Online Journalism's Quality Called into Question

As more Americans are turning to the Web for their news-stories, the quality of journalism has been brought into the limelight.

In a Reuters article entitled, “More Americans turning to Web for news,” the dissatisfaction of news readers is discussed.

A We Media/Zogby Interactive online poll showed 64 percent of polled participants are unhappy with the quality of journalism in their communities.

iFOCUS, a Virginia-based think tank responsible for the polled information finds this encouraging.

“That's a really encouraging reflection of people who care A) about journalism and B) understand that it makes a difference to their lives,” said Andrew Nachison, of iFOCUS.

With more than half of the 1,979 participants using the Internet for their primary news-source, this growing population remains increasingly skeptical of their news.

Poynter Institute's Howard Finberg discusses the public's concerns.

“It's delivered in a non-traditional form, that doesn't necessarily mean there isn't traditional journalism underneath it,” said Finberg.

What's In Your Media Diet?

We know a lot about people's nutritional diet and the effects of over-consumption, but relatively little about the media and its long-term effects.

“What is Your Media Pyramid?” by Eric C. Deggans of the St. Petersburg Times discusses media consumption.

Experts suggest digesting your media in a similar fashion to digesting food; with balance!

"A media diet is very much like a real diet ... mix the different food groups," said Dietram Scheufele, a professor at the University of Wisconsin at Madison .

Tom Rosenstiel of the Project for Excellence in Journalism encourages people to view their media diet as a question of time management.

"We're in the fast food news culture, where you've got a huge buffet. (And) we do almost nothing in the media world to teach people what they need to know to be an intelligent consumer of news,” said Rosenstiel.

As the Industry Changes, So Must Journalists

Every journalist must learn to adapt, particularly in an age where print news is fading and technology-based journalism is emerging as the leader. Gone are the days where journalists can be assured face-to-face, spontaneous interviews.

Today, emailed interviews are becoming more prevalent. In “E-Mail Interview Advice” by Jonathan Dube, a publisher of CyberJournalist.net, the pros and cons of e-mail interviews are weighed and debated.

Time is of the essence. E-mail interviews save journalists tons of time. These interviews are frequently more efficient and give the source time to formulate a response. However, how can you really be sure who is replying? A public relations advisor may have crafted your response. E-mail also inhibits a reporter from asking spontaneous or follow-up questions, which is often necessary for a complete and accurate story.

Dube suggests that journalists proceed with caution and use the same critical thinking and fact-checking that you would use for a face-to-face interview, including verifying your sources. Remember, e-mails last forever so professionalism is a must.

Short and Sweet

Today's media audience has a short attention span. Journalists must keep this fact in mind while writing for the web.

Jakob Nielsen's “Be Succinct! (Writing for the Web)” outlines three important guidelines for online journalists.

“Be succinct. Write no more than 50% of the text you would have used in a hardcopy publication,” said Nielsen.

Reading on a computer screen is more difficult than reading hardcopy print. To remedy this problem, Nielsen suggests keeping your writing short and avoiding a length that requires readers to scroll down the page.

Webwriters must also write for scannability, or structuring the article with headlines, sub-heads and highlighting to emphasis keywords.

In order to not sacrifice contect, Nielsen suggests splitting the information into multiple nodes with hypertext links.

“Long and detailed background information can be relegated to secondary pages; similarly, information of interest to a minority of readers can be made available through a link without penalizing those readers who don't want it,” said Nielsen.

With these guidelines in place, web writers can hold their audiences attention, while maintaining depth in their content.

Today's Journalism Core

While the face of journalism has certainly changed over the years, journalism's core has changed very little.

Steve Klein, a professor at George Mason University, discusses his journalistic experience and three core components of good journalism that haven't changed since his early reporting days.

Whether in a small, rural town or a large city such as Los Angeles, the best journalists ultimately want to help their communities.

“The best journalists believe in something and want to make a difference,” said Klein.

In addition, journalists must remember that it's not about what you want, it's about the audience. To get to know your audience, get out from behind your desk and include yourself in that audience's discussion.

Lastly, pick up a book and read. Klein argues that too many of his students can't write well, in part because they simply do not read.

“Writing, last time I checked, is a big part of what a newspaper does,” said Klein.