable news with opinionated often ill informed commentary. Instead tell us what you know, what you have seen, what you have experienced, what you are sure is dependable and accurate.” (Marvin Kalb, Harvard graduation speech 2006)