Bond University
ePublications@bond
Humanities & Social Sciences papers
Faculty of Humanities and Social Sciences
9-1-1999
The New 'Multi-journalism': Journalists' and
educators' perceptions of the influences of the
Internet upon journalism and its implications for
journalism education
Mark Pearson
Bond University, [email protected]
Follow this and additional works at: http://epublications.bond.edu.au/hss_pubs
Part of the Journalism Studies Commons
Recommended Citation
Pearson, Mark, "The New 'Multi-journalism': Journalists' and educators' perceptions of the influences of the Internet upon journalism
and its implications for journalism education" (1999). Humanities & Social Sciences papers. Paper 218.
http://epublications.bond.edu.au/hss_pubs/218
This Dissertation is brought to you by the Faculty of Humanities and Social Sciences at ePublications@bond. It has been accepted for inclusion in
Humanities & Social Sciences papers by an authorized administrator of ePublications@bond. For more information, please contact Bond University's
Repository Coordinator.
THE NEW ‘MULTI-JOURNALISM’
Journalists’ and educators’ perceptions of the influences of
the Internet upon journalism and its implications for
journalism education.
Mark Pearson, BA, DipEd, MLitt, LLM
A thesis submitted in fulfilment of the requirements
for the degree of
Doctor of Philosophy
Centre for Professional Practice in Education and Training
Faculty of Education
Queensland University of Technology
September, 1999
Certificate of acceptance
ii
Keywords
Journalism, journalism education, news, Internet, World Wide Web, computerassisted reporting (CARR), discussion lists (listservs).
Abstract
This work uses grounded theory methodology to develop a theory of the Internet’s
influences upon journalism and its implications for journalism education. It sets
out to address research questions asking what journalists’ and educators’
electronic discussions reveal about the influences of the Internet upon journalism
and what the implications of this might be for journalism education. Sub-questions
ask how the Internet’s influences upon journalism might be categorised and,
further, ask what new tasks and practices journalists have adopted in their work as
a result of the use of the Internet.
The literature review reveals scholarship in the field has developed rapidly
during the course of the study, however while much of the research has targeted
specific phenomena in the journalism / Internet / education interface, there has
been a dearth of literature attempting to synthesise the three in a holistic theorybuilding exercise such as this. Certainly, there have been no attempts to use a
grounded theory approach to the analysis of electronic discussion list data in
building such theory.
The data upon which the analysis is based are the discussions about journalism
practice and journalism education on four electronic discussion lists during a nine
week period in 1997. The 1217 messages posted to the lists were sorted according
to their relevance to the research questions and the 629 messages selected were
coded and sorted using the NUD.IST qualitative research software and analysed in
accordance with grounded theory procedures recommended by Strauss (1987) and
Strauss and Corbin (1990).
The study illustrates that the Internet has had a major influence upon
journalism which has important implications for journalism education. The thesis
presents a descriptive categorisation of the Internet’s influences upon journalism.
iii
The Internet’s actual influences upon journalism are identifiable and numerous,
and include 169 new journalistic tasks and practices. The influences are so
profound in some respects that they force a re-evaluation of journalism and its
purpose.
The influences of the Internet upon the context in which journalism is practised
and upon the practice of journalism are momentous. They represent the
emergence of an endeavour which, while retaining many of the characteristics of
journalism as it has been known, is too fragmented, multi-dimensional and multipurposed to continue to be classified as such, a notion which has profound
implications for journalism education and necessitate a review of its aims and
practices. The term “Multi-Journalism” has been coined to describe this new
manifestation of journalism as an occupation.
Numerous opportunities for further research have been identified, covering all
three domains addressed in the thesis: the context in which journalism is practised,
the practice itself, and the implications of Internet influences for journalism
education.
iv
Table of contents
Chapter
Topic
Page
Certificate of acceptance
ii
Keywords
iii
Abstract
iii
Table of contents
v
List of tables and figures
1
2
viii
List of abbreviations
x
Statement of original authorship
xi
Dedication and acknowledgments
xii
Introduction
1
1.0
Introduction to the problem and research questions
2
1.1
Background to the problem
3
1.2
Statement of the problem situation
3
1.3
Purpose of the study
4
1.4
Conceptual or substantive assumptions
5
1.5
Rationale and theoretical framework
6
1.6
Delineation of the research problem
7
1.7
Research assumptions
8
1.8
Importance of the study
9
1.9
Definition and discussion of terms
11
1.10
Scope and delimitations of the study
14
1.11
Outline of remainder of the document
16
Literature review
19
2.0
Introduction to the literature
20
2.1
Perspectives on the role of technology
21
2.2
Internet’s relationship to journalism’s context
26
v
Table of contents (continued)
Chapter
3
4
5
Topic
Page
2.3
Influences of the Internet upon journalism practice
51
2.4
Journalism education and the Internet
61
2.5
Summary
80
Methodology
83
3.0
Introduction
84
3.1
Overview
84
3.2
Description of research methodology or approach
86
3.3
Research design
91
3.4
Selection of subjects / focus of analysis
94
3.5
Description of sites
98
3.6
Procedures
101
3.7
Data collection and recording
109
3.8
Data processing and analysis
110
3.9
Limitations
120
Introduction to results and discussion
123
4.0
Introduction
124
4.1
Centrality of research questions to the structure
124
4.2
Report upon data collection and computer analysis
126
4.3
Analysis procedures: grounded theory in practice
126
4.4
Summary of key results and description of key categories
131
4.5
Brief description of the 14 key sub-categories
135
Influences of the Internet upon the context of journalism
practice: results and discussion
139
5.0
Introduction and chapter outline
140
5.1
Contextual Influence 1: Journalists’ culture
141
5.2
Contextual Influence 2: Communication
157
5.3
Contextual Influence 3: Work Environment
162
5.4
Contextual Influence 4: Legal and ethical issues
177
vi
Table of contents (continued)
Chapter
6
7
8
Topic
Page
5.5
Contextual Influence 5: Media
192
5.6
Contextual Influence 6: Audiences
234
5.7
Issues arising and relationship to Chapter 6
239
Influences of the Internet upon the practice of journalism:
Results and discussion
241
6.0
Introduction and chapter outline
242
6.1
Practice Influence 1: News values and topics
243
6.2
Practice Influence 2: Research
255
6.3
Practice Influence 3: Writing
294
6.4
Practice Influence 4: Editing and publishing
301
6.6
Issues arising and relationship to Chapter 7
311
Educational implications of the influences of the Internet
upon journalism
329
7.0
Introduction and chapter outline
330
7.1
Resources
332
7.2
Methods
340
7.3
Curriculum
346
7.4
Outcomes
382
7.5
Issues arising and relationship to Chapter 8
386
Conclusion
389
8.0
Introduction and chapter outline
390
8.1
Review of research questions and summary of findings
391
8.2
Key results and articulation of “Multi-Journalism”
402
8.3
Directions for further research
409
Appendix 1:
Exploratory study
416
Appendix 2:
Discussion list analysis breakdown by week
424
Appendix 3:
List of 110 categories
425
References
429
vii
List of tables and figures
Tables
Table 4.1: Core category and core result, key categories and key results
and research question connections
132
Table 6.1: New tasks and practices related to 5.1 Journalists’ culture
318
Table 6.2: New tasks and practices related to 5.2 Journalists’ communication
318
Table 6.3: New tasks and practices related to 5.3 Journalists’ work
environment
319
Table 6.4: New tasks and practices related to 5.4 Legal and ethical issues
320
Table 6.5: New tasks and practices related to 5.5 Media
321
Table 6.6: New tasks and practices related to 5.6 Audiences
322
Table 6.7: New tasks and practices related to 6.1 News values and topics
323
Table 6.8: New tasks and practices related to 6.2 Research
323
Table 6.9: New tasks and practices related to 6.3 Writing
325
Table 6.10: New tasks and practices related to 6.4 Editing and publishing
326
Table 7.1: Curricular measures related to 5.1 Journalists’ culture
351
Table 7.2: Curricular measures related to 5.2 Journalists’ communication.
353
Table 7.3: Curricular measures related to 5.3 Journalists’ work environment
354
Table 7.4: Curricular measures related to 5.4 Legal and ethical issues.
358
Table 7.5: Curricular measures related to 5.5 Media
360
Table 7.6: Curricular measures related to 5.6 Audiences
367
Table 7.7: Curricular measures related to 6.1 News values and topics
368
Table 7.8: Curricular measures related to 6.2 Research
371
Table 7.9: Curricular measures related to 6.3 Writing
378
Table 7.10: Curricular measures related to 6.4 Editing and Publishing
379
Appendix Table 1: Messages on Journet discussion list (November 1-7, 1994)
418
Appendix Table 2: Messages coded for discussion topic
420
Appendix Table 3: Messages coded for communicative purpose
422
Figures
Figure 5.1: Conditional matrix showing the influences of the Internet upon the
context in which journalism is practised
Figure 5.2: Internet influences upon journalists’ culture
List of tables and figures (continued)
viii
141
142
Figures (continued)
Figure 5.3: Internet influence upon the social roles of journalists
155
Figure 5.4: Internet influences upon journalists’ communication practices.
158
Figure 5.5: Internet influences upon journalists’ work environment
163
Figure 5.6: Internet influences upon legal and ethical issues
confronting journalists.
178
Figure 5.7: Internet influences upon the media in which journalism is practised
193
Figure 5.8: Internet influences upon the audiences for journalism
235
Figure 6.1: Conditional matrix showing the influences of the Internet
upon the practice of journalism.
243
Figure 6.2: Internet influences upon journalists’ news values and the topics
they report upon
244
Figure 6.3: Internet influences upon journalistic research
256
Figure 6.4: Internet influences upon research techniques used by journalists
257
Figure 6.5: Internet influences upon sources used by journalists
in their research
268
Figure 6.6: Problems resulting from the Internet’s influences upon
journalists’ research
282
Figure 6.7: Internet influences upon journalists’ writing
295
Figure 6.8: Internet influences upon journalists’ editing and publishing
302
Figure 7.1: Conditional matrix showing the implications for journalism
education of the influences of the Internet upon the
context and practice of journalism.
332
Figure 7.2: Implications of Internet influences for the resource
aspects of journalism education
333
Figure 7.3: Implications of Internet influences for the methods used
in journalism education
340
Figure 7.4: Implications of Internet influences for the curriculum
in journalism education
346
Figure 7.5: Implications of Internet influences for the outcomes
of journalism education
382
Figure 8.1: Conditional matrix showing the Core Category “Multi-Journalism”
ix
406
List of abbreviations
CARR:
Computer-Aided (or Assisted) Research and Reporting
CARR-L:
Computer-Aided Research and Reporting List
CMC:
Computer-Mediated Communication
FOI:
Freedom of Information
FTP:
File Transfer Protocol
Journet:
Discussion list for journalism educators.
NUD.IST:
Non-numerical Unstructured Data Indexing, Searching and
Theorising (Richards and Richards, 1990b, p. 4).
Online-News:
Discussion list for those working in online journalism.
SPJ-L:
Society of Professional Journalists’ List
WWW:
World Wide Web
x
Statement of original authorship
The work contained in this thesis has not been previously submitted for a degree
or diploma at any other higher education institution. To the best of my knowledge
and belief, the thesis contains no material previously published or written by
another person except where due reference is made.
Signed: …………………………………….
Date:………………………………………..
xi
Dedication
This work is dedicated to the two women in my life: my mother, Eileen Elizabeth
Pearson (1928-1998), who died during its production, and to my wife Julie, whose
love and patience has helped make it possible.
Acknowledgments
Sincere thanks go to my supervisor, Dr Christine Velde, whose highly
professional approach to the supervision task has helped keep me focussed and
generally on schedule during the four years it has taken to write this thesis. Her
informed advice has been invaluable.
So, too, has the input of my associate supervisor, Dr Anne Russell, who has been
particularly supportive throughout and has generated a number of ideas which
have strengthened the work considerably.
Thank you to the Education Faculty at QUT, particularly Professor Brian
Hansford, who originally supported my candidature and has been encouraging
ever since; to my administrative assistant Mrs Leah Gill for her friendship and
help; to the Dean of Humanities and Social Sciences at Bond University,
Professor Paul Wilson, for his encouragement and approval of leave to complete
the project; to the librarians at both QUT and Bond University; and to the
journalists and educators whose words formed the basis of the data set used for
the project.
I am also indebted to Mr Cecil Goldstein and Dr Leonie Daws of QUT for their
assistance with the NUD.IST software; fellow doctoral student Stephen Quinn for
his selfless sharing of ideas and references; and US experts Bob Cauthorn, Kyu
Ho Youm, Steve Doig, George Shirk and David M. Cole for kindly agreeing to
discuss key issues with me during a visit there in 1998.
I am grateful to the panel of four QUT education faculty who kindly read and
critiqued the thesis as part of the oral defence procedure in the weeks prior to its
submission: Associate Professor Tom Cooper, Associate Professor Bob Elliott, Dr
Cameron Richards and Dr Christine Velde.
Finally, thank you to the scores of colleagues and students whose feedback in
discussions, seminars and email correspondence helped crystallise the analysis.
xii
Chapter 1: Introduction
1.0
Introduction to the problem and research questions
This study addresses two key research questions:
1. What do journalists’ and their educators’ electronic discussions tell
us about the influence of the Internet upon journalism?; and
2. What are the implications of this for journalism education?
It uses a predominantly grounded theory approach to explore the terrain where the
practice of journalism encounters the technology of the Internet. It addresses the
implications of this intersection for journalism education.
The data for the study — journalists’ and journalism educators’ electronic
discussions — have been drawn from contributions they have made to four
electronic discussion groups on the Internet over a nine week period during 1997.
In attempting to answer the two key research questions, two sub-questions
arose which were deemed as important to the development of a theory of the
influence of the Internet upon journalism and its implications for journalism
education. They were:
a. How are the Internet’s influences upon journalism best
categorised?;
and
b. What new tasks or practices have journalists adopted in their work
as a result of the use of the Internet?
The questions are central to the structure of the thesis document, with the
configuration of the results and discussion section (Chapters 5-8) outlined in
Chapter 4.
2
1.1
Background to the problem
The rapid growth of the Internet has been well documented. Odegard (1993) noted
that by August 1993 more than 1.7 million computers (hosts) in more than 50
countries were connected, and more than 30 million people had access to the
Internet internationally. More than 120 countries were connected to electronic
mail. In August 1995, there were 6.6 million Internet hosts worldwide, with
growth in the first half of that year calculated at 37 per cent (Internet Society,
1995). By this stage authorities were reluctant to guess at the number of
individuals with access to the worldwide network, although December (1996, p.
14) put the number at 20-40 million users. NUA Internet Surveys (1998)
estimated this had grown to 150 million users internationally by November 1998.
A large body of literature is developing which discusses the implications of the
Internet across a range of human endeavours. There is ample evidence this new
medium, with special characteristics, is impacting upon traditional media and the
practices of the professionals working with them.
Journalism has evolved considerably over the past two centuries, incorporating
changes in technological developments as they have arisen. Journalism has
changed with the introduction of the telegraph, reductions in the speed of
newspaper distribution and the emergence of media such as radio and television.
Journalism education has had a professional focus and has endeavoured to equip
students with the skills to practise journalism in each new media environment.
Manifestations of the influence of the Internet upon journalism, and, by
implication, upon journalism education, have already become apparent. There is a
burgeoning body of literature dealing with the Internet and its impact upon
specific aspects of both journalism practice and journalism education. Much has
been published during the course of this project. Selected items of this literature
are introduced and discussed in the Literature Review in Chapter 2.
1.2
Statement of the problem situation
At the time this project was conceptualised almost five years ago there was a
paucity of empirical research devoted to categorising the influences of the Internet
upon journalism. Further, there was a shortage of theoretical exposition upon
3
these influences. In the four years since the project was started, much more
research has been conducted and the results published. This research is reviewed
in Chapter 2, and represents one-off individual attempts by scholars to identify
Internet influences upon specific areas of the journalism enterprise. However,
there appears to have been little integration of this research, and even less
evidence of attempts to link it with journalism education. While ad hoc actions
have been taken to adapt journalism education to take account of the influences of
the Internet upon professional practice, there seems to have been little effort
directed at synthesising views on their implications for journalism education or
developing strategies for dealing with these implications. This project attempts to
provide such synthesis and integration in developing theories which emerge from
the analysis of empirical data.
1.3
Purpose of the study
The purpose of the study is to develop theories related to the influence of the
Internet upon journalism and its implications for journalism education. From a
professional perspective as a journalist and journalism educator, it is driven by a
fundamental need to be relevant to the professions of journalism and journalism
education. Thus, a motivating factor is the desire to articulate clearly the types of
influences of this new technology on journalism using the words of those who are
using it and studying it.
Why might this be useful? The Literature Review (Chapter 2) highlights
changes precipitated by the development of new technologies and their
introduction as new media forms and tools. The Internet is a new medium which
is already being used to varying degrees by journalists as a tool for research,
reporting and publishing. The purpose, therefore, is to develop theories drawing
upon the knowledge and opinions of those using the Internet in order to explain
and interpret its influence upon journalism and explore its implications for
journalism education.
1.4
Conceptual or substantive assumptions
4
Certain assumptions are inherent in this project, and need to be stated at the
outset.
The research question deals with three substantial concepts: journalism, the
Internet and journalism education. These are defined later in this introductory
chapter.
Technological determinists such as McLuhan (1962) might have seen new
technology as a driving force in itself, precipitating changes in professional
practice through its mere discovery, its novelty, and its perceived potential. While
not discounting the fact that technological innovation may well pre-empt changes
in work practice and social relations, this study assumes such changes are driven
by essentially human needs and motivations, and that technology merely provides
a means by which people can seek to achieve their human ends. That is why the
data chosen for the study, the electronic discussions of journalists and journalism
educators, represent the interface between humans (journalists and educators) and
the technology they are discussing.
Throughout the world thousands of journalists and journalism educators have
been communicating over the Internet as participants in numerous electronic
discussion groups. At the time of data collection in 1997, four of the main
discussion lists were: CARR-L (Computer Aided Reporting and Research List),
Online-News (a list for those publishing electronic newspapers), SPJ-net (that
sponsored by the Society of Professional Journalists) and Journet (a discussion list
for journalism educators). These had spawned several smaller discussion groups
representing regional or sectional interests. This study focuses on these four lists,
reflecting different perspectives on the journalism function: those of reporters
(CARR-L and SPJ-net); publishers (Online-News) and educators (Journet).
Certain assumptions have to be made about the data drawn from the electronic
discussion lists featuring the comments of journalists and journalism educators. It
is assumed that discussion list subscribers who wish to be involved in an exchange
on a particular issue will do so and that they will be honestly saying what they
believe, not taking on another persona or working to some misleading agenda. Of
course, such deception does occur on the Internet, but the likelihood is extremely
low of this kind of deceit occurring to any significant scale among hundreds of
messages on the professional lists chosen. It is also assumed that access to the
5
Internet was broad enough by the time of data collection in 1997 to provide a
reasonably large range of perspectives on the key issues. Nevertheless, it is
recognised the participants are all computer literate and willing discussion list
subscribers and therefore may express views on issues which are not
representative of the broader journalism or journalism education profession. (The
methodology chosen, grounded theory, allows for this in that the theories
developed make no claim to be comprehensive or representative.)
When it is stated that every participant is “computer literate”, the researcher
means each is competent enough in the operations and use of a computer to have
registered as a member of an electronic discussion list on the Internet. The
attitudinal implications of this can only be speculated upon short of a comparative
study of the attitudes of such list members and those of their colleagues in the
broader journalism and journalism education occupation groups. It would not be
overly adventurous to hypothesise that such a group would be more receptive to,
and positive about, the influences of the Internet upon their practice than their
colleagues who have had less exposure to computer technology.
These assumptions raise some issues which are discussed below under
limitations and delimitations.
1.5
Rationale and theoretical framework
The Internet promises much to journalists and journalism educators alike.
Computer-mediated communication including the World Wide Web (WWW), online news services, electronic mail and file transfer protocol offer innumerable
opportunities for researching, reporting, publishing, conferencing, teaching and
learning. Yet amid the hype (and hypertext), important questions about the
application of these technologies remain unanswered. These questions are to do
with the influence the Internet is having upon the practice of journalism and its
implications for journalism education. At the time this project started in 1994,
much of the debate had focussed on the virtual and the imaginable, at the expense
of the concrete and the tangible. This study set out to explore the views of
participants in a changing journalistic environment about that environment and its
6
practices with a view to developing a theory about the influence of the Internet
upon journalism and the consequences of this for journalism education.
The emphasis here is upon building theory using qualitative research methods,
based substantially on the tradition of grounded theory research (Glaser and
Strauss, 1967, p. 21). Glaser and Strauss positioned the constant comparative
analysis of data as a strategic method for generating theory. They explained the
process of using constant comparative analysis to generate conceptual categories
and to identify relationships among the categories and their properties (Glaser and
Strauss, 1967, p. 35). This study called for such an approach, since the research
questions lend themselves to the spontaneous yet meticulous gathering of data and
the building of theory grounded in them. This is discussed in more detail in the
methodology section (Chapter 3). The project culminates in the development of
theories related to the influence of the Internet upon journalism and its
implications for journalism education. It is important to note that, while grounded
theory methods formed the framework for the project, other research methods
were drawn upon when deemed necessary. For example, a simple frequency
distribution and content analysis were conducted upon one of the discussion lists
as part of an exploratory study to ascertain the amount and nature of the potential
data, reported in Appendix 1. Rather than labelling this as a “multi-method study”,
it is enough to point out that this kind of triangulated approach is endorsed by the
proponents of grounded theory (Strauss and Corbin, 1994, p. 277). Further, it
would be a brave researcher who would claim to be conducting grounded theory
in any “pure” sense. Its very founders, Glaser and Strauss, have disagreed publicly
on the exact protocols which should be followed when using the approach, as
explained in Chapter 3. Thus, while the grounded theory approach is the
predominant one used, it is adapted where necessary in the interests of the project.
1.6
Delineation of the research problem
The research problem centres upon the paucity of empirical research devoted to
categorising the influences of the Internet upon journalism. It also notes the
shortage of theoretical exposition upon these influences at the time of the project’s
conception. It recognises that, while ad hoc actions are being taken to adapt
journalism education to take account of such influences upon professional
7
practice, there has been little attempt at synthesising views on their implications
for journalism education or developing strategies for dealing with them.
The research problem has been addressed by accessing the electronic
discussions of those who are experts in the field; drawing from their discussions
descriptive categories detailing the journalistic uses to which the Internet is being
put and developing theories related to the influences of the Internet upon
journalism and the implications of this for journalism education.
This can be broken up into three major strands of inquiry:
i. The development of a descriptive categorisation of the Internet’s influences
upon journalism.
ii. The development of a theory of the Internet’s influences upon journalism,
drawn in part from the discussants’ own words and developed through the
analysis process by the researcher.
iii. The development of a theory of the implications of this for journalism
education, drawn in part from the discussants’ own words and developed further
through the analysis process by the researcher.
1.7
Research assumptions
One hallmark of the grounded theory approach is that researchers enter the
fieldwork phase without a hypothesis (Bailey, 1987, p. 54). The classical approach
to research has been divided into three stages: constructing the concept and
proposition; measuring the concept and constructing the hypothesis; and,
verifying the hypothesis. Bailey (1987, p. 54) notes that grounded theory blends
the second and third stages into a single stage, restricting hypotheses to those
which actually emerge from the data. Indeed, verification becomes an unnecessary
step in the process because, under grounded theory methodology, only those
hypotheses that are verified are recognised. A further distinction between the
classical approach and grounded theory is that, while the classical approach
requires researchers to start at the conceptual level and move to the empirical,
8
grounded theory does the opposite, moving from empirical data to form concepts
and theories built upon them (Bailey, 1987, p. 55).
While there were no formal hypotheses, the researcher certainly had views on
the research topic before the project began, which may be perceived as research
assumptions. This researcher had witnessed a foundational shift in journalism
since the advent of the Internet. The study was an attempt to articulate that shift
and to put some order into the analysis of it by developing classification systems
and theories which applied to it and by exploring the ramifications of this shift for
the education of journalists.
1.8
Importance of the study
Journalism (and, ipso facto, the education of journalists) has been undergoing a
radical transformation as practitioners and educators explore the opportunities and
hazards the Internet presents for reporting, publishing, teaching and learning.
Some, such as Jurgensen and Meyer (1992) and Postman (in Fulton, 1996, pp. 2223), have argued that the changes are so significant that they may render
anachronistic the notion of journalism as it has been known for the past 200 years.
That in itself is a telling statement. Journalism is a relatively new practice in the
scheme of things. Its birth and its transformations over recent decades and
centuries have been inextricably linked with developments in both education and
technology. The growth of the popular press in the mid 17th century came about
only through developments in printing, a growing literacy and unique political
conditions, to which the newspapers themselves contributed (Roberts, 1983, p.
642, 812). Technological developments such as the telegraph, radio and television
prompted changes in both the gathering and distribution of news. But only the
advent of the computer and advances in telecommunications prompted this
challenge to the very notion of journalism as a form of mass communication.
The convergence of technologies such as computing and telecommunications
has allowed audiences a degree of independence and interactivity not possible
with traditional media. Newspapers, magazines, radio and television were all
“one-to-many” communication media, with single products or programs being
distributed to mass audiences (Rafaeli and LaRose, 1993, p. 291). Presenting news
9
to such audiences was a matter of determining the topics of greatest interest to the
largest number of readers, listeners and viewers. Audience choice was limited to
the selection of the medium and the news product. From that point on audiences
had to take what they were offered. The new media allowed for a significantly
greater degree of choice and interactivity, prompting questions about the
suitability of mass media techniques of reportage and distribution. Postman asked
“What is the problem to which the profession of journalism is the solution?”
(Fulton, 1996, p. 22), throwing the whole notion of journalism into question when
the reasons for its development in earlier centuries may no longer exist. That
question informs the study and is explored throughout.
Through the Internet, media consumers can access a world of information,
perhaps bypassing traditional media providers. Whether or not they choose to
access the electronic versions of traditional media (newspapers, radio and
television services), they are likely to expect a higher degree of choice and
interactivity, and will retain the option to select from a range of competitors if not
satisfied. Whereas a newspaper might formerly have been competing on the news
stand against a handful of other newspapers and scores of magazines, on the
Internet it is competing against thousands of other newspapers and magazines and
millions of independently initiated documents and multi-media presentations, each
of which has varying relevance to separate readers’ needs. This makes the
function and purpose of a traditional media provider problematic from both a
communication and a commercial perspective. For example, how useful and
viable is the entity known as The Age newspaper when published in an electronic
form on the World Wide Web? How useful and viable does the print version of
the same newspaper continue to be to its traditional audience? Such questions
strike at the heart of the dilemma facing traditional providers as they confront the
ramifications of a mass move towards the new media.
Traditional journalism can be enhanced by adept use of new technologies in
reportage. Countless new resources are now at the finger tips of the journalist
wanting to use the Internet for reporting. Computer-assisted reporting and
research (CARR) involves electronic access to government documents, databases,
court reports, articles, and specialist opinions, adding to the depth of coverage of
an issue and the discovery of angles on stories which might never have been
contemplated (Reddick and King, 1995). Thus, while new media might represent
10
a threat to the medium in which the journalist currently works, the journalism
itself can be enriched by using the new media proficiently.
In categorising the influences of the Internet upon journalism and theorising
upon their implications for both journalism and journalism education, this study
aims to shed light on crucial questions which may reshape journalism as we know
it and impact significantly upon the education of its practitioners.
1.9
Definition and discussion of terms
The statement of the problem, the formulation of the research question and the
statement of hypotheses raise some terms which need definition and discussion.
Terms which recur in these foundational statements are “Internet”, “World Wide
Web”, “journalism” and “journalism education”; while it is foreshadowed that the
analysis will lead to the development of “theories” of the influence of the Internet
upon journalism and its education. Each of these terms is defined and discussed.
• “Internet”
The medium known as the “Internet” is the linking of computers at thousands of
academic, governmental and commercial institutions worldwide into a wide area
network (WAN). It is one of several developments broadly classed as “new
media”. Obviously, the “new” media have changed with time. Newspapers
comprised the “new medium” of the 18th century; television the “new medium”
of the 1950s. Today, the new media are those which involve some convergence of
traditional media to offer audiences a greater level of choice and interactivity. The
Internet (and its permutations such as the World Wide Web and on-line discussion
groups) is only one example. Others include broadband distribution services
which provide interactive television services in homes and virtual reality
technology offering the user some electronic experience which appears real.
An official definition of “Internet” was developed by the US Federal
Networking Council (FNC) in 1995. It read as follows:
“Internet” refers to the global information system that:
11
(i) is logically linked together by a globally unique address space
based
on
the
Internet
Protocol
(IP)
or
its
subsequent
extensions/follow-ons;
(ii) is able to support communications using the Transmission Control
Protocol/Internet
Protocol
(TCP/IP)
suite
or
its
subsequent
extensions/follow-ons, and/or other IP-compatible protocols; and
(iii) provides, uses or makes accessible, either publicly or privately,
high level services layered on the communications and related
infrastructure described herein. (FNC, 1995)
This is a very specific, technical, definition, useful for those who wish to limit the
scope of the phenomenon for technical or, perhaps, legal purposes. More and
more, however, “Internet” is becoming the term used to describe the whole
international computing network. This project will use this broader, lay definition,
taking the Internet to be any form of online computer-based communication
available to journalists for use in their work.
•
“World Wide Web” (WWW)
Miller (1998, p. 256) has defined the World Wide Web (WWW) as “a part of the
Internet where information is stored as hypertext, with links embedded in each
document”. This is a useful definition, since it positions the WWW as a
component of the larger international computing network, and highlights its
hypertextual facility as its defining characteristic. Reddick and King (1997, p.
255) went further in their description of the WWW by stressing its facility for
allowing information on many different computers to be linked using key terms.
They noted the use of client programs such as Internet Explorer, Lynx, Mosaic
and Netscape to access the Web. They outlined a useful potted history, explaining
that it was launched by a researcher at CERN, the European Particle Physics
Laboratory in Geneva, Switzerland, in an attempt to provide a single user interface
to information stored on computers throughout the world (Reddick, and King,
1997, pp. 60-61). Quinn (1998a, p. 5) stressed the graphical nature of the interface
facility of the Web which contributed to its speedy adoption after the introduction
of the program Mosaic in 1993. Today, the expressions “World Wide Web” and
“Internet” are used interchangeably by many because the former now features
12
graphical, hypertextual access to many of the Internet’s most popular applications.
In this project, their meanings will be kept distinct.
• “Journalism”
The Concise Macquarie Dictionary (1983) defines “journalism” very narrowly as
“the occupation of writing for, editing, and conducting newspapers and other
periodicals”. Journalism is in fact a much broader occupation than this, taking in a
range of other media including television, radio, magazines and now new media.
It can be broad enough to include information gathering techniques, writing and
editing strategies and systems of publishing. Adam (1989, p.73) presents another
definition:
Journalism is comprised of reports, story-telling and commentaries in
the public media about events and ideas as they occur. Its principal
elements are: judgment — broadly speaking, news judgment — and
reporting, language, narration, and analysis. (cited in Meadows, 1998,
p. 68)
This is a more useful definition for the purposes of this project, capturing more of
the notion of journalism as a public cultural resource. Nevertheless, it should be
stated at the outset that this is predominantly a Western democratic view of
journalism, differing markedly from perspectives in other regions of the world and
in other political systems, a point which surfaces in the analysis as problematic.
• “Journalism education”
While it is accepted that journalism education can be quite broad and that there
are multiple avenues for entry into journalism, this project will narrow the scope
of journalism education to include predominantly that provided at tertiary level.
(Alternative providers of journalism education have been the media organisations
themselves via cadetship systems for school leavers and various in-service
training schemes. In recent years, both high schools and the TAFE sector have
provided journalism courses.) The term will be taken to encompass curricular and
pedagogical issues related to the training of journalists in such courses.
• “Theories”
13
The Concise Macquarie Dictionary (1983) defines “theory” as “a coherent group
of general propositions used as principles of explanation for a class of
phenomena”. Such a general definition requires some refinement arising from the
use of the grounded theory approach to the data analysis. Strauss (1987, p. 242)
distinguishes between formal (or “general”) theories and substantive theories. He
explains that substantive theories are those “developed for a substantive, or
empirical, area of inquiry, such as patient care, professional education, or
industrial relations”, whereas formal theories are “developed for a formal, or
conceptual, area of inquiry such as stigma, formal organisation, or socialisation”.
This project is targeted predominantly at the development of substantive theories
to do with the Internet’s influences upon journalism and its implications for
journalism education. This may lay the groundwork for the later development of
some formal theory related to the more general influences of the Internet upon
professional practices (or perhaps, even, important social institutions like
journalism).
1.10
Scope and delimitations of the study
The ambit of this study was potentially large, and therefore certain boundaries
needed to be established in order to make it both focussed and manageable.
The literature in this field has been expanding rapidly. Scholars are exploring
the implications of the Internet across the gamut of human endeavour. Knowledge
in this field has developed notably in the past few years and will, no doubt, move
beyond this study over time. While every attempt has been made to review the
most pertinent literature in the field, there will undoubtedly be works published in
recent months which have escaped the attention of this researcher. That said, the
theory developed has derived from the electronic discussions canvassed and
therefore is, to some extent, independent of the developing literature.
Nevertheless, the literature review has been approached in two stages. The first
major survey of literature was conducted during 1995 and 1996. Once the data
had been analysed and the draft chapters completed in November 1998, the
literature review was updated and the analysis adapted to incorporate the newer
material. It was felt this was a suitable mechanism for addressing the rapidly
14
growing field of Internet-related scholarship. The literature does not claim to be
current beyond November 1998.
Like any methodology, the grounded theory approach has its limitations. These
will be explored further in Chapter 3. This study aims to do no more than draw
upon the data to categorise and develop theories related to the influences of the
Internet upon journalism and explore their implications for journalism education.
The data themselves have limitations. They were collected during a particular
time period of nine weeks reflecting the development of the Internet and its
influences at that time. They were collected from particular discussion lists
representing a certain number of individuals with particular interests. While the
discussions were drawn from the four major electronic lists, discussions on the
specialised lists dealing with topics such as photojournalism, science journalism
or journalism in a particular region would have produced different data and
categories. All discussants can be assumed to be reasonably computer proficient
(unlike many of their colleagues) and all had some interest in the Internet since all
had taken the initiative to subscribe to a discussion list. The discussants were
positioned “within” journalism, which might well lead to different data than
would emanate from discussions about journalism by those “outside” the
profession (such as, for example, media consumers or perhaps regulators).
Further limitations extend to the capacity of this project to address broader
educational issues. Of course, developments within journalism as a profession and
a practice impact upon the education of journalists. If the particular technology is
adopted by working journalists, it could be expected that a professional
educational program would incorporate such a development into its curriculum.
Thus, journalism education needs to take into account the technological changes
in both fields: journalism and education; and journalism educators need to assess
both the curricular and pedagogical implications of such changes. However, the
study has not explored pedagogical potentials of the Internet beyond their
association with journalism and journalism education.
The researcher believes the recognition of these boundaries and limitations
added focus to the study and brought the project into the realm of the achievable.
Others may choose to move beyond these boundaries at some later stage to add
new dimensions to the work.
15
1.11
Outline of the remainder of the document
There are eight chapters and a reference list in this document.
Chapter 2, the Literature Review, deals with previous studies positioning the
Internet and computer-mediated communication, the influences of technology
upon the context and practice of journalism, and the implications of this for
journalism education to date. It also offers a theoretical framework for looking at
technology and the media.
In Chapter 3 important methodological issues are discussed. The chapter
explains the grounded theory approach, outlines the research design, details an
exploratory study looking at one of the discussion lists, profiles the lists being
monitored and explains the methods of collection and analysis.
Chapter 4 serves to introduce the results and discussion, while at the same time
mapping out the structure and contents of the remaining chapters.
Chapter 5 focuses on the results and discussion relating to the influences of the
Internet upon the context in which journalism is practised.
Chapter 6 presents the results and discussion about the influences of the
Internet upon the actual practice of journalism.
Chapter 7 discusses the implications of these influences for journalism
education.
Chapter 8, the Conclusion, draws upon the main themes of the preceding three
chapters to present a theory of the influences of the Internet upon journalism and
the implications of this for journalism education.
The work ends with three appendices and a list of bibliographic references.
16
Chapter 2: Literature Review
2.0 Introduction to the literature
This review examines and critiques the literature relevant to a study of the
influences of the Internet upon journalism and the implications of this for the
education of journalists. In addressing the literature, it will also be necessary to
consider other issues which underpin the basic understandings of journalism and
its relationship to technology.
The literature in this area has attempted to address a range of issues which arise
in the research questions. However, nothing in the literature addresses specifically
the primary research questions which ask what journalists’ and journalism
educators’ electronic discussions tell us about the influence of the Internet upon
journalism and the implications of this for journalism education. This is indicative
of the original nature of the research and testimony to its contribution to
knowledge in the field. However, the research questions indicate that the study
builds upon existing knowledge in three important spheres related to the
intersection of the Internet, journalism and journalism education. They also
require an exploration of the way technology has been approached by researchers
in this area in order to position this researcher’s approach to the issue.
The three topic areas of this literature review deemed relevant to the research
questions are related to:
• The Internet and its relationship to the context in which journalism is practised
(2.2).
• The Internet’s influences on the practice of journalism (2.3); and
• The Internet and journalism education (2.4).
This review of literature trends will attempt to trace developments in these areas
and demonstrate their relevance to this study.
Before proceeding to the review of literature related directly to the study in the
above categories, it is important to position the approach adopted in this study by
20
considering a range of perspectives on the role of technology in the humanmachine interface. Researchers have approached their work with different
interpretations of the role and function of technology. This discussion positions
this researcher’s approach.
2.1
Perspectives on the role of technology in the human-machine interface
Researchers in this general area have approached their work from a range of
theoretical or conceptual perspectives. These could be categorised in numerous
ways, particularly since the fields covered by the topic embrace education,
communication and technology. Here they have been divided according to the
theoretical perspective from which they have approached the human interaction
with technology. This has been done to provide a rationale for this researcher’s
own approach in this project to the role of technology.
The works can be categorised into five types on this technological criteria:
technologically determinist; technologically driven; technologically critical;
empirical; and neutral. Each will be defined and addressed here, giving brief
examples of how some of the research has been categorised to illustrate the
process.
The notion of “technological determinism” was coined to refer to the
perspective of mass communication adopted by scholars led by Marshall
McLuhan in the 1960s (McLuhan, 1962 and 1964) and criticised by scholars such
as Williams (1990, p. 130) for its all-embracing view of technology and its
acceptance of the inevitability of the new media age dictating the shape of future
human existence. Williams (1989, p. 120) dismissed it as follows:
The basic assumption of technological determinism is that a new
technology — a printing press or a communications satellite —
“emerges” from technical study and experiment. It then changes the
society or the sector into which it has “emerged”. “We” adapt to it,
because it is the new modern way. Yet virtually all technical study and
experiment are undertaken within already existing social relations and
21
cultural forms, typically for purposes that are already in general
foreseen. (Williams, 1989, p. 120)
Technological determinism operates under the assumption “that materialtechnological objects in themselves, and of themselves, decisively shape human
action” (Bigum and Green, 1993). McLuhan proposed that most major historical
episodes in human experience could be attributed to the impact of technology.
Any technology tends to create a new human environment. Script and
papyrus created the social environment we think of in connection with
the empires of the ancient world. The stirrup and the wheel created
unique environments of enormous scope. Technological environments
are not merely passive containers of people but are active processes
that reshape people and other technologies alike. (McLuhan, 1964, iv)
Thus, under technological determinism, it is technology that is the protagonist, the
initiator, the master of human destiny.
While such a perspective has now undergone three decades of criticism, a large
number of authors, particularly those from McLuhan’s North America, continue to
espouse it, and the McLuhanesque view has enjoyed something of a resurgence in
recent years.
Provenzo (1986) embraced McLuhan’s conceptual framework wholeheartedly,
adjusting it only to apply to microcomputers rather than the mass media with
which McLuhan had been concerned. He contended that “the seemingly
romanticised notion that a tool such as the computer has the potential to redefine
human consciousness and the character of our culture is not as unreasonable or as
farfetched as it may at first seem” (1986, p. 2). Here, the computer was the proactive entity, shaping the course of humanity.
The approach has taken on a popular and corporate flavour as world media and
communications players such as Bill Gates and Rupert Murdoch have portrayed a
future world — an “information superhighway” — where technology is the
solution to human problems and the vehicle for success (Microsoft Corporation,
1995; News Corporation, 1995). Winston (1986, p. 363) dismissed the so-called
22
“information revolution” as “an illusion, a rhetorical gambit, an expression of
profound ignorance, a movement dedicated to purveying misunderstanding and
disseminating disinformation”.
Yet amid the hype of this “new information age” some of the researchers in the
field of new media communications appeared to have adopted McLuhan’s
schema. Koch (1991) represented the new generation of technological determinist.
He recognised the shortcomings in McLuhan’s framework, yet could not resist
reshaping it for the new information age. Koch (1991, p. 184) claimed his
approach went beyond McLuhan’s “medium is the message” and argued that
McLuhan overlooked sources people used when writing or speaking on issues.
New technologies will create fundamentally different information only
to the degree that they affect the content of the information signal,
whatever the medium of transmission. (Koch, 1991, p. 185-186)
It is the phraseology “new technologies will create” which reveals Koch’s
allegiance to the technological determinist paradigm. Despite attempting to
distance himself from McLuhan’s work, Koch perpetuated the notion that
technology was the proactive independent entity driving human endeavour and
shaping human destiny. For Koch (1991, p. xxiv) “new technologies will force a
re-evaluation of the relation between “official” expert and passive reporter” and
“new online technologies create a radically new relation between author and
subject” (italics added).
To highlight concerns with the technological determinist approach — that
technology itself forces change rather than the human element — is not to deny
the significance of technological determinist arguments or the contribution to the
literature of scholars adopting such an approach.
The second major category of research accessed for this project can be called
“technologically driven”. More common among the studies in this area are those
which are embracing of new technologies, but fall short of being “technologically
deterministic” in their conceptual framework. Bigum and Green (1993, p. 9) used
the expression “technologically driven” to describe this approach, offering the
label “technocentric” as an alternative. The former seems preferable, since the
23
latter seems to imply some obsession with technology, which is certainly not a
feature of most of the works in this area. This nomenclature is useful, Bigum and
Green contend, because:
It avoids the deterministic position that material-technological objects
in themselves, and of themselves, decisively shape human action.
However, it rests upon what is presented as an informed sense of the
possibilities in computing, plus a faith in technological progress and
development; by definition, the new generation of computers will be
better. (Bigum and Green, 1993, p. 9)
Johnson (1994) argued for a better level of technological literacy to be developed
in journalism education from such a perspective. He suggested computers and
their software provided essentially a technological means to the very human end
of journalistic research and reporting. Reddick and King (1995, p. 15) in their text
on online journalistic research portrayed the use of research software as a way of
putting “greater value” into journalists’ reportage. Rheingold (1994) passed up the
opportunity (perhaps temptation?) of popular publishing to portray a
technologically determinist Internet. Instead, the human interaction using the
technology was central to his thesis that there existed such “virtual communities”.
The third major approach to research in this area might be called the
“technologically critical”, where researchers adopt a critical stance in their
evaluation of technology and its human impacts. Several works used for this study
fell within this category. They harked from a range of theoretical perspectives
(including postmodernism, poststructuralism and cultural studies) and disciplines
(including communication studies, education, history and sociology).
Kollock and Smith (1994) chose to recognise the difficulties inherent in
technological change as part of a broader study of its sociological implications.
They qualified their introduction by noting that “...as with earlier technologies that
promised freedom and power, the central problems of social relationships remain,
although in new and possibly more challenging forms” (Kollock and Smith, 1994,
p. 1). Reid (1994) labelled her study postmodern in her assertion that the virtual
communities she was studying were essentially human:
24
Virtual worlds exist not in the technology used to represent them, nor
purely in the mind of the user, but in the relationship between internal
mental constructs and technologically generated representations of
these constructs. The illusion of reality lies not in the machinery itself,
but in the users’ willingness to treat the manifestation of their
imaginings as if they were real. (Reid, 1994, p. 6)
Several researchers, including Cunningham (1996); Morris and Ogan (1996) and
December (1996), showed how existing communication theory constructs were
inappropriate to explaining the Internet.
Poster (1994, p. 82) waved the postmodern flag in questioning Rheingold’s
assignation of the term “virtual community” to the interaction taking place in
computer-mediated communication. He drove the technological schema into
intellectual territory by showing that the Internet helped to demonstrate that much
about “real” communities — such as the notion of “nationhood” — was itself
imaginary, or “virtual” (Poster, 1994, p. 83).
The fourth category of research used in this project might be called
“technologically empirical” because it is so entrenched in a particular empirical
methodology that the ideological position of its authors is unclear. Rafaeli and
LaRose (1993) and Valacich et. al (1993) are examples. They used experimental
and survey research to investigate aspects of the human-computer interface which
remained unexplored. Their discussion focussed on the narrow nature of the
research question, methodology and results, to the neglect of broader
consideration of the research in a social or critical context. This researcher has
chosen to call such an approach the “technologically empirical” because as
empirical research, it is striving for “objectivity” (O’Sullivan et. al, 1983, p. 84)
and, by definition, its generators cannot be seen to take a position on technology.
The final kind of study in this area has to be described as “technologically
neutral”. Some works accessed for this study did not offer a perspective on
technology because it did not arise as a significant element of their studies. These
dealt with aspects of journalism or education such as core values which enrich a
discussion of the implications of technology for journalism education.
25
It should be noted that these five categories are simply labels of convenience
adopted for the discussion of conceptual frameworks in this paper. They are
neither self-contained nor exhaustive. Some indeed overlap.
This project falls within the second category — the “technologically driven”.
While it is embracing of new technologies such as the Internet, it is certainly not
technologically deterministic in that it recognises the essential human role to be
played in the process. Neither is it “technologically critical” in its true sense, in
that it is not approaching the topic from a particular ideological framework. While
the study uses an empirical methodology, it is not so entrenched in that
methodology that its position is unclear.
2.2 The Internet and its relationship to the context of journalism
Many areas of human and, in particular, journalistic endeavour have been
influenced by the Internet since its advent but do not necessarily relate directly to
the practice of journalism. This researcher believes it is impossible to separate
such a practice from its context, and therefore considerable attention is devoted to
contextual material which informs journalistic practice, both here in the literature
review and later in the analysis (Chapter 5).
2.2.1 Relevance of journalism
The continuing relevance of journalism as an occupation and practice was
questioned by Newhagen and Levy (1998, pp. 9-21) in their study of the
relationship between the function of journalism and the new distributed
communication architecture being used for its dissemination on the Internet.
Newhagen and Levy (1998, p. 9) argued the flow of information in the traditional
media positioned the journalist at a narrow “neck” in the process, affording the
journalist a significant portion of social power. They pointed out that the word
“journalism” did not come into usage until 1833, coinciding with the emergence
26
of mass circulation newspapers (Newhagen and Levy, 1998, p. 12). Newspapers
displayed the form of mass media distribution architecture to be adopted by other
traditional media, positioning the journalist and the work of journalism with real
power in the creation of “meaning” in news (Newhagen and Levy, 1998, p. 13).
Quality control concerns drove the professionalisation of the occupation of
journalism and its centralisation in the hands of a “professional elite” (Newhagen
and Levy, 1998, p. 14), responsible for determining what was “true” and “real” in
the information they distributed (Newhagen and Levy, 1998, p. 15). However, the
nonlinear flow of information on the Internet, with distribution across numerous
sender-receiver nodes, shifted the power structure in information selection,
processing and distribution away from the journalist (Newhagen and Levy, 1998,
pp. 15-16). They wrote:
Data concentration is unnatural in distributed network architectures
that facilitate dispersed message production. Thus, the application of
canons or standards produced to deal with mass media systems may be
unnatural, unrealistic, and practically impossible to apply in a setting
where any participant is equally likely to be a message producer as a
message receiver. Members of such a system are more likely to be true
peers, further eroding social codes borne out of the need to protect
against the amplification of error fostered by power imbalances. First,
the reportorial act of data collection is dispersed, with data collection
potentially taking place at any node on the Net. Second, and most
importantly, editors may lose control of the agenda. (Newhagen and
Levy, 1998, p. 16)
The shift prompted a complete re-evaluation of the role of the journalist, they
argued. Newhagen and Levy (1998, p. 17) suggested the journalistic and editorial
role of verification had been the hallmark of traditional journalism, giving
journalistic communication credibility. However, in the distributed architecture of
the Internet, “the burden of verification may … shift back to the audience”,
requiring a higher level of media literacy among audiences in order to perform
this task (Newhagen and Levy, 1998, p. 17). They dismissed the argument that
audiences would still need journalists to control the amount and content of news
27
in the new environment, in other words conducting a “data compression” role
(Newhagen and Levy, 1998, p. 18).
2.2.2 Role of journalists
More egalitarian relationships between information managers and end users might
replace the journalist’s agenda-setting role with that of a “pathfinder”, an
individual who might offer services in guiding a user through the complex Internet
environment to help find the information they were seeking (Newhagen and Levy,
1998, p. 18). Yet even that role — determining what might be “newsworthy” to a
user — might be usurped by the computer. Newhagen and Levy (1998, pp. 18-19)
demonstrated with a mathematical algorithm that this could be brought within the
computer processing function, bypassing the human journalist or “pathfinder” in
the process. They suggested the occupation “information specialist” might replace
that of “journalist”:
One day soon perhaps the term information specialist will sound every
bit as romantic and every byte as nourishing as the title “foreign
correspondent” did a century ago. (Newhagen and Levy, 1998, p. 20)
The question of who is, and who is not, a journalist on the Internet was brought
into focus with the work of Matt Drudge, an Internet site operator who filed White
House gossip on his site during 1998 but laid no claim to being a journalist.
Powell (1998, p. 44) pointed out that Drudge had no editor and did not appear in
the “respectable” traditional media outlets, presenting “the muted ambiguities and
confusing convergence of the Internet, where no-one knows if you are a dog, let
alone a journalist”.
Aufderheide (1998, p. 54) suggested the future for journalists was as the
“facilitators of responsible public discussion, not the guardians of public
knowledge”. Their role was to make connections between items of information
that audiences were unable for whatever reason to make for themselves. She
concluded on an optimistic note:
28
Whether they do that by hyperlink or snail mail doesn’t change the
basic task, which does not get any easier with new technologies but
just might be done creatively and well with them. (Aufderheide, 1998,
p. 54)
The impact of the Internet upon the roles of journalists was explored by Singer
(1998), who suggested journalists were being “swept up in challenges to their onetime franchise of creating and delivering mass-mediated messages”. A journalist’s
traditional role as a gatekeeper, articulated by Granato (1998, p. 45), was being
threatened by a medium which allowed audiences to choose for themselves the
content they wished to consume, Singer (1998) contended. Journalists were
adjusting that role to add importance to their functions of quality control and
“sense-making”.
In particular, they see their role as credible interpreters of an
unprecedented volume of available information as fundamental to
their value — even their survival — in a new media environment.
(Singer, 1998)
There was also evidence that online audiences were actually looking for
someone to perform the “gatekeeper” role, Singer (1998) posited. This was
particularly the case with offensive material as regulators failed to perform their
function in the new, problematic context. Further evidence was with the advent of
“knowbots”, personalised software which endeavoured to match content with
users’ needs and interests (Singer, 1998). She pointed to the fact that among the
most popular Web sites were those produced by employees of traditional media
outlets. Singer (1998) posed a series of questions related to the gatekeeping
function and journalists’ suitability to performing that role in the new
environment. She suggested journalists might actually operate as a cohesive social
force in an era of social fragmentation. Singer (1998) called for a comparison of
the news production processes of the traditional media with the online media as
new operators moved beyond the “shovelware” approach to dumping traditional
content onto the Internet. One practice she highlighted was the ethically dubious
one of undercover reporting, made easier in an Internet world “cloaked in
anonymity” (Singer, 1998). Another was the dominance of proximity as a news
29
value, in a period when the new media audiences were being grouped by interests
rather than geography.
2.2.3 News and attitudes under negotiation
The very notion of what is “news” was also under negotiation in the new media
environment, noted W.S. Williams (1998, p. 37). The Internet expression “news”
might refer to “news groups” containing discussion, gossip, rumour and
uninformed speculation, Williams observed. “Real news” was “the reporting of
events and trends by professional journalists who aren’t involved in them directly,
but who have either witnessed them or interviewed the people involved”. The real
challenge was in educating new media audiences to the distinction between those
two types of “news”.
Some recent research has attempted to delve into the influences of the Internet
upon the dynamics of journalists’ organisational and cultural spheres. Harper
(1998, p. 83) noted attitudinal barriers in the traditional newspaper newsroom to
new media departments and personnel, based upon the trivialisation of the digital
journalism mission, jealousy about the infusion of capital into such projects and
the fear of being superseded by the new media. Harper (1998, p. 84) identified
three attitudes among reporters to the new media: the “benevolent revolutionary”
who was enthusiastic about new technologies; the “nervous traditionalist” who
feared them; and the “serene separatist” who did not fear them but saw little
impact upon their own work.
The ambiguous positioning and proprietorship of Internet resources in the
newsroom was encountered by Kirkpatrick (1996, p. 6) in his survey of
newspapers on their use of the World Wide Web. He found that Web access was
almost always a secondary function of computer usage in newspaper newsrooms
and members of such organisations might not even know who had access, making
the task of identifying which newspaper employees to survey on their use a
challenge for a research project. Nevertheless, the relatively low cost of Web
access made it an option even for small newspapers which did not have a strong
30
record of subscription to online services because of their cost, Kirkpatrick (1996,
p. 6) found.
Key organisational personnel might be a factor affecting the adoption of new
technologies like the Internet. Rogers (1983) found “change agents” and “opinion
leaders” within organisations could influence individuals’ attitudes to new
technology. Change agents were professionals who endeavoured to influence the
adoption of technologies in the ways they felt best. Opinion leaders were those
from whom others sought information and advice. Kirkpatrick (1996, p. 11)
extended this to the newsroom, suggesting change agents might be computer
systems employees or vendors, while opinion leaders might be anyone whose
opinions on the World Wide Web was valued by other employees.
The notion of the introduction of newsroom technology as an industrial tool to
gain more control over labour processes of journalists as workers was explored by
Christopher (1998). She reviewed the implementation of electronic editing,
pagination and computer-assisted reporting and concluded that, at least in the first
two instances, the result had been “to replace human bodies with machines, to
speed processes, and to gain greater control over the labour process” (Christopher,
1998, p. 139). Editors had reported a loss of traditional skill and a less
personalised, more abstract working environment. She feared the new
opportunities presented by the Internet might be countered by the “logic of capital
and accumulation” (Christopher, 1998, p. 139). She reported upon the technologyinspired changes in newsroom organisation, with reporting and editing shifting
from individualised, specialised tasks to team work; and the editorial production
task requiring more technical proficiency and less creativity (Christopher, 1998,
pp. 135-136). At the same time, commercial pressures dictated that reporters spent
less time in face-to-face interaction with sources and more time working over the
telephone or, more recently, on line (Christopher, 1998, p. 136).
2.2.4 Legal dilemmas
Legal and ethical issues also comprised important contextual influences of the
Internet. Each development in media technology has impacted upon the legal
31
rights and duties of the individuals working with them, and upon the legal
positions of other members of society. For example, the laws for the licensing of
printing presses represented a battleground for the rights of free speech (Pearson,
1997, p. 249).
The Internet has presented challenges to lawmakers and special hazards to
journalists as they go about their reporting and publishing. Australia’s first
defamation case related to an electronic mail communication was the case of
Rindos v. Hardwick (1994). West Australian academic David Rindos sued Gilbert
Hardwick over two postings Hardwick had made to an electronic news group for
those interested in anthropology. Rindos was awarded $40,000 in damages to
compensate him for the defamatory content of the messages.
New technologies have introduced a wildcard to media law, with areas most
affected including defamation, copyright, confidentiality and obscenity. Smethers
(1998, pp. 16-18) surveyed the range of legal concerns facing journalists in the
new media environment. He listed quandaries related to jurisdiction, copyright,
privacy, libel and the inaccuracies inherent in computer-aided reporting
(Smethers, 1998, p. 17).
The
Internet
poses
two
chief
complications:
multiple
identities
as
communication technologies and trans-border conveyance and delivery (Pearson,
1997, p. 250). These attributes make the new media a moving target for
lawmakers and enforcers. The multiple identities mean that at one moment the
Internet might be used to send a simple email message to a colleague in the room
next door and at the next moment might be used to download a whole piece of
video footage from a computer on the other side of the world. These two simple
transactions raise a litany of important legal questions.
The advent of new media technologies forces a rethink about what constitutes
the act of publication. In defamation law, it is relatively straightforward. Printed
materials are disseminated to particular physical locations. Publication occurs
where they are sent. Even broadcast transmission is reasonably easy to pinpoint.
Certain frequencies or bandwidths reach certain geographical populations.
Publication is deemed to occur there. But publication on the World Wide Web, for
32
example, is a different matter. The physical act of posting a page to a Web site is
only part of the publication process (Pearson, 1997, p. 251). Individuals at the far
reaches of the globe can access that page and download its contents without the
publisher being aware of it. The material may breach some law in the country
from which it is accessed. Short of an international agreement, the law will be
interpreted differently in different jurisdictions.
Powell (1998, p. 44) used the example of Internet political rumour mongerer
Matt Drudge to illustrate the ambiguity of “publication” on the Internet:
So, when Matt Drudge is sued, who is his publisher? In the age of the
Internet, we are all publishers. Everyone can publish stories good and
bad, true or false, over the free worldwide distribution medium of the
Internet. You don’t need to wear a fedora. You don’t even need to go
to journalism school.
The realm of intellectual property raises further difficulties. Copyright
infringements are rampant on the Internet, with individuals posting scanned
images, text excerpts and audio and video clips to Web sites and bulletin boards,
either unaware of copyright laws or flagrantly defying them. In two US cases, the
operators of electronic bulletin boards were held liable for authorising the
infringement of copyright on their bulletin board services. In the Playboy case
(1996), a bulletin board operator was found to have infringed the magazine’s
copyright when a subscriber had uploaded pictures onto the board. Sega
Enterprises (1996) also won a copyright action against a bulletin board which
allowed its computer games to be uploaded onto the service. But in the Church of
Scientology case (1996), a different US court held a bulletin board operator was
not responsible for infringements of copyright in the church’s teachings which
were uploaded onto Netcom’s online service without its knowledge. The court
held the bulletin board would not be exempted from liability if it had played some
active role in the infringement or if it had been aware of the infringement and had
done nothing about it.
McMillan (1998) noted the multiple ideologies related to intellectual property in
existence on the Internet, reflecting differences in commercial, cultural and
33
political approaches. She suggested such perspectives lay along a continuum, with
those at one end believing the Internet to be “jointly held by a community with
roots in volunteerism”. At the other end were those believing in the intrinsic
commercial value of communication and that someone must pay for its use
(McMillan, 1998).
Many still believe there is no copyright on the Net. They argue it is a free
marketplace for exchange of ideas and works, and justify their theft of intellectual
property using this line. Such intellectual pirates copy other people’s work at will,
knowing there is minimal chance they will be caught. The only sure way of
guaranteeing an author will be recompensed for the theft of their work on the Net
is to only offer it on a pay-per-view basis, charging a fee which covers copyright
(Pearson, 1997, p. 253).
Other key concerns in the area of copyright are to do with what constitutes a
“publication”; whether the electronic telecommunication of a work constitutes a
“broadcast” under some nations’ copyright legislation; whether private copying
from online services qualifies for “fair use” defences to copyright; whether an
electronic transmission is actually a “copy”; and whether the onus of proof should
revert to infringers to show that theirs is an authorised copy of an electronically
transmitted work (Vahrenwald, 1996, pp. 51-56).
Electronic versions of print publications raise constitutional questions which go
to the heart of lawmaking in media law in both Australia and the United States.
The Australian Commonwealth derives its power to regulate broadcast media
under its constitutional telecommunications powers (Pearson, 1997, p. 100). The
advent of online distribution of newspaper material raises the issue of whether
newspapers are now telecommunications, falling under the realm of the
Commonwealth’s postal and telegraph jurisdiction. Smethers (1998, p. 16) listed
as the primary difficulty the US dilemma over whether the free speech provision
in that country’s First Amendment to its Constitution should apply to the Internet,
noting that the offensiveness of some sites had eroded public sympathy for
constitutional protection.
34
Invasion of privacy was another important Internet legal and ethical issue.
Harper (1998, pp. 164-170) canvassed a range of privacy issues, focussing on the
issue of “spamming”, the sending of unsolicited e-mail messages to individuals
because they show a certain demographic profile or subscribe to particular
discussion lists.
New technologies have legal implications for reporters beyond those which
apply to publishers. Journalists are using computer-aided reporting techniques in
their work on a more frequent basis as news organisations update their
technologies and as government and commercial organisations make more
information available online. News organisations themselves are creating
electronic versions of their products which themselves have legal ramifications.
For example, the issue of secondary usage of newspaper journalists’ work has
been the subject of a copyright dispute between journalists and publishers
(Pearson, 1997, pp. 209-211).
The very act of reporting in cyberspace has legal implications to do with
problems such as the authenticity and currency of source material, its often
vaporous nature, the defamatory risks attached to interviewing via electronic mail,
the “cut and paste” tendency of those incorporating electronic materials into their
work and the digital manipulation of photographs (Pearson, 1997, p. 254).
2.2.5 Ethical issues
Ethical issues also arose in the Internet-journalism nexus. The interface between
advertising and editorial was an ongoing concern. W.S. Williams (1998, p. 31)
held grave fears for the independence of the news media in the new environment,
writing:
It is quite possible that in the next 30 years, as society moves more
and more information processing onto computers, we will witness the
death of objectivity as an ethical standard for the press in America. In
its place, we could get a fragmented advocacy press of countless
35
splinter publishers, representing not only political and ideological
groups but also commercial interests to an unprecedented degree.
She contended that, although the media had been losing credibility in the eyes of
the public, the fundamental public trust was that news should be objective.
Journalists held the strongest ethical line when it came to the separation of
advertising and news, W.S. Williams (1998, p. 31) wrote. Pressures would come
from advertisers upon news organisations to either toe their line or accept their
defection to other advertising forums such as their own specialist Web sites (p.
32). The line between news and opinion had already become blurred, with tabloid
television programs mixing fact with fiction and journalists being interviewed as
“experts” on stories they were covering (p. 35). This was accompanied by
advertising’s shift towards targeting individual demographics and more subtle
methods of implanting a message such as the mimicking of news (p. 36).
Traditional models of viewing advertising and news as distinct “don’t always
apply in this new digital landscape”, she asserted. Corporations were producing
their own information, or “news”-based Web sites, trading on the credibility of the
news genre to improve sales and win over new subscribers to their information
services (p. 38). Journalists’ construction of Web sites with hypertext links to
other promotional sites were problematic, W.S. Williams (1998, p. 39) suggested,
because it too blurred the lines between news and promotion. She called for
extreme solutions which themselves appear to clash with the notion of journalism
as the Fourth Estate: government definitions of “news” and the licensing of
journalists.
Harper (1998, p. 25) listed several prominent ethical instances which had
threatened the credibility of the US media in recent years, but held the hope digital
journalism might offer the mechanism for remedying the situation. The quantity
and detail of news and information available over the Internet empowered
audiences to verify and compare facts for themselves, he suggested (Harper, 1998,
p. 26).
2.2.6 Qualities of the Internet
36
The nature and quality of the Internet as a medium is a contextual factor which
has also received considerable attention. Scholars have attempted to fathom the
communication identity of the Internet and its subset of computer bulletin board
systems, or BBSs (an umbrella term encompassing the discussion lists which are
the subject of this study). They include Kiesler (1984); Garramone, Harris and
Anderson (1986); Swift (1989); Ogan (1993); Rafaeli and LaRose (1993);
Cunningham and Finn (1996); Morris and Ogan (1996) and December (1996).
Communication researchers have grappled with categorisation of the Internet.
December (1996, p. 17) distinguished the Internet from other networks on the
international computer “Matrix” as defined by Quarterman (1990) according to
the set of protocols which define its rules for data exchange. Is it a mass medium?
Morris and Ogan (1996, p. 42) suggested its chameleon-like qualities forced a
rethinking of the very definition “mass medium”: “... [W]hat becomes clear is that
neither mass nor medium can be precisely defined for all situations, but instead
must be continually rearticulated depending on the situation.” Kiesler and
McGuire (1984) noted two characteristics of computer mediated communication:
i. The lack of information about the social context of the
communication process, with few indications of the social standing of
the participants.
ii. The lack of norms of usage of new media. Some applications may
have limited possibilities for giving feedback and minimal
conventions of behaviour.
The key point of difference between computer-mediated communication (CMC)
and the traditional mass media is that, while the latter involve one-to-many
dissemination of content, discussion lists involve a many-to-many communication
relationship (Rafaeli and LaRose, 1993, p. 291). Newhagen and Levy (1998, p.
15) challenged the usefulness of the term “computer-mediated communication”
which describes the Internet’s physical implementation rather than its distributed
architecture. They suggested newspapers might just as well be studied as “printing
press - mediated communication” rather than mass media, the term which has
been in reality the most useful for studying them. Nevertheless, the term CMC has
37
become part of the discourse of scholarship in the area and will be used frequently
throughout this study.
Odegard (1993) noted limitations of CMC compared with face-to-face
communication, stating: “In face-to-face communication, indicators like body
language, dialect and clothing inform us of what social setting we are
encountering.” In the essentially text-based CMC they did not. Several authors,
for example Cunningham and Finn (1996), observed that Internet communication
shifted the relationship between the producer and receiver of a message. They
gave the example of the multi-point chat format where traditional theories of
audience broke down because the participant shifted between the roles of audience
member and content creator. The same applied to discussion lists. Ogan (1993)
found that the computer bulletin board may indeed be a kind of hybrid
communication medium with some characteristics not found in mass media or
face-to-face communication. Ogan resolved this dilemma by classifying the
bulletin board by function rather than form (1993, p. 177). To do this she analysed
all messages filed to the Turkish Electronic Mail List (TEL) during one month of
the Gulf War. Ogan used a classification schema developed by Ball-Rokeach and
Reardon (1988), which identified three categories of communication: monologic
(applied to mass communication and public speaking); dialogic (applied to
interpersonal communication); and telelogic (emphasising talking or writing at a
distance). Ogan (1993) was able to analyse the data and position the electronic
bulletin board as a form of telelogic communication, a form which contains
characteristics of both mass and personal communication. She concluded that
bulletin board communication was unique in that it:
•
Connected people in a new social community defined around the
interests of its members and not their physical proximity. (See
discussion below.)
•
Provided a specialised medium to serve the functions of that
community.
•
Provided a new arena for group decision making and mobilisation.
38
•
Allowed for other new uses not provided by traditional media,
including the development of personalised data bases for participants.
•
Did not follow traditional means of confirming participant status. (That
is, face to face interpersonal social cues were lacking). (Ogan, 1993, p.
192-3)
The lack of face-to-face social cues noted by Ogan (1993, p. 192-3) has
precipitated attempts to define codes of behaviour or protocols in CMC, some
reflecting the norms of traditional interpersonal communication and others
addressing peculiarities of this communication form. These rules of on-line
etiquette have become known to computer buffs as “Netiquette”. For example,
Gilster (1993: 195) advised participants to be careful with humour and to avoid
sending general replies to the whole list when an individual response would
suffice, and to avoid sending requests to the list which should be sent to the list
administrator.
2.2.7 Virtual communities
Electronic discussion lists allow for ongoing discourse between subscribers with a
common interest, effectively creating what Rheingold (1994) called a “virtual
community”. To Rheingold, such virtual communities were “social aggregations
that emerge from the Net when enough people carry on those public discussions
long enough, with sufficient human feeling, to form webs of personal
relationships in cyberspace” (1994, p. 5). Key studies in this field include those by
Reid (1991 and 1994), Smith (1992) and Turkle (1995).
In her work on Internet Relay Chat, Reid (1991, p. 4 ) found that interaction was
carried out in the knowledge that users are on a rough equality —
according to conventional economic measures — and members of
similarly privileged social groups.
But this equality was not unique to Internet Relay Chat. Rather, it was a quality of
social structures inherent in communication arenas developed using computer
39
technology. Reid concerned herself with the methods used by participants on IRC
to “deconstruct” social boundaries and construct alternative communities (Reid,
1991, p. 5). She portrayed a self-regulating, hierarchical community which was
defined by a common specialised language and understanding which qualified it
as a distinct culture. Reid’s (1994) second study examined a different forum for
computer-mediated communication — the multi-user dungeon or MUD. Here, she
explored the social patterns inherent in the creation and exploration of virtual
worlds used for entertainment or educational purposes. Reid (1994, p. 28) found
the MUDs defied the categorisation developed by Kiesler, Siegel and McGuire
(1984, p. 1125) as having an absence of regulating feedback, dramaturgical
weakness, few social status cues and social anonymity. The “community” of the
MUD had the opposite features, making them rich sites for social interaction and
cultural meaning.
Rheingold (1994, p. 12) proposed that CMC had the potential to change
people’s lives on three levels: the personal, the social and the political. He
suggested that, at the personal level, individual perceptions, thoughts and
personalities could be changed through the use of the medium. An example was
the adoption of a CMC vocabulary which was emerging through online
interactions. At the second, social level, Rheingold adopted a schema for
determining whether a human group interaction could be called a “community”.
The third level for potential change to people’s lives was at the political level, at
which Rheingold saw the potential for CMC to revitalise the notion of citizenbased democracy.
Poster (1994, p. 82) proposed that instead of deeming the community “virtual”
and suggesting it was an escape from the inadequacies of existing “real”
communities, it would be more fruitful to look at the inherent differences in the
CMC interactivity and define its possibilities. He noted, for example, that in CMC
people “connect with strangers without much of the social baggage that divides
and alienates”. This facilitated conversations which might have been avoided if
participants had more visual cues about each other’s age, gender, ethnicity or
social status.
40
Rheingold borrowed his schema for community from Smith (1992). Rheingold
explained that the notion of “community” was premised upon a group’s ownership
of three kinds of “collective goods”: “social network capital”, “knowledge
capital” and “communion”.
Every co-operative group of people exists in the face of a competitive
world because that group of people recognises there is something
valuable that they can gain only by banding together. Looking for a
group’s collective goods is a way of looking for the elements that bind
isolated individuals into a community. (Rheingold, 1994, p. 13)
Smith (1992) used ethnographic methodology for his sociological study of a
“virtual community” — a site of social interaction mediated by computers and
telecommunications networks. The work is useful to this study in that it
established the notion of “community” in cyberspace which may herald potential
new audiences with special implications for journalism. It also helped define new
forms of social interaction which journalists and educators may need to
understand and perhaps adopt in their reportage and teaching.
To show attempts at developing intimacy with audiences, Harper (1998, pp. 6270) explained efforts to enhance a sense of community in cyberspace, such as that
generated in discussion groups on hearing the news of the death of Princess
Diana. His main discussion of intimacy, however, centred upon the development
of personalised editions of publications on the Internet. Harper (1998, pp. 64-70)
chronicled several initiatives aimed at providing readers with the “Daily Me”,
specially tailored news products reflecting their own interests.
However, some were more pessimistic about the potential for diverse electronic
communities on the Internet, given the powerful economic and political forces of
multinational media operators. Aufderheide (1998, p. 53) suggested any such
shared interests were unlikely to be sustainable unless they accorded with the
perceived shared interests of marketers.
2.2.8 Traditional media on the Net
41
Some literature was devoted to exploring the compatibility and potential for
existing media in the Internet environment. How well might existing media forms
such as newspapers, radio and television, adapt to the new medium?
Newspapers, above any other medium, had the potential to enhance the
community orientation of the Internet as representatives of their regional
communities, according to Riley et. al. (1998). However, their case study of the
new media section at a large US newspaper revealed the commodification of
information arising from the commercialisation of the Net worked against the
noble goal of enhancing community at the newspaper. External links were limited
by competitive pressures to keep users “on-site”; users’ privacy was threatened by
the use of “cookies” to track their computer activity; and personnel resisted the
idea of interacting with readers (Riley, 1998).
Harper (1998, p. 74) profiled the Chicago Tribune’s Internet edition as a case
study of a newspaper going on-line. The Internet edition debuted in March 1996,
containing most of the information from the print version, including news, sports,
job listings, property and car advertisements, weather, stocks and television
listings. It also featured “everything someone would ever want to know about the
Chicago Bears and the Chicago Bulls” (Harper, 1998, p. 75). It featured
integration of media, with audio grabs from the Tribune’s radio station and video
from its television service. Harper (1998, p. 76) detailed some novel reporting
exercises undertaken by the Tribune’s on-line edition, including the compilation
of an historical tour of previous political conventions in Chicago as a backdrop to
the 1996 Democratic convention in the city. This multi-level presentation made
use of a range of the new media’s qualities. The Internet edition was able to take
advantage of immediacy by providing regular updates on important stories not
featured in the print edition (Harper, 1998, p. 79); interactivity by including realtime reader polls on important election issues (Harper, 1998, p. 80); and
multimedia by allowing users to listen to RealAudio recordings of speeches at the
Democratic convention and video clips of key interviews (Harper, 1998, p. 80).
Nevertheless, problems arose at the newsgathering end of the process, with former
newspaper reporters risking the gathering of inferior sound and video for their
stories because of their own lack of expertise or inadequate equipment (Harper,
1998, p. 83).
42
Kennedy (1997) conducted telephone and e-mail interviews with the managers
of 10 mainstream media companies and eight black-oriented media companies on
their motivations for going online, and followed up with tours of the sites of the
companies to assess how their motivations were reflected in their products. She
found most mainstream media companies were motivated by revenue generation
in going online (p. 57), though some had mentioned wider distribution and multimedia story telling enhancement as motivations. However, motivations other than
revenue generation often were not evident at the sites of the companies which had
nominated them as reasons (p. 58). Most of the companies had quantitative
systems of audience measurement in place, such as Webcounter, to measure
response to their sites in terms of the numbers of hits received (p. 61). Most
reported their online ventures were in a state of flux (p. 62), there had been
unintended purposes served by their sites (p. 63) and their short-to-longer term
plans for their sites were under review (p. 64). Newspapers adopted different
approaches to site content, with some, like the Boston Globe, adopting a different
name for their sites (“Boston.com”) and reflecting content from the broader
geographic and cultural community, while others like the New York Times’ site
closely reflected the specific content of their parent newspapers (Kennedy, 1997,
p. 10).
Neuberger et. al. (1998) surveyed all 81 German online newspapers in 1997 to
construct a profile of the operations and their personnel. Online editions were
usually mere replications of the printed editions, with little effort or resource
being put into extra editing, external links, graphics or sound (Neuberger, 1998).
Users preferred visiting the traditional newspaper sections online.
Ross (1998, p. 155) suggested that the added space of online publications and
their more frequent deadlines meant their needs and operations would differ from
their traditional print media parents. Few newspapers were doing original
reporting online, often merely adding extra material of purely archival value to the
print version of a news story to take advantage of the larger news hole available
online (Ross, 1998, p. 156).
Neuberger et. al. (1998) found editorial boards at online newspapers were
relatively young, with almost half having journalistic duties. In another study,
43
Williams and Nicholas (1998) conducted 150 interviews with British journalists
and found most Internet users were older, more experienced journalists in the 4049 year age bracket, not the “young computer whiz kids” as expected. Williams
and Nicholas (1998) put this down at least partly to the higher level of access to
equipment and the more flexible job roles afforded more senior journalists. They
also found the enthusiasm for the Internet from staff on British newspapers came
from the top of the organisational structure down, rather than vice-versa.
Harper (1998) profiled one example of the new media converged with television
in the form of MSNBC, the joint venture between the Microsoft Corporation and
the NBC television network. He pointed to potential problems with the
establishment of brand name (Harper, 1998, p. 98); clashes of cultures between a
multinational software corporation and the mission of journalism (Harper, 1998,
p. 98); and the technical glitches in providing video footage to the Web (Harper,
1998, p. 101). Harper (1998, p. 102) suggested such video problems were the
major challenge to television on the Net, but predicted they would be solved in the
short term. Nevertheless, he saw few advantages in just moving television onto
the Web, seeing newspapers and radio having more similarities to it as media
(Harper, 1998, p. 102).
Television was making use of the Internet in its research, P. Williams (1998)
found in a doctoral study which surveyed 109 network affiliated television
stations on their Internet usage. While she found the Internet had allowed a wider
range of television news personnel to conduct online research, even resulting in a
new job title of “Internet Producer” for some such practitioners, it had not
changed the types of stories television journalists pursued. Rather, it had created
new approaches to traditional topic areas and had improved the speed of television
journalism research.
Harper (1998, pp. 36-37) illustrated the extent of convergence of other media
industries with the news media in his account of Microsoft’s Bill Gates’
attendance at a newspaper editors’ convention in 1997, where newspaper
executives saw Microsoft as a powerful new competitor in the news business.
Their response was a fearful one, despite Gates’ assurances his company could
work with newspapers to make them more competitive in a digital age.
44
By 1998 there was evidence some newspaper groups were opting out of their
traditional business in favour of new Internet-based ventures. The Thomson
corporation had reduced its daily newspaper holdings by two thirds in the 1990s,
including the sale of 60 of its American papers since 1995 (Prochnau, 1998). In
their place it had bought up Internet databases and had “transformed itself into a
$6 billion colossus for the Information Age” (Prochnau, 1998).
Harper (1998, pp. 47-48) quoted Los Angeles Times executive Leah Gentry’s
listing of the most important qualities of the new medium: immediacy,
interactivity, multimedia, technology and making money. He devoted a chapter
(Harper, 1998, pp. 56-70) to three he believed were most important: immediacy,
interactivity and intimacy:
… those are the watchwords for many digital journalists. A user can
have immediate information, can interact with reporters or other
readers, and can create his or her own news service, “The Daily Me,”
a personal cross section of the news. (Harper, 1998, p. 57)
As an example of the use of immediacy in the new media, Harper (1998, p. 57)
cited the example of the Tri-City Herald in Washington state, which printed a box
in its lead story for the day saying it would announce the winner of an important
nuclear contract on its Web site as soon as the news came to hand.
McMillan (1998) reviewed the literature on interactivity of new media and
found discussions about it seemed to be organised around three primary
perspectives: users, structure and process. She cited Heeter’s (1989) six
measurable characteristics of interactivity: the complexity of choice available; the
effort users must exert; the responsiveness to the user; monitoring information
use; the ease of adding information; and the facilitation of interpersonal
communication (McMillan, 1998).
To illustrate interactivity of new media, Harper (1998, pp. 58-61) gave examples
of newspapers whose online editions featured extensive background information
on important issues and who invited dialogue with their readers. Riley (1998)
found online newspapers were slow in recognising the importance of interactivity
in the new environment. Reporters were horrified that readers would email them
45
about stories, assuming people went online just to get information rather than to
undergo an experience.
The commercial viability of Internet publications has also been the subject of
research effort. McMillan (1998) surveyed 395 health-related Web sites to
develop four models for the funding of Internet content: those paid for by the sales
and promotions of the companies’ own goods and services featured on the site;
government-funded public information sites; sponsorship or advertising; and
community-based initiatives funded by volunteer efforts. She suggested a move
toward expensive new infrastructure for computer-mediated communication
systems could shift the balance toward the more commercial sites, threatening the
diversity of the medium (McMillan, 1998).
Harper (1998, p. 45) quoted New York Times on the Web executive Elizabeth
Osder suggesting the acronym HTML really stood for “How To Manufacture
Losses”. She contended that news organisations needed to view the initial losses
as research and development expenditure on a new medium. Harper (1998, pp.
107-15) identified three key advantages to advertising on the Web: much more
detailed information about products could be provided than in other media via
hyperlinks (Harper, 1998, p. 107); advertisers could analyse precisely the success
of an ad campaign using site access figures (Harper, 1998, p. 108); and Web
search tools made the medium ideal for classified advertisements (Harper, 1998,
p. 111), a point driven home by Fitzgerald (1998, p. 8) in his review of the
classified advertising successes of new competitors such as Yahoo! and
Classifieds 2000. Further, analysis data allowed advertisers to determine precisely
the demographic profiles of Web-based customers. Harper (1998, p. 109) reported
the identification of “the emergence of a distinct constituency for on-line shopping
— the technical male”.
Raines (1996, p. 2) suggested that if newspapers were to be successful online,
“they will need to find a way to take their advertisers, or a comparable source of
revenue, with them”. Raines (1996, p. 26) surveyed 294 members of the American
Association of Advertising Agencies (AAA) on their use of online advertising and
the prospects for online newspaper advertising. She was unable to draw a profile
of the typical online advertiser because it was too new and untested a medium
46
(Raines, 1996, p. 37). While more than half (53.4%) were using online advertising
for at least one of their clients, only 10.3% were using an online newspaper as an
advertising vehicle (Raines, 1996, p. 39). Reasons for not choosing online
newspapers were their inability to quantify an acceptable number of online readers
and the lack of a suitable online newspaper in the target market (Raines, 1996, p.
40). Acceptable units of readership measurement (such as site “hits”) were yet to
be agreed upon, Raines (1996, p. 40) reported.
Respondents were concerned that slow downloading of online newspapers, lack
of computer availability to readers and traditional newspaper reading habits were
obstacles to the delivery of advertisers to online newspapers (Raines, 1996, pp.
41-42). Demographics of the online audience were either too narrow (male PC
enthusiasts) or ill-defined (Raines, 1996, p. 42).
What most respondents seemed to be saying about online newspapers
is that it is a mass media, not a targeted one, yet there is no mass
audience. (Raines, 1996, p. 42)
Other impediments to advertising in an online newspaper were the lack of
creativity in the online newspaper product, cost limitations, client resistance and
clients’ preference for setting up their own Web sites rather than advertising in
online newspaper products (Raines, 1996, pp. 43-44).
Riley et. al. (1998) noted a change in the business strategy models of online
newspapers towards the confining of their audiences to their own sites to enhance
the prospects of advertisers sponsoring the sites. Contests, games and other
activities accessible only by clicking on an advertising icon were devices used to
generate traffic to advertisers, they noted. Links beyond the site were not truly
“external”: all were actually structured to keep the user within the universe of the
newspaper’s own online site, referred to by Riley (1998) as being “trapped in
space”. Further, the notion of competition had shifted from being purely other
newspapers to other Web competitors which might be those constructed by
newspaper organisations or other corporate groups or exclusively Web
corporations.
47
The distinction between the marketing strategies of “push” and “pull”, a key
determinant in Internet players’ approach to their audiences, was explained by
Harper (1998, p. 114-115). “Push technology” involved the regular delivery of
information to a subscriber, whereas “pull technology” required them to actually
request that information be sent to them (Harper, 1998, p. 115).
Such approaches to marketing and the conceptualising of mass and niche
markets was the focus of some research. Aufderheide (1998, p. 44) argued that
journalism’s historical mandate to provide communities with a “public space”, a
“virtual meeting place”, was being swamped by the “the transformation of the
citizen into an infoconsumer”. She noted the erosion of the mass media’s very
public role by the trend to niche marketing via specialist programs and
publications and superficial infotainment (Aufderheide, 1998, p. 47). The move
towards this niche infotainment was not driven by pure economics, she argued,
but also by a “broad appetite for information that caters to lifestyle, hobby, and
entertainment concerns”. She noted the shift towards media catering for
“demographic clusters’ rather than to physical communities or publics as they did
traditionally (Aufderheide, 1998, p. 48). Newspapers were at the “front line” of
the struggle to cope with the changing whims of their audiences as they shifted
from their traditional geographic base (Aufderheide, 1998, p. 49).
2.2.9 Internet audiences
The nature of Internet audiences has also been explored. Harper (1998, pp. 118131) took a broader audience-based perspective and investigated examples of
Internet access empowering those who might not have previously had access to
the media or its audiences. He profiled one site, Café Los Negroes, whose mission
was to provide news and information relevant to African Americans and Latinos
(Harper, 1998, p. 119). He also chronicled examples of successful Internet news
projects being launched in developing countries such as Ghana and Cambodia
(Harper, 1998, pp. 125-130).
Harper (1998, p. 19) explored the characteristics of the audience for news and
information in the digital age. He found the Internet was developing a serious
48
audience which viewed on-line content on a consistent basis either at home or at
work. Users of the Internet in the United States roughly paralleled the
demographics of the nation as a whole, Harper (1998, p. 18) found, although
usage was higher among the wealthier, younger, whiter, better educated and male.
Those seeking on-line news fell within a large group between 18 and 50 years old,
including many graduates (Harper, 1998, p. 22). He found Internet users were less
likely to obtain their news from television or newspapers. Instead, they were
going on-line for their news and information. He suggested this might be because
traditional media did not meet their news needs. Harper (1998, p. 23) cited Pew
Research Centre data showing crime was the main topic of interest to news
audiences, yet pointed out that it did not figure prominently in traditional
newspaper and television priorities. Internet users could remedy this by seeking it
out themselves on-line.
The Radio and Television News Directors Foundation (1996, p. 17) noted that
audiences were becoming familiar with gathering news over the Internet,
independent of journalists.
If we’re going to meet their needs as news consumers, the product we
deliver on the air must at least be as complete, up-to-date and relevant
as what they are finding on-line for themselves. (Radio and Television
News Directors Foundation, 1996, p. 17)
McMillan (1998) pointed to the key role of audiences in the business of the
Internet, suggesting they were a critical factor in determining who paid for
content. The “buying and selling of audiences” was a crucial aspect of Internet
commerce, she suggested, reflected in the interest audience measurement
companies such as the Audit Bureau of Circulations were showing in the medium.
That group had announced plans to offer advertisers measures of Internet
audiences and new gauges were emerging such as the CyberMeasurement Index
(CMI) which offered advertisers a standardised mechanism for comparing Internet
products (McMillan, 1998).
Only one study in the area has used online discussions as data to ascertain
journalists’ and audiences’ attitudes to journalism on the Internet. That was the
49
doctoral dissertation by Reavy (1995) which used Q-methodology to examine the
postings
of
journalists
and
non-journalists
to
the
Usenet
newsgroup
<alt.internet.media-coverage> during the month of April, 1995. Reavy (1995, p.
iii) employed a hybrid, structured sample of 48 statements on journalism and the
Internet to conclude that Internet users demonstrated more negative attitudes to
journalism than others, particularly in relation to the media’s job of covering the
Internet. Non-journalist participants viewed reporters as poorly educated on
technical aspects of the Internet and were displeased with the sensational approach
to Internet coverage (Reavy, 1995, p 192).
This summary of research into influences of the Internet upon aspects of the
context in which journalism is practised has covered a diverse range of factors,
including the nature, culture and mission of journalism; the work of journalists;
legal and ethical ramifications; issues to do with the adaptation of traditional
media to the new context; aspects of the actual qualities of the Internet as a
medium; and the dynamics of audiences in the new media context. The literature
addressing directly the practice of journalism in the new environment is reviewed
next.
2.3
Influences of the Internet upon journalism practice
A review of the literature on the influences of the Internet upon journalism
practice begins with a brief overview of the influences of previous technologies
and then details the work to date addressing directly the journalism-Internet
nexus.
2.3.1 Impact of earlier technologies
Several authors have explored the influences of earlier technologies upon
journalism. Newspapers and the journalism which evolved through their pages
owe their very existence to a technological innovation which, when harnessed by
the intellectual pursuits of modern humanity within the political conditions of the
time, provided the catalyst for the spread of knowledge. That invention was the
50
printing press. Mayer (1964, pp. 1-9) traced the development of newspapers from
early seventeenth century England. The evolution of the printing process from the
archaic machinery of the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries, through the era of
hot metal type to computer typesetting and finally to electronic pagination and
distribution has affected the time frames within which newspaper journalism has
been expected to be conducted and the audiences which it has been able to reach.
Most important to this study is the way newspaper journalism set the standard for
reportage practices which have been adapted in various ways as new technologies
have been used for the gathering and distribution of news. Putnis (1995) noted that
two imperatives drove the desire to incorporate new technologies into the process
which improved the speed of distribution: the inherent nature of news requiring its
freshness or currency and the pressures of competition for mass audiences.
A significant technological development which helped shape the nature of
journalistic writing encapsulated both these factors. It was the telegraph. From the
1840s as its use spread with the development of railway systems, the telegraph
changed the nature of journalism. Mayer (1964, p. 14) recounted reporters’
attempts to monopolise the wire by paying to have the Bible telegraphed to
occupy the line while their stories were pending. Putnis (1995) noted the impact of
the telegraph on the nature of news, with dispatches written briefly to save on time
and cost, forming the basis of the modern news genre.
The introduction of radio as a mass medium from the 1920s brought with it new
challenges for journalism, both for those persisting with the existing genre
(newspaper reporting) and for those embarking upon the new one. The medium
came into its own during the Second World War, when a mass audience was
hungry for instant news of the conflict. Seaton (1988, pp. 152-160) noted that this
was the period in Britain when radio journalism found its niche, with broadcasters
using the instantaneous nature of the medium to effect, lifting listening audiences
to levels never to be repeated. The genre developed into a much more active,
direct and colloquial form of reportage than newspaper journalism. Petersen
(1993, pp. 44-52) observed the institutionalised nature of newspapers in both
Britain and Australia, and the impediments placed in the way of radio news
broadcasting by powerful vested newspaper interests. During the 1930s
newspaper groups were successful in having quotas imposed on radio news under
51
the pretext they might encourage governmental interference with content
(Petersen, 1993, pp. 51-52).
Miller (1993, p. 47) noted the post-war move to using more actuality in radio
news broadcasts, partly because of improvements in taping technology but also to
compete with television. Television brought with it special characteristics and a
range of impacts upon journalism as a practice and as an institution, with a
number of researchers noting television’s obsession with the visual over the
substantial, the use of the camera to tell (or misconstrue) the story; and the
compromising need for varied, self-contained news capsules. However, Lloyd
(1985, p. 283) noted the slow rate of development of a distinctively television
style of journalism after the introduction of the technology, given that most of its
practitioners had a newspaper background.
Gurevitch et al (1991) linked journalism with citizenship in their study of the
impact on news coverage of the globalisation of television news and sharing of
visual materials. They concluded that the advent of a global television news
exchange had contributed to a “shared global citizenship” and that the fate of
political movements may depend on publicity from the service (Gurevitch et al.,
1991, p. 214). The researchers questioned the impact of the service upon the level
of diversity across international news services. While the study did not address
directly questions of journalism practice, it certainly prompted questions about the
kind of coverage needed for such diverse audiences.
Compaine (1980) examined the impact of VDT (visual display terminal)
technology on newspaper production processes during the first wave of
computerisation in the industry. Compaine asked whether the ink on print
newspaper was becoming obsolete with the advent of electronic media (1980, p.
2), assessed how new production technology impacted on the economics of
newspapers and speculated on the likely form of the daily newspaper at the turn of
the new millennium. Compaine was unashamedly embracing of the newspaper
industry and the liberal democratic US tradition of the press. While futuristic to an
extent, the study did not go beyond speculation in this regard, and was relatively
uncritical of the institutions or journalistic processes involved. However, Lloyd
(1985, p. 276), in his history of the Australian Journalists’ Association, noted the
52
generally optimistic attitude of journalists and their union to the introduction of
computers to newspapers in the 1970s. It was hoped that lower production costs
would help shore up newspapers against their broadcast journalism competitors.
Yet their introduction became an demarcation battleground between journalists
and the printing union over who should operate the equipment (Lloyd, 1985, p.
276) followed by a bitter dispute with employers over compensation for the extra
skills required to operate VDTs (Lloyd, 1985, pp. 278-279). Complicating the
issue was the union concern over the health and safety aspects of the introduction
of computers, including ergonomics, screen radiation, eyestrain, and the levels of
heat and noise emanating from the machines (Lloyd, 1985, p. 276).
The fleeting 1980s technology of videotex/teletext news services formed the
basis of a uses and gratification study by Dozier and Rice (1984). They concluded
highly edited electronic newspapers would be a more suitable news technology
than videotex. Most useful was the study’s analysis of an array of research on the
design, adoption, use of, and obstacles to the implementation of videotex and
electronic newspapers. Clearly, journalism for such media called upon adapted
and, perhaps, new skills.
The account was one of the first foreshadowing the electronic newspaper as a
realistic commercial and journalistic potential. More recently, others have
explored the journalistic skills which might be required of the reporter operating
in a new media environment. Meyer (1991) adapted a previous work on
journalists and statistical research to explore journalistic use of computers and
databases in reporting. Reddick and King (1995) linked this to the use of the
Internet as a news gathering tool. Green (1994) applied it to the Australian scene,
assessing its potential as a reporting source and foreshadowing its potential misuse
for the invasion of privacy. As Leonard (1992, p. 65) noted, much of the public
data journalists would formerly access in document form was by then only
available on-line. Reporters who “ignore public information simply because it’s
now dressed in an unfamiliar format will be left in the dark”, he suggested
(Leonard, 1992, p. 65).
By the early 1990s the newspaper industry was learning that it needed to find
diverse ways of packaging and distributing the news it gathers for its pages.
53
Publisher of the Seattle Times, Frank Blethen, made this clear when he delivered
the keynote speech for the third annual conference on Talking Newspapers and
Telecommunications Opportunities in 1992:
The successful newspapers of the future will be the ones that figure
out how to enhance their core printed product while reusing their
database ... to provide supplemental information with as many
delivery options as possible. (Pagano, 1992, p. 19)
The mass media were becoming fragmented into micro media targeting smaller
interactive communities of culture and interest, interpreted by Jurgensen and
Meyer (1992, p. 267):
Before, a mass medium prospered by sending a few messages to many
people. Increasingly, the media are learning to send many messages,
each addressed to a few people.
By April 1992, 150 US newspapers provided free interactive voice services, more
than 500 offered pay telephone services for access to full-text databases, 11
offered a fax delivery of the following day’s headlines and seven offered local
consumer-oriented videotex services using home computers or terminals (Pagano,
1992, p. 19).
2.3.2 Online publication
The next major, revolutionary shift was to online publication. In June 1995 just
120 newspapers were available on the World Wide Web (Makulowich, 1995). By
December 1998, this had expanded to at least 3263 newspapers, 3908 magazines,
2032 radio stations, 1277 television sites and 167 syndicated news services
(Editor & Publisher Interactive, 1998), the ramifications of which form the basis
of this project.
A MediaSource (1995a) survey of journalists’ use of the Internet found almost
one quarter (23%) of 751 respondents said they or their associates went online at
least once a day. A further 24% reported using such services at least once per
54
week, while 68% said they or those they worked with used online services at least
once per month. This showed a rapid growth on the same group’s 1994 survey
which reported only half of print media used online services at least monthly. By
1997 this had expanded to the extent that 45% of 2500 journalists and managers
surveyed were using the Internet every day (MediaSource, 1997). Almost all
(93%) of journalists indicated they or their staffs used online services at least
occasionally, with 91% of respondents reporting access to the Internet and 40%
saying they wrote copy that ended up online. One third of print journalists
indicated that their publications allowed their Web sites to “scoop” their print
versions on occasions. Reporters indicated they would first try to contact a source,
but would turn to the Internet for information second. MediaSource (1997) also
found many reporters were going online to get ideas for stories. Discussion lists,
e-mail, the World Wide Web (WWW) and Usenet Newsgroups were named by
9% of respondents as their primary source of story ideas. Almost 20% of
newspapers with Web sites said their sites featured almost 50% original content.
Most respondents were using the Web for gathering images and other materials.
By 1997, more than half of all respondents could access the Internet from work,
compared to just more than a third of the entire sample in 1995. By 1997 only 9%
of the respondents said they had no individual Internet access.
Garrison (1998, p. 1) conducted mail surveys of daily newspapers in a
longitudinal study from 1994 through to 1997, with almost 1000 responses in all.
By 1997 88% of respondents were using computers for general use, while 90%
were using them to access their online services. More than half (52%) were using
the Internet daily in their reporting. About 92% of newspapers which used
computers for their newsgathering used the World Wide Web, making it the
predominant online source. Garrison (1998, p. 1) also found online research by
reporters had almost doubled to 48% in the 1995-1997 period. While AltaVista
and Yahoo! were the leading newsroom search tools, the sites most used for
reporting were local and state government sites. Garrison (1998, p. 4) found many
newsrooms had abandoned the model of a designated computer-aided reporting
desk and replaced it with total integration of online access into the newsroom.
While librarians had previously done many online searchers for reporters, by 1997
55
half of reporters were doing their own online searching compared with only one
quarter in 1995.
Garrison (1998, p. 5) found journalists ranked accuracy and availability as
important criteria in determining the usefulness of online resources. A total of
35.1% of his 226 survey respondents in 1997 listed accuracy as the main criterion
of online information, while 20.2% listed easy access to the information, 11.9%
listed the searchability of sites and 10.7% considered the overall response speed of
the site server important. The respondents also rated negatives of sites as being
transfer time (27.5%), useless or bad content (18%), slow-loading pages (10.8%),
bad site organisation (9%), lack of attribution (7.2%) and public-relations oriented
content (7.2%). Verification of information was rated as the biggest problem
journalists (19.6%) faced when using Web sites (Garrison, 1998, p. 7). They rated
the ability to conduct fast background research as the most significant success of
using online research tools (12.5%). They complained about a lack of resources in
their newsrooms and about inadequate training.
The Australian media were lagging behind their US counterparts, according to
Quinn (1998b). His 1997 survey of all but one of the nation’s 50 daily newspapers
and the news agency Australian Associated Press found that one third of reporters
on 12 metropolitan dailies used the Internet at least monthly (Quinn, 1998b, p.
241), while fewer than one in 12 reporters on the 37 regional daily newspapers
used the World Wide Web and only one in 15 used electronic mail. While they
rarely used the Internet for reporting, Quinn (1998b, p. 245) found it was being
used on regional dailies for collecting material for publication in its own right:
weather maps, photographs, letters to the editor and freelance submissions. There
was also a trend towards it being used by public relations operatives to distribute
press releases. Quinn (1998b, p. 246) found journalists using the Internet were in
the minority, with many perceiving the technology as too difficult to use
compared with the telephone and the facsimile machine. Quinn’s (1998b, p. 248)
respondents stressed the importance of involving senior management in any
introduction of new technology such as the Internet. Senior staff could act as
“change agents”, performing the function of opinion leaders driving the diffusion
of such innovations. Adequate provision of the resource was seen as vital, with
some respondents providing ready Internet access to all journalists (Quinn, 1998b,
56
p. 248) but others making access difficult, with one reporting the Internet terminal
being housed in the computing services area of the building more than 100 metres
from the newsroom (Quinn, 1998b, p. 251).
Quinn’s (1998b) findings reflected the situation five years earlier in the United
States. Exploratory research by Hansen et. al (1993) found reporters on breaking
news stories did not make use of the information technology available to them.
The combined content analysis and extended interview study drew the preliminary
conclusion that reporters used their own newspaper’s electronic backfiles and
facsimile machines in their reportage, but not the broader database and electronic
search facilities available in news libraries (Hansen et. al., 1993, p. 568).
Similarly, Bromley (1994) found court reporters were not taking advantage of
online technology available in court houses. Bromley examined why new online
technology did not alter significantly reporters’ coverage of the courts. Bromley
(1994, p. 4) conducted “somewhat structured, but open-ended” interviews with 11
court roundspersons and the court circuit press officer, all of whom had access to
the court’s online system. Interview responses were analysed and themes
identified from their responses, forming the basis of the author’s discussion of the
reason why online services were not being utilised more fully.
2.3.3 Journalists’ use of the Internet
Access is one thing, utility is another. The MediaSource (1995b) survey of 751
journalists which found 519 used the Internet for some purpose examined the
actual tasks for which journalists were using the resource. Of those, 74% used it
for personal purposes, 68% for business, 66% for article research and reference,
58% for personal e-mail, 57% for e-mail to their sources, 57% for downloading
data, 45% for reading publications online, 41% for finding new sources and
experts, 33% for accessing newsgroups, 26% for receiving press releases, 21% for
downloading images and 5% for other purposes. Thus, the main tasks for which
journalists were using the Internet in their work were for article research, e-mail
and finding sources or experts.
57
Kirkpatrick (1996, iii) surveyed journalists at eight United States newspapers
with access to the World Wide Web to ascertain how they used Internet search
technology and to determine whether there were differences between its usage at
large and small daily newspapers. He found that, while journalists at smaller
newspapers had similar rates of use of the World Wide Web to those at larger
newspapers, the latter used the technology for a broader variety of stories. He
found the most common types of stories for which journalists used Web research
were feature stories, government, business and entertainment (Kirkpatrick, 1996,
p. 54). Most of those surveyed used the Web to get information for national news
coverage rather than for stories with other geographical perspectives, Kirkpatrick
(1996, p. 54) reported.
News ingredients like proximity and currency were being re-evaluated in the
Internet context. Not only were Internet publications defying international
boundaries, but their immediacy was transforming the expectations of audiences
and the work of journalists. Shepard (1998, p. 80) reported Internet journalists had
moved from daily and hourly deadlines to producing news on 10 minute cycles,
providing a boon of information to the public but with the down side a lack of
verification and resulting inaccuracies. Newspapers were tempted to float stories
first on their Web editions in a less than completely verified form and hold the
more accurate version for their print editions.
Internet-based journalistic research has also been the subject of study. Priest
(1998, p. 24) highlighted the dangers in journalists portraying opinions gleaned
from the Internet as a genuine reflection of broader public opinion, suggesting
they could only hope to reflect the views of the “technologically elite”. Similarly,
electronic discussions were a problematic source since it was difficult to
determine who was speaking out and what their credentials were for speaking on a
topic (Priest, 1998, p. 25). This had special implications for specialist reporters,
particularly those researching and writing in the scientific field, Priest (1998, p.
27) contended. The “visible scientists” willing to be quoted in discussion lists and
release preliminary results of their findings may lack credibility in a field which
rewarded closed meticulous processes of academic refereeing before findings
were made public, she suggested. Journalists needed to be aware of where
information came from, whose interests it served, what its history had been and
58
the extent to which it could be relied upon (Priest, 1998, p. 29). Reavy (1995, pp.
193-4) found Internet users believed reporters should endeavour to notify those
they planned to quote, but generally felt Internet discussion lists and Usenet
groups were public forums open to the same reporting scrutiny as face-to-face
public forums.
Kliethermes (1997) conducted ethnographic interviews of eight prominent
media and public relations practitioners in her study of the Internet and its impact
upon media relations. She concluded the medium provided public relations
professionals with a “dynamic” rather than “static” medium; altering the time and
space constraints present in other media (Kliethermes, 1997, p. 59). She found
public relations practitioners were using a range of devices to influence
journalists, including the posting of information to corporate Web sites
(Kliethermes, 1997, p. 56); the organising of online interviews (Kliethermes,
1997, p. 58); and the issuing of press releases (Kliethermes, 1997, Appendix 2).
Notably little research has been conducted into the impact of the Internet upon
journalists’ writing techniques. The Los Angeles Times’ Leah Gentry proposed a
model for “non-linear storytelling”, involving the reporter providing a
smorgasbord of hypertextual viewing options for audiences, sometimes breaking
stories into their component parts and other times telling the same story from
several points of view (Harper, 1998, p. 48). Harper also detailed a storyboarding
technique used by reporter Darnell Little at the Chicago Tribune’s Internet
edition, where storyboards containing outlines of each of the news story’s main
Web pages’ content, graphics and hyperlinks are built into a complete navigation
package for the audience (Harper, 1998, p. 76).
In profiling the operations of the Chicago Tribune’s Internet edition, Harper
(1998, p. 75) highlighted the multiple demands on the electronic editor, who
needed to know about audio and video and needed to edit much faster because of
the constant deadline pressure of the new medium. While more errors could find
their way into the editions, the medium allowed the facility to correct errors easily
once they were identified.
59
Harper (1998, pp. 85-87) detailed examples of stories where poor verification
procedures on the Internet had led to publication of falsehoods. One was a
reporter’s reliance upon an unverified Internet memorandum to report that the US
Navy had accidentally shot down flight TWA 800 in 1996. Another was the spate
of unverified information circulated about US President Bill Clinton in the lead-up
to the Lewinsky scandal. P. Williams (1998, p. 33) pointed to the time-sensitivity
and dynamism of news as a reason for a lack of fact checking in the new
environment. Audiences had come to expect timeliness in the news media, often
meaning journalists were reporting raw and “pre-verified events”.
The issue of online newspaper design and its relationship to the audience’s
usability was explored by van Oostendorp and van Nimwegen (1998). In an
experiment they assigned subjects various searching tasks, measuring their speed,
accuracy and recognition levels. They concluded deep hypertextual levels of
information presentation impeded recognition performance and were time
consuming.
This review demonstrates a developing body of literature into the influences of
the Internet upon journalism practice. By the end of 1998 the research, originally
general, exploratory and prone to conjecture, had begun to focus on the Internet’s
influences upon specific journalistic tasks. This held promise for realistic, soundly
based work into the implications for journalism education. The literature in that
area is reviewed next.
2.4
Journalism education and the Internet
Until 1996 few formal studies had been conducted into the relationship between
journalism education and the Internet. Most of the literature was in reflective
essay form or concentrated upon anecdotal accounts of teaching with a particular
piece of software. While such accounts were useful as an introduction to the area,
there was a dire need of substantive research in the field which explored the
usefulness of such technologies in journalism education. Such research had started
to emerge by the end of 1995. As Gunaratne and Lee (1996, p. 27) noted, it was
60
not until 1995 that the academic compendium Communication Abstracts first used
the word “Internet” as a search keyword (Gordon, 1995).
2.4.1 Online resources
So too had educational resources for journalism students and faculty begun to
appear in 1995. Gunaratne and Lee (1996, p. 27) explained general reporting
textbooks had been slow to include Internet resources because of the delay
between writing and publication. Specialist texts on computer-assisted reporting
and online research became available as resources for journalists and texts for
reporting classes. Texts included works by Garrison (1995), Paul (1994) and
Reddick and King (1995). The hard-copy monthly newsletter The Internet
Newsroom, devoted to offering journalists Internet research tips, commenced
publication in December 1994 (Quinn, 1998a, p. 92). Online resources had also
become available, such as Internet resource lists developed by educators John
Makulowich (1995-1999) and John December (1992-1999). By the end of 1998
several more Internet journalism texts had become available, including some
which were nation-based such as that focussing on the Australian situation by
Quinn (1998a). Subsequent editions of Paul (1997) and Reddick and King (1997)
had also been published. Nevertheless, it was becoming clear that one of the very
qualities that proponents of the Internet boasted as its advantages over print — its
currency — worked against textbooks on the subject because they dated very
quickly. This was noted by Leonhirth (1998) in his review of one of many Internet
texts to arrive on the shelves in 1998, The Internet Handbook for Writers,
Researchers and Journalists (McGuire, 1997). There was also the difficulty that
much of the resource material needed by student journalists was site-specific, as
reported by Friedland and Webb (1996, p. 63). Frustrated by these limitations with
texts, they produced their own manuals to guide students through the whole online
publication process (Friedland and Webb, 1996, p. 63).
By 1998 the online resources mentioned above had been enhanced and updated.
Quinn (1998a, pp. 91-98) listed a range of 27 Web sites specially created for
journalists and journalism educators featuring lists of links to useful resources. An
61
example was the Signposts site developed and explained by Knight (1995, p. 351).
The site was established at the University of Technology, Sydney, and featured
resources about Asia and Pacific countries on the World Wide Web for access by
journalism students and professional reporters. The Signposts project was
designed to allow reporters and students ready access to information about these
countries which they could use for reporting. Gunaratne and Lee (1996, p. 31)
developed home pages featuring scores of resources for particular journalism
subjects and skills: Reporting, International Communication and Writing and
Editing. These were designed for the use of both their own students and the wider
journalism education community.
Arant (1996) reported to the Association for Education in Journalism and Mass
Communication on the widespread adoption of the Internet among its program
members. His survey of 133 programs in January and February 1996 found that email and Internet access was provided to 96% of professors and World Wide Web
access was provided to 87% of them. In 93% of these programs students had
access to such resources, with 90% having access to e-mail and the Internet and
80% to the Web. At that stage 71% of the programs featured a home page on the
Web and half of the professors surveyed had their own home pages.
By 1997 journalism educators were reporting upon their experiences with the
development and use of such resources with their students. Ketterer (1998)
chronicled the establishment of a resource site for student editors and reporters at
the School of Journalism at the University of Missouri, Columbia. He developed
the site to save students time in accessing Internet search engines and to channel
their research towards Internet sources known for their credibility. In order to
further improve the reporters’ reliance on sources, Ketterer (1998, p. 12)
developed a checklist for assessing an Internet site’s reliability as a source of
information. The approach involved applying different levels of rigour to the
verification process for sites according to their domain names and their currency.
Noteworthy was the fact that Ketterer’s article reporting his research featured the
Web addresses of all of his materials, including the resource lists, verification
guidelines and navigation exercises, indicating a new avenue by which journalism
educators could share their resources as they developed them. Ketterer (1998, p.
62
13) suggested students needed encouragement in using Internet-based resources.
He continued:
Because the Web is a new tool, educators and editors must become
knowledgeable about its resources and suggest sites to students.
Students must view the Web as an important resource and use it when
appropriate. At the same time, they must realise that sometimes the
information can be obtained easier via conventional sources, such as
an official state manual, atlas or cross directory. (Ketterer, 1998, p.
13)
Panici (1998) surveyed 56 mass communication faculty on a range of issues,
including the kinds of new media they used themselves and required their students
to use in their courses. Most instructors used the World Wide Web (63%), Internet
search engines (61%), videotapes (56%) and electronic mail (56%) to prepare
their course materials and lectures (Panici, 1998, p. 57). For research purposes,
they used Internet search engines (67%), WWW (60%) and e-mail (56%); while
in the classroom they used videotapes (86%), audio equipment (65%), WWW
(48%) and e-mail (46%).
The student:resource ratio is clearly a factor in determining the educational
benefits of the Internet, as it is with any educational resource allocation. Somera
(1997, p. 85) reported that resource constraints at an institution in the Philippines
resulted in an instructor abandoning a requirement that communication students
access an online resource list as part of their class. Somera wrote that the students
had difficulty getting a turn on the library computers because other students were
using them for Internet chat purposes. Resource provisions will undoubtedly vary
across countries and institutions. Quinn (1997b, p. 139) pointed out that equity
issues came into play, particularly when distance education students may not have
access to the required technology.
Tapsall and Granato (1997, p. 16) reported that they did not perceive resources
as a difficulty in the introduction of a new Journalism Information Systems unit at
the Queensland University of Technology, Australia. Students were able to access
seven Internet-connected computer laboratories for their work, allowing for small
63
tutorial sessions where each student had a computer. However, they reported the
real resource problem arose at a technical and bureaucratic level with cumbersome
systems of password registration for e-mail access. They commented:
Technical problems beset most of the course … Now the students
were operating on two different servers and had to remember three or
four passwords… Most weeks computers, Internet connections or
software failed at some stage in the process. (Tapsall and Granato,
1997, p. 19)
The experience illustrated there may be more to resource considerations than mere
provision of hardware: access protocols and technical support were also important
related factors.
Nevertheless, for many institutions both hardware and software could prove
expensive. Lee and Fleming (1995, p. 24) found journalism programs trying to
launch courses in computer-assisted reporting encountered problems with the cost
and maintenance of equipment. Panici’s (1998, p. 58) survey of program heads
found they lacked funding for equipment, software and resource materials to
integrate new media into their curricula and that their institutions did not offer
time and support to help adapt instruction for new media inclusion. Williams
(1997, p. 69) stressed ample access to computers and technical support were vital
for effective integration of computing skills into the journalism curriculum.
Reddick and King (1997, p. 164) suggested budget methods of Internet access,
particularly to Internet features not requiring graphical interfaces. Gunaratne and
Lee (1996, p. 34) proposed charging students lab fees and sharing facilities with
other departments as mechanisms for subsidising equipment acquisition.
Gunaratne and Lee (1996, p. 31) explained that their use of a range of Internet
links for a copy editing subject saved them having to buy expensive software for
teaching those aspects of the curriculum. It also saved them by providing ready
availability to online wire agency copy and global newspapers as resource
material for editing classes (Gunaratne and Lee, 1996, p. 32). Important
newsroom reference works for journalistic assignments also became available at
the students’ fingertips, they noted, including, for example, the CIA World
64
Factbook. Thus, Internet access, while expensive for many at start-up, had the
potential to save institutions money further down the track.
Williams (1997, p. 70) suggested faculty training in computing skills outside of
regular classes was another important resource requirement. Quinn (1997b, p.
139) pointed to a potential shortage of qualified academic staff in the online
journalism area, particularly in those competent to teach computer-assisted
reporting. This supported earlier findings by Lee and Fleming (1995, p. 24) that
programs lacked qualified personnel to teach online searching and database
analysis.
2.4.2 Pedagogical approaches
Sharing of ideas among educators was important in the pedagogical and curricular
levels. Gunaratne and Lee (1996, p. 34) noted that journalism educators had
started to make use of discussion lists such as Journet to exchange information
about how they were incorporating new technologies into their programs.
Among the earliest to explore pedagogical approaches to the Internet in
journalism education, Smith, Kim and Bernstein (1993) took up the issue of the
instructional use of e-mail and bulletin boards in teaching journalism. In this essay
they defined computer-mediated communication (CMC) and positioned it as a
necessary facility for modern media professionals (Smith, Kim and Bernstein,
1993, p. 80). They offered as teaching strategies the use of CMC in class
communication between student and professor and among students (Smith, Kim
and Bernstein, 1993, p. 81). They used examples of how CMC could be built into
the curriculum of classes on introductory media, media law, reporting, mass
media and society and media management. For example, in reporting classes they
suggested the use of CMC as an interviewing tool (Smith, Kim and Bernstein,
1993, p. 82).
Somera (1997, p. 77) surveyed Filipino communication students on their use of
electronic mail for study and pleasure. Of the 123 subjects, 43% reported having
65
courses which gave them occasion to send e-mail to their professors and / or
classmates, but 61% had not had e-mail contact with their professors. Half had
exchanged e-mail with classmates about course-related matters. However, the
researcher concluded the primary function of e-mail was a social, rather than an
academic, one. She challenged both faculty and students to work to change the
attitudes towards e-mail communication from primarily social to academic
(Somera, 1997, p. 86).
Elasmar and Carter (1996, p. 50) surveyed 224 students at a US university and
also found they were more comfortable with the use of e-mail in a social, informal
context. While more than half were using e-mail, they expressed a greater
likelihood to send messages to their friends and parents than to faculty, work
colleagues or university officials (Elasmar and Carter, 1996, p. 52). The
researchers agreed more could be done to encourage students to use e-mail for
academic purposes, given that benefits included the involvement of shy or passive
students and better collaboration in group projects (Elasmar and Carter, 1996, p.
47). They suggested a range of strategies faculty could use to get students using email in their studies, including encouraging them to ask questions via e-mail;
distributing homework and assignments via e-mail; requiring assignment
submission via e-mail; creating bulletin boards for course discussion; getting
students to subscribe to journalism listservers in their topic areas; and having them
subscribe to electronic research clippings services (Elasmar and Carter, 1996, pp.
52-53).
Arant (1996) surveyed 133 program heads in 1996 and found 88% of them
used computer online resources in teaching classes in their programs and 72%
communicated with their students via email. Interestingly, despite the high
percentage using online resources in class, only 60% of the program heads
reported that online resources had changed substantially how they taught the
programs. Online distance education was only offered in 23 of the programs
(17%). Arant reported that respondents felt online teaching might not be as
effective as face-to-face instruction, but was a viable distance learning method
because it reached students who might otherwise have missed out. DeSanto’s
(1998) exploratory study of undergraduate student perceptions of the offering of
Web-based journalism courses found students feared losing the personal contact
66
with faculty and many lacked enough confidence in computing to take on such a
course.
Holt et. al. (1998, p. 43) investigated the facilitation of group learning on the
Internet, using students in journalism classes as participants in an online forum.
They found the responsibilities of the online moderator were determined more by
the purpose of the study group than by the medium itself. They also found
differences existed between the group learning enterprise in mailing lists and
Web-based forums.
Lawbaugh (1996, p. 7) suggested the shift to online journalism forced a reevaluation of the role of the faculty responsible for supervising student
publications. In exploring the role of the Internet and e-mail as journalism tools,
he called for an updating of the publications or media adviser role in the college
situation to take account of such new electronic responsibilities.
Pearson (1993, p. 131-3) described the effective use of electronic mail as a
student publishing vehicle. He explained the production of a campus news bulletin
using e-mail technology as a substitute for the instant, yet textual, medium
required a different writing style, a blend of radio and newspaper reportage. Also,
students had used CMC as a research tool for their publications and their readers
had responded with directly e-mailed letters to the editor. Pearson suggested
journalism educators should position themselves ahead of industry in this regard.
We did this with desktop publishing. From 1986 it was convenient for
us to acquire desktop publishing programs to use in our news rooms
because they brought newspaper editing and design to our students’
fingertips. At the time, many practitioners scoffed at the notion of
such on-screen pagination technology. Today most are spending
millions to install it. Meanwhile, our graduates have been equipped
with the skills to use it. (Pearson, 1993, p. 134.)
Friedland and Webb (1996) detailed the teaching methods they used when
incorporating online publishing into their curriculum at the University of
Wisconsin, Madison. The multimedia experiment was an attempt to bring together
faculty from traditional media sectors in recognition that the industry itself was
67
converging (Friedland and Webb, 1996, p. 59). Interactive classes were structured
as laboratories to publish the journal, with the focus on the project itself driving
the need for (and extent of) instruction in computing and programming, design,
image and audio capture and writing (Friedland and Webb, 1996, pp. 60-61).
Production in any semester was tailored around student numbers and needs. The
enhancement of critique and analysis of new media and developing competence in
using it at the same time were a primary focus in the educational objectives
(Friedland and Webb, 1996, p. 62).
Wilkins (1997, p. 78) maintained an informal e-mail listserv discussion group
with his students focussing on critical thinking in journalism. Reid (1994, p. 22)
gave the example of a multi-user dungeon (MUD), a text-based simulated
environment used for educational purposes. The first was MediaMOO, run by the
Massachusetts Institute of Technology, which provided a “virtual meeting place”
for media and communication students.
Methods of implementing online journalism in the curriculum varied markedly.
As early as 1992, Lloyd (1993) highlighted the rare duality of outcomes of the
teaching of digital technology to journalists: not only could it be used in
delivering educational content to them, but the very delivery could be a useful
occupational tool they could use later in their reporting:
Along with a handful of other developing disciplines, such as
information technology and informatics, journalism education will
both employ multi-media technology in an instructional or
pedagogical sense, and it will have to engage directly in teaching
people how to use it professionally in an increasingly multi-media
driven industry (Lloyd, 1993, p. 110).
Gunaratne and Lee (1996, p. 27) emphasised the role of the instructor in helping
students “get through the glut of information”. They detailed the way they had
integrated Internet-based materials and access points into three subjects in
reporting, copy editing and international communication. Course outlines were
posted to the Web with students advised of updates via email notification
(Gunaratne and Lee, 1996, p. 32). Students were trained in e-mail use so they
68
could use this medium to ask questions of their instructors and file their
assignments (Gunaratne and Lee, 1996, p. 29). Internet laboratory sessions built
into each of the classes varied in their level of Internet access according to the
topic at hand, but students made use of both Internet-based materials and contacts.
For example, students in the copy editing class joined a listserv devoted to editing,
Copyediting-L, which became a popular tool for their problem solving (Gunaratne
and Lee, 1996, p. 32). The authors noted a potential shift in the role of faculty in
such courses:
Gradually, the role of the instructor may change from feeding or
lecturing students to helping them understand the best material found.
(Gunaratne and Lee, 1996, p. 33)
Others, including Tapsall and Granato (1997, p. 20), developed comprehensive
Web sites devoted to their online journalism subjects, for access from both within
and outside the campus.
Panici (1998, p. 53) noted there was a dearth of literature on how journalism
educators integrated new media into their introductory mass communication
courses and attempted to redress that with a survey of 56 department heads. They
found faculty required their students to use new media less than they used it
themselves, with students required to use e-mail (30%), the WWW (24%) and a
Listserv created for the course (17%). There seemed to be a gap between faculty’s
own utilisation of the Internet resources and their use of them in their classes.
While faculty agreed the use of such resources accommodated different learning
styles, allowed students to take a more active role in their learning, and created a
more “real world” experience, only one third required students to use e-mail and
one quarter required them to use the WWW (Panici, 1998, p. 61). Panici
suggested the minimal use of new media in teaching may be due to the large class
sizes and the large quantity of course material needing to be covered, but warned
that students’ longer term decisions about media use “is greatly affected by the
knowledge and attitudes they acquire in school”.
Green (1997) related an experience which highlighted the potential ethical
minefield encountered when encouraging students to go online in some subjects.
69
What began as an e-mail familiarisation exercise in a computer-assisted reporting
class developed into a multifaceted online reporting enterprise with major ethical
implications. Green (1997, p. 25) detailed the ethical and legal dilemmas students
encountered in their reporting of Internet child sex networks, particularly the
question of whether to go undercover in the search for information on illegal
activities. Green (1997, p. 30) concluded that, despite the clear pedagogical
benefits involved in such exercises, he would be likely to limit the unit to case
studies and hypotheticals because of the legal and moral risks to which students
were exposed.
2.4.3 Reflective practice
While several have addressed methods of teaching online journalism, few have
examined the overall pedagogical positioning of journalism education in
fathoming its capacity to prepare students for a transforming career. Allen and
Miller (1997) attempted to do so by arguing for the adoption of a “reflective
practice” approach to journalism education. Reflective practice is the professional
education method articulated by Schön (1987), which involves the placement of a
reflective practicum at the centre of a vocational program, linking the educational
environment with that of the workplace. As Allen and Miller (1997) explained, the
approach involves introducing students to a professional experience, attending to
their responses and feelings about the experience, returning to the experience and
then re-evaluating it. This is meant to prepare students for competent reflection
upon, and learning from, such experiences when they are encountered in the
workplace. Others have applied this to journalism education in different ways.
However, Allen and Miller (1997) linked the approach to the advent of the
Internet, suggesting it had the potential to equip students to deal with frequent
change in the professional environment. One of the authors reported success using
the method in classes on Internet-based journalistic research, with a useful
outcome being the early identification and addressing of different levels of
technophobia in the student group. They reported:
70
This enabled groups to work through the technological issues and
move quickly into the much more important content, structural and
credibility questions which can be addressed more directly once
confidence with the technology has been established. (Allen and
Miller, 1997)
2.4.4 Curricular accommodation
Several researchers have explored the curricular implications of the advent of the
Internet for journalism education. J.T. Johnson (1994) built an argument which
suggested journalism educators were left with little option but to integrate online
research skills across the journalism curriculum. After establishing that the only
kind of journalism worth teaching was the analytical kind, Johnson itemised two
levels of instruction required to bring journalists up to a suitable skill level: the
first was the mastery of basic hardware and software management while the
second was the use of these skills to access and process data to produce insightful
works of journalism (J.T. Johnson, 1994, p. 62-3). He explained that staff first
needed to be taught how to master the required programs and suggested “the
instructor for a particular segment should not be the person who knows the most
about that application” (J.T. Johnson, 1994, p. 64). His rationale was that this gave
the instructor a taste of the student experience and ensured he or she was up to
date with the latest versions of software.
Thompson (1995) proposed a radical restructuring of the journalism and mass
communication
curriculum
to
accommodate
modules
on
“digital
communications”:
This challenge calls for flexible, integrated, and innovative media
courses and curricula; it means movement away from narrowly
conceived media-specific sequences based on industrial configurations
toward broad-based, cross-media, integrative models; the teaching of
ideas and skills that transcend the narrow occupational focus of
71
specific, entry-level, job-related protocols; “demassifying” the concept
of communication to incorporate the study of intrapersonal and
interpersonal communication and their relationship to “mass” forms of
communication distribution; and, finally, rethinking how people teach
and how learning environments can be enhanced with the use of
technologies. (Thompson, 1995)
His proposal involved the injection of four modules into the curriculum:
information gathering; message preparation; editing and production; and message
delivery. He gave examples of e-mail interviewing being added to information
gathering classes, digital press release creation being added to message
preparation units, Web page construction being built into editing and production
subjects and CD-ROM production being added to message delivery units. Despite
Thompson’s (1995) argument that his modularised curriculum “does not replace
or displace any traditional skills or concepts”, it is difficult to see how it could be
accommodated without sacrificing some other content.
Gunaratne and Lee (1996, p. 26) agreed new technology needed to be
incorporated into existing courses, but suggested the task “entails the problem of
how to add new material to supplement the content of a course without sacrificing
its original core”. Friedland and Webb (1996, p. 60) found they needed to do as
much teaching in computer literacy as in journalism in order to get their students
up to speed with the techniques of producing an online journal.
Several have explained their approaches in attempting such integration. For
Gunaratne and Lee (1996, p. 29), it was a matter of retaining the core elements of
three subjects (Reporting, Copy Editing and International Communication), but
introducing entry-level e-mail, search, listserv and Usenet skills before drawing
upon Internet material for the actual workshop material for the syllabus topics.
Tapsall and Granato (1997, p. 16) described their positioning of online
journalism knowledge and computer-assisted research and reporting (CARR)
skills in the curriculum of a Journalism Information Systems subject, a corequisite for their introductory news writing subject at the Queensland University
of Technology, Australia. After completing the two subjects students were
72
expected to undertake a CARR assignment in each subsequent journalism unit in
their program. The course was structured in a traditional one hour lecture / two
hour tutorial format, with the first half devoted to instructing students on basic
word processing, spreadsheet and database software along with simple maths
calculations; and the second half focussing on the Internet, studying the World
Wide Web, electronic mail, gopher and file transfer protocol. Assessment was at
first divided evenly between an exam on theory and tutorial exercises (Tapsall and
Granato, 1997, p. 17), and later adapted to include specific software competence
tests, a major online journalism project, current affairs tests and participation
marks.
Friedland and Webb (1996, p. 60) also chose an integrated curriculum, but as a
directed study subject the syllabus was dependent upon students’ learning needs
as they set about their group online reporting task in developing a laboratory
journal. Topics typically included Internet navigation, hypertext / multimedia
writing, HTML authorship, digital camera operation, image manipulation, online
publication design, and creating and linking audio and video (Friedland and
Webb, 1996, pp. 62-63).
Quinn (1997b, p. 139) concluded that resource limitations might prevent such
integration of Internet-related topics into the curriculum, and suggested that
computer-aided reporting might be better positioned as a third or fourth year
elective subject rather than requiring all students to study it.
Some educators have written about strategies for dealing with specific
curriculum issues which have resulted from the Internet’s influences upon various
facets of journalism. Massey (1996) took up the issue of print journalism
education with 21 industry and education leaders in a Delphi study. She conducted
three rounds of surveys addressing the newspaper industry changes the experts
expected in coming years, the skills newspaper journalists would need and how
they might acquire these skills. Massey (1996) identified the following top three
predicated changes for newspapers:
1. More demands for staff with computer expertise.
2. More part-time and contract work.
73
3. Serious questions regarding copyright.
She identified the following top five predicated skills needed by journalists:
1. The need to keep learning and changing what they do and how
they do it.
2. Better understanding of the readership of newspapers.
3. Computerised
information-gathering
techniques
and
data
manipulation techniques.
4. Willingness/ openness to communicate via a variety of media.
5. Ability to work independently.
These findings resurface during the discussion of the educational implications of
the Internet’s influences in Chapter 7 and in the Conclusion (Chapter 8).
Quinn (1997a, p. 85) interviewed Australian journalism educators about the
extent of their inclusion of computer-assisted research and reporting (CARR) in
the curriculum and found almost all taught students how to use Web search
engines and 80% taught students how to perform simple remote access tasks.
However, only one third taught students how to use a deeper level of CARR —
file transfer protocol (FTP). Nevertheless, Quinn was heartened that the educators
appeared to be ahead of the Australian media industry in the CARR field,
suggesting they “take the lead and drag the media into the digital era” (Quinn,
1997a, p. 88). Williams (1997, p. 67) reported that even in North America the use
of “deep” CARR techniques was restricted to a few “hot spots”, but that there was
a host of basic, transferable computer skills average reporters and
editors should have that lie far below the advanced data analysis of the
big stories, and these skills can make a big difference for graduates in
the job market.
These, she contended, should be integrated into regular journalism skills courses.
At her institution, American College, this required fundamental curriculum reform
of existing courses to build computing skills into the program (Williams, 1997, p.
74
68). She suggested a regime of curricular injection of computing skills,
progressing from basic word processing and file management skills in the
introductory news writing classes; through the use of Boolean logic for keyword
searching and basic data analysis in reporting classes; desktop publishing and
graphic manipulation in editing classes; advanced searching on commercial
databases and advanced Internet skills in advanced reporting subjects; and more
extensive skills in advanced electives (Williams, 1997, p. 69).
Lule (1998, pp. 7-8) pointed to the need for curricular accommodation of the
differences between writing and presenting the news for the traditional and new
media. He suggested students needed to learn to script and build hypertext links
into their stories which accommodated the “non-linear narrative blocks of text that
readers pursue in the order they choose” and then handle the new level of
interactivity between writer and reader afforded by the new medium.
On-line journalism allows for a continuous dialogue between readers
and writers, where each can learn from the other. On line, a news
organisation can establish electronic community forums, where people
share information and opinions about articles they’ve read, and may
go on to discuss a wider range of topics. When a newspaper offers
such forums, reporters must be aware that each article is not the last
word on a topic but the beginning of a dialogue that presents new
angles for follow-up stories suggested by subscribers’ messages.
(Lule, 1998, pp. 7-8)
Friedland and Webb (1996, p. 62) reported the biggest conceptual challenge in
their on-line journalism laboratory class was in teaching the difference between
writing for a hypertext medium as opposed to writing for a print medium. Students
needed to imagine how multiple layers of content resided in the same reporting
“space”, they wrote.
Ketterer (1998, p. 4) focussed on identification and verification of online
resources as a key curriculum issue. Guidelines for assessing the credibility of a
Web site were built into the syllabus for a class devoted to the production of the
Digital Missourian publication (Ketterer, 1998, p. 12).
75
The curricular accommodation of the legal and ethical ramifications of
cyberspace were explored by Smethers (1998), who surveyed 253 journalism and
mass communication program heads on the degree to which their courses
incorporated ethical and legal issues associated with new media. Almost twothirds had chosen to build such issues into existing subjects dealing with law and
ethics or journalism skills, while only 5% had already dedicated a freestanding
course to such topics. A further 18% did not deal with the topics at all, although
two thirds of those planned to do so in the future (Smethers, 1998, p. 19). Those
not dealing with the issues cited lack of faculty (74%), inadequate expertise
(68%), the immaturity of the area to date (47%) and an already overloaded
curriculum (36%) as the primary reasons for its neglect (Smethers, 1998, p. 20).
One negative outcome of the influence of the Internet upon journalism
education might be a reactionary attitudinal impact upon faculty who might feel
threatened by the advent of technology in the classroom. Novek (1996) surveyed
135 communication scholars, of whom 29 (21.5%) expressed concerns about the
devaluation of the teaching profession, the threat to their livelihoods and the
dehumanisation and alienation their students might face in a computerised
learning environment and workplace. Interestingly, when Tapsall and Granato
(1997, p. 18) experimented with the delivery of an online journalism class using
both journalism and computing professionals, students reported they found the
classes hosted by the journalists more relevant and rewarding, perhaps giving
hope to journalism educators that they might stake a legitimate claim to this new
territory.
Certainly, there appeared to be substantial opportunities for both faculty and
students with online journalism expertise. Quinn (1997a, p. 85) quoted Poynter
Institute news research director Nora Paul saying CARR skills gave journalism
graduates a unique selling point which could position them ahead of the
competition in the job hunt. He also noted the shortage of faculty with expertise in
CARR beyond a mere textbook appreciation (Quinn, 1997a, p. 84).
Lule (1998) suggested editors and publishers would look to the next generation
of journalists to make sense of the new technology, but students would only be
ready for such demand if educators re-evaluated their curricula.
76
Journalism education needs a new approach that incorporates lessons
about technology into every class, from introductory news reporting to
communication law, media ethics, and advanced news writing.
However, those lessons cannot replace traditional journalism
education: Only a strong mix of traditional values and new technology
will prepare students for journalism in coming decades … They need
values and standards that will endure long after the new media become
old. (Lule, 1998, pp. 7-8)
Thus, some educators challenge new technology’s displacement of other
important traditional values in the curriculum. Wilkins (1997, 72), for example,
suggested educators might be overlooking the very human nature of the
journalism enterprise by focussing too heavily on online skills and knowledge:
Despite the emergence of computer-aided reporting and electronic
journalism courses, journalism remains very much a human
enterprise… Do educators perhaps forget that their students need more
than a steady diet of Associated Press style, constant rewrites, the
occasional internship, and a crackerjack knowledge of remote
computer databases? … Are those elements of journalism, which are
so basic to the craft, being crowded out of or compressed within
curricula to the ultimate detriment of the industry as a whole?
(Wilkins, 1997, pp. 72-73)
In building computer skills into the existing curriculum at American College,
Williams (1997, p. 68) reported a faculty fear that doing so would “drive out other
basic reporting, writing and editing skills”. Christopher (1998, p. 139) suggested
that unless students were required to take extra courses, they “may come to
newsrooms with less knowledge of traditional skills and practices”.
Gunaratne and Lee (1996, p. 34), however, were confident the threat of Internetrelated instruction “crowding out” other components of a course would dissipate
as more students gained information technology skills before going to university.
Scott (1995, p. 37) surveyed members of the Association for Education in
Journalism and Mass Communication and concluded:
77
Journalism students must master the same skills as always — research,
writing, editing and critical thinking — but in addition, they must
master machinery more complex than ever before. As a result,
journalism educators are being called upon both to teach the enduring,
time honoured skills and to keep abreast of and teach the new
technologies.
The attitudes of educators to technology are important, as they are likely to
influence those of their students as they head into their careers. Singer et. al.
(1996, p. 36) used Q-methodology to categorise the attitudes of 42 journalism
students and faculty to new technology. They identified four categories of attitude
to the introduction of technology:
•
The “Champion of Change”: optimistic and ready for change, and
eager to incorporate new technology into life and work.
•
The “Pessimistic Prophet”: concerned about the ethical and
educational implications of the rush to new technology.
•
The “Laid-back Liberal”: Concerned with the elitism of new media but
not as worried about manipulation, and confident of being able to
avoid the negative aspects and open-minded about change.
•
The “Sceptical Optimist”: Keen to believe the new media will improve
society through enhancing community, but a lack of conviction that
they will. (Singer et. al., 1996, pp. 39-43)
They warned that journalism educators stood to influence students as they passed
through the stages of the diffusion of attitudes about new technology from first
knowledge, to forming an attitude, to adopting or rejecting it, to implementation
and then to confirmation:
For students … the decisions they make based on the knowledge and
attitudes they acquire in school are sure to affect how they approach
new media technology as they enter the workplace. (Singer et. al.,
1996, p. 43)
78
Elasmar and Carter (1996, p. 53) suggested that making computer-mediated
communication a “pleasant and accessible medium” might provide students with
“a smooth on-ramp to the information superhighway”.
Educators who might previously have exercised strict control over their
students’ reporting and publishing activities as part of their courses might find
such control is difficult to maintain or perhaps even flaunted in the new
environment. Green (1997) reported how a simple reporting exercise got out of
hand with students pursuing dubious ethical and legal practices in their reporting
on the Net. Further, Trotter (1998, p. 10) explained that high school students
turned to a new Web-based publication, the Bolt Reporter, as an outlet for their
stories which had been censored from their school newspapers. The publication
also included articles which, while not having been banned, pushed the boundaries
of what some school administrators might be happy to publish. Senat (1996) also
expressed concern about the online publication outcome of the Internet influence,
noting that the legal responsibilities of publication might well shift to the tertiary
institution in the instance of online publication.
Such issues are reflected upon in the discussion on the implications of Internet
influences for journalism education in Chapter 7.
2.5
Summary
It can be seen from this review of the literature that there is a substantial body of
work across key spheres of concentration which lay the foundation for this study:
journalism’s context, its practice and its education. The literature provides a range
of stances from which a scholar can view technology and its influences, varying in
approach according to the centrality technology’s role. The relationship of the
Internet to the context in which journalism is practised has spawned numerous
research projects, including some which question the relevance of journalism in
this new communication environment. Particular contextual dynamics have been
addressed in the literature, including the Internet’s positioning in the newsroom
environment; the legal and ethical context; the interface between pre-existing and
new media; and the changing nature of media audiences.
79
The Internet’s influences upon the very practice of journalism has also received
scholarly attention. There is a growing body of work on the Internet itself as an
entity and as a tool of communication which has been profiled. There is a
substantial amount of scholarship on the influence of other technological
innovations upon journalism over recent centuries and decades, from the invention
of the printing press through to the introduction of 20th century media including
radio, television and videotext. Studies have focussed upon the rate and nature of
journalists’ adoption of Internet reporting techniques and upon particular concerns
such as news values, time consumption and inaccuracy which have arisen.
Researchers have also studied the way technological innovations have been
incorporated into journalism education. Again, these have addressed the rate and
nature of journalism educators’ and student journalists’ adoption of the Internet as
a resource and as a feature of the pedagogy and curricula of journalism courses.
This included several reports of attempts to build Internet topics and tasks into the
journalism curriculum, with varying success. Pitfalls were highlighted, including
those related to equity of Internet resources, ethical dilemmas, and the balancing
of the journalism curriculum once the Internet has been added to the equation.
Research examining opportunities for journalists educated in new technologies
and reviewing educators’ attitudes to the Internet was also reviewed.
While work in each of these areas casts light upon the foundational concepts
addressed in the research questions, none makes the attempt of this project to
develop a theory of the influence of the Internet upon journalism practice and its
implications for journalism education, demonstrating the fact that this study could
well fill a research vacuum in the area. Further, the literature presents a
methodological gap in that none of the studies used a grounded theory approach to
explore the Internet-journalism link and only one (Reavy, 1995) used journalists’
postings electronic discussion lists as data.
The next chapter, Chapter 3, explains the methodological procedures used to
develop such a theory. It sets out to describe the grounded theory methodology
used, justifies the research design, describes the discussion lists used and outlines
the processes for data collection, recording, processing and analysis.
80
Chapter 3: Methodology
3.0 Introduction
Any research topic presents a number of methodological and theoretical options.
As explained in the Literature Review in Chapter 2, the issue of technology’s
influences upon the media has been addressed from a range of perspectives and in
a number of ways. It is clear that the developing body of literature, while
informing the fundamentals of this study, does not address in any cohesive sense
the key issues of the Internet’s influences upon journalism and the implications of
this for journalism education. Only one researcher (Reavy, 1995) has approached
such an issue through the use of electronic discussion lists as data, and none has
attempted to develop a theory grounded in such data.
This chapter explores the methodological options available to a study of this
kind and proceeds to justify the use of the grounded theory approach used in this
study to address the research questions outlined in Chapter 1. The process
implemented for the collection of the data from four electronic discussion lists
used by journalists and journalism educators over a nine week period is detailed in
the next chapter, Chapter 4, which introduces the structure of the analysis chapters
(Chapters 5-7) and reports upon the practical implementation of the methodology.
3.1 Overview
A range of approaches could be used to address the issue of the Internet’s
influence upon journalism, depending of course upon the actual research question
being answered. Quantitative research methods could be implemented to count the
uptake of Internet practices by journalists and surveys could be conducted to
quantify their attitudes to any change on pre-determined criteria. Examples of both
approaches appear in the literature reviewed in Chapter 2.
A range of qualitative approaches could be adopted to answer a variety of
research questions in the area. For example, a question about the newsroom
pragmatics of using Internet technologies might be addressed by a series of
interviews with practitioners as conducted by Quinn (1998b) or by visiting a news
room and making a case study of an individual journalist at work. Research in the
84
area could be approached from a critical perspective, with a feminist researcher
exploring the positioning of women in Internet-based journalism or a postmodernist pondering the implicit power structures and relationships at play as new
technologies are introduced. Phenomenologists and epistemologists may frame the
research question so as to explore the essence of a key phenomenon such as
“What is computer-aided journalism?”, while phenomenographers might ask
“How is the Internet experienced by journalists?”. Most of the qualitative research
methods outlined in a guide such as Denzin and Lincoln’s (1994) could be applied
to this general topic area in a specific way.
Marshall and Rossman (1989, p. 45-46) explained that qualitative research is
best suited to dealing with complexities and processes, unknown societies,
innovative systems, informal and unstructured linkages and processes and
research which cannot be done experimentally for practical or ethical reasons.
Each of these reasons applies in its own way to the proposed project. The research
questions — “What do journalists’ and their educators’ electronic discussions tell
us about the influence of the Internet upon journalism?” and “What are the
implications of this for journalism education?” — are complex and fall outside the
ambit of experimentation. The influence of technology upon journalists’ work is a
complex, multi-dimensional process, and to a large extent is a great unknown. The
Internet’s incorporation into work practice is unarguably innovative and many of
the linkages between the use of this technology and actual reportage are likely to
be informal and unstructured. It would be impractical to conduct experimental
research (or even interview-based research) upon a group as large as that
represented by the electronic discussants and, even if it were achievable, it would
be difficult to get them to be as frank in their views as they appear when
motivated to comment on an issue on an electronic discussion list. Marshall and
Rossman (1989, p. 46) stressed that the strengths of qualitative research were
most evident for research which was “exploratory or descriptive and that stresses
the importance of context, setting and subjects’ frame of reference”. The research
comprising this project matches that description.
3.2
Description of research methodology or approach
85
Grounded theory has been selected as the most suitable methodology for the
project because the aim is to develop a theory relating to the influence of the
Internet upon journalism and its implications for journalism education. This
project is intrinsically related to the frame of reference of journalists using the
Internet in their reporting practice. Qualitative research meets the needs of the
research questions because they are seeking what Miles and Huberman (1994, p.
1) called “well grounded, rich descriptions and explanations of processes in
identifiable local contexts”. Grounded theory provides one systematic approach to
qualitative inquiry. Even its originators do not see it as anything grander than that.
Strauss (1987, p. 5) described its methodological thrust as being “toward the
development of theory, without any particular commitment to specific kinds of
data, lines of research, or theoretical interests”. He continued:
So, it is not really a specific method or technique. Rather, it is a style
of doing qualitative analysis that includes a number of distinct
features, such as theoretical sampling, and certain methodological
guidelines, such as the making of constant comparisons and the use of
a coding paradigm, to ensure conceptual development and density.
(Strauss, 1987, p. 5)
The details of this “style” of analysis are explored in the section dealing with data
analysis at 3.8 below. Suffice it to say at this stage that an important difference
between grounded theory and other systematic approaches to qualitative research
is that theory is grounded in, and emanates from, the data themselves. Glaser and
Strauss (1967, p. 30) noted that the discovery of grounded theory was different
from the development of logico-deductive theory because it could demonstrably
fit or work in a substantive area — “since the theory has been derived from data,
not deduced from logical assumptions”.
This is not to deny that grounded theory also has its shortcomings. Silverman
(1993, p. 47) noted that it has been criticised for failing to acknowledge the
implicit theories which guide work in its early stages (suggesting that theory does
not just “emerge” from data); for paying more attention to the generation of
theories than their testing; and for building categories without detailed analysis of
86
them. But the bulk of Silverman’s reservations applied to grounded theory which
was poorly executed, rather than an inherent problem with the approach itself.
Strauss and Corbin (1994, p. 283) saw the interplay of data and theory, the
making of constant comparisons, the asking of theoretically oriented questions,
theoretical coding and the development of theory as central to this methodology. It
is intended that this study preserve those central aspects of the methodology while
adapting some of the procedures to the unique needs of the topic at hand.
Important to the grounded theory approach is the principle that the researcher
should draw upon the constructions of the participants who are creating the data
which are being analysed. Relevant to this study is the fact that its proponents see
grounded theory applying particularly well to practitioner fields such as education,
social work and nursing (Strauss & Corbin, 1994, p. 276). Glaser and Strauss
(1967, p. 238-239) noted the importance of the “fitness” of grounded theory:
That the theory must fit the substantive area to which it will be applied
is the underlying basis of a grounded theory’s four requisite properties
... Clearly, a grounded theory that is faithful to the everyday realities
of a substantive area is one that has been carefully induced from
diverse data... Only in this way will the theory be closely related to the
daily realities (what is actually going on) of substantive areas, and so
be highly applicable to dealing with them. (Glaser & Strauss, 1967,
pp. 238-239)
The attraction of grounded theory to this study is its applicability and its attention
to the “daily realities” Glaser and Strauss describe. The theories which emanate
from the data offer insights into the issues concerning journalists using the
Internet for their reportage and their work practices.
Strauss and Corbin (1994, p. 277 and 283) chronicled a number of ways the
grounded theory methodology was being diffused as it was adopted by researchers
in a range of fields for a range of purposes. They were sensitive to criticism that
the methodology “now runs the risk of becoming fashionable” (Strauss & Corbin,
1994, p. 277). They feared too many researchers were using the methodology
because their studies were “inductive” and believed earlier works overstated the
87
inductiveness of the methodology and understated the extent to which researchers
brought to their grounded theory studies “the sensitising possibilities of their
training, reading and research experience, as well as explicit theories that might be
useful if played against systematically gathered data” (Strauss & Corbin, 1994, p.
277). Certainly, it was the intention of this study to recognise the background and
experience of the researcher and the findings of research unveiled in the literature
review to inform the study and the theories as they developed. The idea of
developing theory grounded in the data adds a validation safeguard for the
professional researcher who has a background in the very career and practice
under examination. With other forms of research, such a background can be a
disadvantage, in that the researcher can be blinkered by his or her own
experiences in the field. Grounded theory, being dependent upon finding
categories of meaning within the data (often in very small units), provides a
vehicle through which the disadvantages of the previous experience can be
minimised and the advantages maximised.
The starting point with open coding in grounded theory methodology involves
developing categories of conceptual labels through a process of breaking down,
examining, comparing, conceptualising and categorising (Strauss & Corbin, 1990,
p. 61). This forces the researcher familiar with the field to examine the data so
closely that preconceptions become diluted or forgotten in the process. Strauss
(1987, p. 267-268) explained:
The line-by-line analysis allows the researcher to fracture the data; to
get analytic distance from them; thus escaping the seductiveness of
their intrinsic interest by generating the coding, and raising the initial
questions, stimulated by the scrutinised lines and words, as well as
stimulating the formulation of provisional answers to the questions.
At the same time, the familiarity with the field allows the researcher to bring
insights into work practices and procedures which the stranger might never know.
Strauss and Corbin (1990, p. 41) used the term “theoretical sensitivity” to describe
a researcher’s awareness of the subtleties of data. They explained this sensitivity
could have a number of sources, one of which is the professional experience of the
researcher (Strauss & Corbin, 1990, p. 42). However, they warned this kind of
88
experience could also block the researcher from insights that had become routine
or “obvious”. They suggested a host of strategies to counter such difficulties and
enhance theoretical sensitivity which are explored later in this chapter (Strauss &
Corbin, 1990, p. 75-95).
Morse (1994, p. 224) presented a table linking major qualitative methodologies
with the types of questions they were designed to answer. She identified grounded
theory as a strategy designed to answer “process” questions detailing participants’
experience over time or change, sitting within the sociological paradigm of
symbolic interactionism using data sources such as interviews, participant
observation, memoing and diary-taking. The key research questions involved in
this project lend themselves to such a strategy. Of course, this project involves a
departure from the interview methodology, with records of electronic discussions
substituted. Nevertheless, the thrust of Morse’s observations indicate grounded
theory or some adaptation as a suitable strategy for such a project.
Grounded theory shares some features with content analysis. In fact, under a
broad definition of content analysis — such as that proposed by Walizer and
Weiner (1978) who included “any systematic procedure devised to examine the
content of recorded information” — grounded theory might well qualify because
it involves the analysis of data — “content”. However, it does have important
differences from content analysis as we most commonly encounter it and
understand it. For example, Kerlinger (1986) defined content analysis much more
narrowly as “a method of studying and analysing communication in a systematic,
objective and quantitative manner for the purpose of measuring variables”. Under
such a definition, it is a world away from grounded theory which is certainly
systematic but lays no claims to objectivity and is predominantly a qualitative
approach. (Of course, there is a whole tradition of qualitative content analysis
used in mass communication research, as noted by Larsen (1991, p. 121).
However, this has concentrated largely on semiotic analysis of texts themselves
rather than upon developing theories from those texts.) The major difference is in
the inductive nature of the theoretical approach itself. Whereas in content analysis
the researcher works from a formulated hypothesis and analyses the content
(usually quantitatively) in an attempt to prove it, in grounded theory methodology
89
even the research questions should emanate from the data through an inductive
process.
The grounded theory approach is better suited than a methodology like content
analysis to this research project because:
• These waters are relatively uncharted. The research questions allow broad scope
for theory to emanate from the data.
• Grounded theory requires that the researcher draw upon the constructions of the
participants who are creating the data which are being analysed.
• The “process” nature of the question lends itself to this kind of approach.
• This project is not concerned with counting the occurrences of phenomena. It
seeks to identify them and compare them to develop a theory of their
relationships.
• There is no claim to this being an “objective” or “scientific” study. Grounded
theory allows for the researcher to play a role in the interpretation of the data
which may itself be drawn from a skewed population. While grounded theory
provides a system for qualitative research, it lays no claim to being a pure science.
Nevertheless, there are procedural aspects of content analysis and interaction
analysis which can prove useful in grounded theory, such as the designation and
formulation of categories and the verification of those categories by other coders.
Certainly, the insistence in content analysis of making category systems mutually
exclusive, exhaustive and reliable (Wimmer and Dominick, 1994, p. 171) is
something which can be transferred to grounded theory studies to add rigor. Kaid
and Wadsworth (1989, p. 206) stressed the need for appropriate training of coders
for successful content analysis and interaction analysis. This can involve the
development of written coding instruments and the insistence upon intercoder
reliability. Strauss (1987, p. 38) admitted grounded theory proponents had been
lax in not insisting upon more intercoding of each other’s materials. These other
approaches can add to the credibility of a grounded theory study and their
implementation is detailed in Chapter 4 below.
90
3.3
Research Design
This section is intended to explain how the selection of the research design fits
with the theoretical framework, purpose and research questions. It explores the
logic and rationale of the research method and discusses the research strategies
undertaken. It is difficult to separate research design from the consideration of the
other aspects of a research project. In any research, the methodology and design of
a project must be tailored to construct the most fruitful response to the research
question(s) at issue. Purists may argue that all research should be inquiry-driven,
with questions of methodology, design and appropriate data addressed only after a
research question has been formulated and focussed. However, the realists
recognise that, while it may be desirable that research be “cut and dried”, in
reality it is a much muddier process.
The current topic was decided upon in recognition that journalists and educators
had important things to say about the influences of the Internet upon journalism
and the implications of this for journalism education and that many were making
these comments in the discussion lists established for such dialogue. This topic
choice allowed the exploration of the favoured topic, influences of the Internet
upon journalism, while opening up a rich field of data for the purpose: the
electronic discussions of journalists and educators on that topic.
The fact that data availability should be a relevant factor in deciding whether to
pursue a particular topic should not be anathema to qualitative researchers. Some
in the field recognise that pragmatics can play a role in topic selection and study
design. Hammersley and Atkinson (1989, p. 53) allowed for very practical
considerations in their discussion of the design of ethnographic research projects,
for example. The sources of data for this project were readily available and the
participants were those who could cast light on the research questions at hand.
The fact that such valuable, insight-laden, data were at hand constituted a
persuasive case for their use in this instance. To that extent, this project has been
driven as much by the availability of useful data as it has been by the more
conventional design imperatives.
91
Morse (1994, p. 221) lists three “postures” for qualitative research, originally
identified by Wolcott (1992):
• theory-driven, such as the underlying cultural theory in ethnography;
• concept-driven, involving the focusing on a concept in a study; and
• reform-focused or problem-focused, where the underlying purpose of
the project is political such as in a feminist study.
Using this terminology, the current study could be classified as “concept-driven”
in that, while its aim is to develop a theory about the influence of the Internet
upon journalism, it is the concept of this influence which is the primary
phenomenon being studied. Morse’s (1994, p. 221) cautionary note on this kind of
classification should, however, be stated. She proposed that it was actually a
misnomer to label qualitative research theory or concept “driven”, since if theory
actually dictated the data collection and analysis it would contradict a fundamental
principle of qualitative research that it should be inductive.
Rather, in qualitative inquiry the theory is used to focus the inquiry
and give it boundaries for comparison in facilitating the development
of the theoretical or conceptual outcomes. The theory or concept or
interest at best may be considered a conceptual template with which to
compare and contrast results, rather than to use as a priori categories
into which to force the analysis. (Morse, 1994, p. 221)
This interpretation sits well with Strauss and Corbin’s (1990, p. 41) principle of
theoretical sensitivity discussed earlier, indicating an awareness of the subtleties
of meaning in data and allowing previous reading and experience to inform the
research process without dictating to it.
To an extent the purpose of the study was also exploratory under Marshall and
Rossman’s (1989, p. 78) definition, in that it involved the investigation of littleunderstood phenomena to identify important variables and to generate hypotheses
for further research. For this kind of purpose, the authors suggested “elite
interviewing” as one technique of data collection. They wrote that “elites were
considered to be the influential, the prominent, and the well-informed people in an
92
organisation or community. Elites were selected for interviews on the basis of
their expertise in areas relevant to the research” (Marshall and Rossman, 1989, p.
94). Computer-adept journalists’ discussions of the influences of the Internet on
their work could be classed under the “elite interviewing” category if the
discussions were equated with the transcripts of interviews. (This requires the
acceptance of the notion that self-generated commentaries on topics or responses
to other participants’ questions or comments are the equivalent of considered
responses to a researcher’s interview questions.) According to Marshall and
Rossman (1989, p. 94) elite interviewing offers the advantage of drawing upon the
knowledge and inside information of the informants with a grasp on the
phenomenon and its implications. Disadvantages included accessibility and elites’
resentment of narrow, stereotypical questioning, neither of which presents a
problem to this study. Another disadvantage, identified by Priest (1998, p. 25) in
her exploration of journalists’ use of discussion list sources, was that
technological elites found on such discussion lists were not representative of the
broader population and, even among the elites themselves, were skewed towards
the more vocal minority willing to speak out on issues:
Electronic discussions typically capture only a tiny minority of these;
many users habitually “lurk” on the electronic sidelines, watching and
listening from a virtual distance, while other, more assertive ones
shape “public” discussions to their own agendas. (Priest, 1998, p. 25)
Despite this reservation, much depends on how data collected by such means is
analysed. If no claim to broader representation is being made; if the concepts
emerging from the data are simply fed into a broader pool for further analysis and
discussion, such shortcomings can be minimised.
Marshall and Rossman (1989, p. 76) noted that the selection of a research
strategy need not be a methodological straitjacket. It may not require that
qualitative research techniques, or a particular technique, be used throughout.
They described the strategy as “a road map, an overall plan for engaging the
phenomenon of interest in systematic inquiry”. Morse (1994, p. 224) suggested
the use of more than one method in a project could offer the researcher different
“lenses” or perspectives. She suggested more than one qualitative method could
93
be used in a single project or that quantitative methods could be incorporated to
answer particular questions. This was put into practice in this project through a
simple frequency analysis conducted as an exploratory study on one of the
discussion lists in an attempt to describe its participation (See Appendix 1). The
proponents of grounded theory applaud such an approach, actively encouraging
the combination of methodologies for rigor and validation (Strauss & Corbin,
1990, p. 18-19).
Morse (1994, p. 228-9) raised the issue of sampling — the identification of
appropriate informants — as a design consideration. Using the grounded theory
approach and the discussion list data solved this dilemma. Every discussant who
raised an issue related to the influence of the Internet upon journalism over the
designated period was selected as an informant and their views processed using
the computer analysis program NUD.IST. Morse (1994, p. 229) described this
selection process as “intensity sampling”: “participants who are experiential
experts and who are authorities about a particular experience”. She offered the
example of a study of patient-nurse relationships where the researcher would
select informants who had spent considerable time in hospital, who had formed
relations with nursing staff and who had observed others interacting with nurses.
This compares favourably with the selection of participants for this study.
3.4
Selection of subjects / focus of analysis
As explained in the rationale in the introductory chapter, the sites selected as most
appropriate to fit within the theoretical framework which addressed the research
questions were the electronic discussion lists used by journalists and journalism
educators where they commented upon the influences of the Internet upon the
practice of journalism. As Morse (1994, p. 222) pointed out, much research could
be conducted in several settings. In this case it was decided to conduct the
research across a number of sites — including four of the major discussion lists
used to discuss such issues: CARR-L (Computer Aided Reporting and Research
List), SPJ-L (Society of Professional Journalists List), On-line News (Discussion
list for on-line editors, publishers and journalists) and Journet (Discussion list for
94
Journalism Educators). Kirkpatrick (1996, p. 19) listed these among 18 discussion
lists and 16 newsgroups being used in journalism at that time. They were selected
for this study because of their accessibility, longevity, popularity and breadth of
interest groups covered.
Scholars who have used excerpts of computer-mediated communication (CMC)
as data in their studies have proffered a range of observations on its suitability and
validity. Smith (1992) based his study primarily on textual excerpts of
conversations conducted over the Whole Earth ‘Lectronic Link (WELL) bulletin
board. He collected data by copying contributions to public conferences to his
personal computer. Smith (1992) addressed the issue of the reliability of such a
computer record as an ethnographic “artefact” and offered reasons why it may
well be superior to audio or video data as a sociological record. Smith did,
however, identify a methodological difficulty in taking some artefacts out of the
context of the lengthy exchange in which they occurred. Reid (1991) used the
extracts of internet relay chat (IRC) conversations and her own observations of the
electronic community as “sources” (read: “field notes”) to which she referred in
her work. Reid immersed herself in the IRC “community” to both experience the
data and report upon them.
Marshall and Rossman (1991, p. 54) listed four characteristics of the “ideal site”
for qualitative data collection:
1. Entry is possible;
2. There is a high probability that a rich mix of many of the processes,
people, programs, interactions, and/or structures that may be a part of
the research question will be present;
3. The researcher can devise an appropriate role to maintain continuity
of presence for as long as necessary; and,
4. Data quality and credibility are reasonably assured by avoiding poor
sampling decisions.
Interestingly, the discussion list sites selected for this project went close to
meeting these “ideal site” criteria (albeit recognising the limitations of the data set
95
discussed at 3.5 below). Entry was certainly possible; the mix of interactions
(conversations) required of the research question were present; as virtual sites
there was no problem with the researcher maintaining an appropriate role; and
sampling decisions were relatively straightforward as they were restricted to
discussions relating to the influences of the Internet upon journalism. (Of course
this final criterion depends upon the researcher’s judgment and insight.)
Marshall and Rossman (1991, p. 54) explained that the researcher’s question is
the primary guide to site selection. The key questions for this study obviously
required access to discussion lists for their answers. Even if the key question did
not feature the reference to discussion lists, a cogent argument could be put for
discussion list conversations being a useful site for a study on the influences of the
Internet upon journalistic practice and its usefulness as a reporting tool.
The actual sampling process within the discussion lists selected was primarily a
matter of data reduction. The first and major sampling decision was in the
selecting of participants’ discussions related to the influences of the Internet upon
journalism. The approach to this is explained below. Further sampling decisions
became necessary during the project and are outlined in Chapter 4. Miles and
Huberman (1994, p. 10) noted that data reduction “occurs continuously
throughout the life of any qualitatively oriented research project”. They described
the sampling process as “bounding the collection of data” (Miles and Huberman,
1994, p. 27). They made the important observation (Miles and Huberman, 1994, p.
11) that data reduction was not a process separate from analysis. It was, in fact,
part of the analysis process, with the researcher’s decisions as to what to include
and what to exclude being analytical choices.
Miles and Huberman (1994, p. 27) noted that qualitative research was usually
concerned with small samples of people “nested in their context, and studied indepth” and that qualitative samples tended to be “purposive, rather than random”.
This is because researchers are working with a relatively narrow definition of their
universe (in this case, journalists and educators participating in electronic
discussions about their craft) and also because random sampling would render
confusing the social and intellectual phenomena under analysis, which are
themselves inherently logical and coherent.
96
The discussion lists which provided the data for this study might be compared
with the staff common rooms in large institutions representing workers of the kind
participating in the discussions. The Online News list approximates a common
room where those publishing and working on electronic news publications come
and go and conduct conversations among themselves while in the common room.
The CARR-L list can be compared with a staff room frequented by mainstream
journalists using computer aided research methods. The Journet list consists
mainly of journalism educators discussing issues common to them. The SPJonline list is a gathering of both journalists and educators.
Miles and Huberman (1994, p. 27) suggested a range of sampling methods;
means by which the collection of data could be bound. They noted that qualitative
sampling was theory-driven, with theory being developed as sampling continued.
They offered a number of types of sampling. Of their 16 or more categories, their
description of “comprehensive sampling” best suited this project. They explained
that comprehensive sampling involved “examining every case, instance or
element in a given population” (1994, p. 28). That was the method of sampling
most suitable for this project. The given population were the conversations about
the influence of the Internet on journalism on the discussion lists over a set time
period. Each of these was selected, categorised and analysed for its contribution to
the developing theory about the Internet’s influences upon journalism. Theory
building is important here. Choices of discussion points “are being driven by a
conceptual question, not by a concern for “representativeness” (Miles and
Huberman, 1994, p. 29). The question that was asked when determining whether a
particular discussion item was relevant to the study was: “What’s going on here
that tells us about the influence of the Internet upon journalism?” If there was
nothing in the discussion that did so, it was proposed that it be rejected as outside
the bounds of the study.
3.5
Description of sites
Only during the 1990s have thousands of journalists, journalism educators and
students been able to participate in ongoing discussions of issues affecting their
97
fields of interest and study. In past decades, hundreds may have gathered at
international conventions where they could hear papers presented by some of their
peers and chat with a handful of their colleagues during social functions and
conference breaks. Other venues for discussion of professional issues with a small
number of colleagues were staff rooms and cafeterias, faculty meetings and
telephone hook-ups. Print media forums were available in the form of newsletters
and magazines reflecting sectional interests. Each of these communication
methods was limited in space and time and presented its own interpersonal and
cultural boundaries.
Electronic discussion lists (sometimes known as bulletin boards, electronic
mailing lists, listservs, and collaborative mass media — although experts disagree
on the distinctions) are a subset of the expanding realm of computer-mediated
communication (CMC). They are defined as “an interactive computer-based
communication system organised around the interests of the users” (Ogan, 1993,
p. 177). Several thousand exist in a variety of forms, but the kind used as the basis
of the data in this study serve as platforms for exchanging information and ideas
among journalists and educators. Gilster (1993, p. 192) described their operation:
A centralised structure is imposed over the circulating material,
usually with a single person supervising the entire operation. Instead
of bouncing and multiplying across the network, messages flow to the
person in charge, who then sees that the discussion is moderated, or at
least that each person’s contributions become available for all to read.
Best of all, this material is then delivered to your electronic mailbox,
in the form of a series of messages that keep coming in until you
resign from the group in question.
(The issue of discussion moderators is an important one. Allen (1994) found that
list owners sometimes halted lines of discussion but most were reluctant to tamper
with messages. This seemed to be the situation with the four lists selected for this
study, with the list owners simply performing the task of ensuring all messages
were communicated to the membership and only occasionally suggesting there
had been enough discussion on a particular topic.)
98
Bare numerical information was available on the make-up of the membership of
all lists under review. As at June 14, 1996, a subscription request to each of the
host servers revealed that Online-News had 1035 subscribers, SPJ-L had 1041,
CARR-L had 2556 and Journet 955 subscribers, totalling 5587, although many
would be subscribers to more than one of the lists.
The purpose of each list was outlined in the initial posting to its members. The
Online-News list now features a Web archive site, where it features introductory
details about the list and transcripts of past discussions (Online-News, 1996). It
states its purpose as follows:
Online-News is a public list dealing primarily with the transition of
traditional news media into the online world. While we primarily
focus on print media activity in cyberspace, overall “new media” is
fair game. (Online-News, 1996)
The purpose of the other three lists under review were well summarised in an
article in the American Journalism Review (Rowe, 1995, p.32). It described SPJ-L
as being “... a mailing list created as an information resource for journalists by the
Society of Professional Journalists (to) ... discuss issues, share tips, communicate
with headquarters and national leaders, find out about SPJ news, or whatever”. It
went on to describe Journet as being devoted to journalism education: “Aimed at
journalism academics, this list covers just about everything.” And, according to
Rowe (1995, p.33), CARR-L included “both academics and working journalists
talking about how to find electronic data, what to do with the data, and how to
mould it all into a readable story”.
The exploratory study reported upon in Appendix 1 found there was a notable
domination of male and American discussants on the Journet list. Gender was not
always identifiable, but at least 65 of the messages (77%) were contributed by
men. Americans were by far the most prevalent contributors, with 81 (96%) of the
messages originating from the United States, two (2.3%) coming from Canada and
a single contribution from Britain. This was despite a significant number of nonAmerican addresses featuring among the subscribers’ list, with both Australia and
99
Europe particularly well represented, and the fact that the list itself originated in
Canada at Queen’s University.
In August 1996 the owner of the Online-News list, Steve Outing, conducted a
survey of that list’s membership to ascertain some basic demographic details.
More than 200 of the list’s 1035 subscribers responded to the survey, representing
19 countries. Outing (1996) reported 76% of respondents were from the United
States, 11% from Europe, 6% from Canada, 2% from Australia, 2% from Asia and
the balance from Israel, Mexico and Iceland. Again, North Americans dominated
this list (82% US and Canada), although the larger European membership was
indicative of the growth of Internet subscription in that region. Outing’s survey
also canvassed other demographics, including the job descriptions of the members
and their types of business. Just more than 31% gave their job descriptions as
writers or editors, while 16% described themselves as managers of departments,
divisions or projects, 13% consultants, 9% Webmasters, 8% chief executives or
publishers and 7% academics or teachers. The balance spanned a range of
occupations including staff professionals, researchers, programmers, vicepresidents, students, designers, Web producers, advertising sales and systems
administrators. Almost one third (31%) said they were in the newspaper business,
while 17% were in new media publishing not related to traditional media
organisations, 11% in magazines, 9% in the consultancy business, 7% in academe,
7% on Internet online services and the balance across a range of traditional or new
media enterprises. Sixty per cent claimed to have responsibility for purchasing
decisions.
A detailed breakdown of the membership of the other lists had not yet been
conducted.
3.6
Procedures
This project involved the following procedures:
1. The conduct of a literature review which highlighted gaps in the
theoretical understanding of the Internet’s influence upon journalism.
100
2. The conduct of an exploratory study based upon one of the lists —
Journet — in order to quantify the list discussions, and to categorise
them in terms of their topics and communicative purposes, as a
prelude to the larger grounded theory study. (Reported in Appendix 1.)
3. The posting of a message to the four electronic discussion lists
explaining the project as part of the ethical obligation of the researcher
to the participants.
4. The saving of messages from each of the lists to disk for the
designated collection period.
5. Reduction of the data by conducting a preliminary sort to determine
which of the messages either discussed the influence of the Internet
upon journalism, or demonstrated it in some new way. The analysis
was conducted upon these data only. (The process of data reduction is
explained below.)
6. The analysis of the remaining data, following grounded theory
procedures outlined by Strauss and Corbin (1990).
7. The development of a taxonomy (classification) of the Internet’s
influences upon journalism.
8. The development of a theory of the Internet’s influences upon
journalism and its implications for journalism education.
Some explanation of each of these steps is necessary.
Firstly, the literature review was ongoing as the project proceeded. This was a
research topic of considerable interest to the scholarly community. It was
inevitable that new work would be published during the course of the project
which needed to be incorporated into the literature review and which would
inform the study itself. This ongoing process continued until the project’s final
stages, with literature current as at November 1998.
101
It must be stressed that the purpose of the exploratory study reported in
Appendix 1 was to gauge the quality and quantity of information on one of the
lists under examination over a short period. A basic content analysis was deemed
to be the best means of doing this. While this informed the main part of the study
and provided direction, the larger study used a totally different methodology —
grounded theory — to achieve a different end, the formulation of a theory of the
influence of the Internet upon journalism and its implications for journalism
education.
The data from four discussion lists were collected over a nine week period,
following the posting of a message to the lists explaining the project and its
ethical rationale. (Details of the data collection are featured in Chapter 4 while
discussion of the ethical issues appears later in this section.)
Data were collected and filed to disk in two ways. The Online-News list has its
own Web site featuring an archive of all messages on that list for the previous
year,
at
<www.social.com/cgi-bin/online-news/social/hypermail/news/online_news/>.
Messages for the study were downloaded to disk from the Web site for analysis.
The other three lists allowed for a log of messages during a particular week or
month to be requested of the Listserv. They were then forwarded via electronic
mail. This was done successfully for all but the Journet list, which was undergoing
a change of listserv host during the period. It is likely that the Journet archive for
two of the weeks, the third week of February 1997 and the third week of March,
1997 (coded as J972C and J973C) was incomplete (Frajkor, 1997).
The reduction of the data was an important process. As revealed by the
exploratory study reported in Appendix 1, only some of the discussions were
expected to prove relevant to the project. While all were be filed for future
reference, the reduction process involved the researcher asking the following
questions of the particular message: “Does this contain discussion related to the
influence of the Internet upon journalism or its implications for journalism
education?” and “Does this demonstrate some use of the Internet by journalists or
journalism educators?” If the answer to both questions was “No”, the message
was left out of the larger analysis. This preliminary sort became more rigorous as
102
the project proceeded. It is important to bear in mind that this was not a
quantitative study, concerned with the frequency of a particular discussion theme
or manifestation of Internet usage. Once enough incidences of the same
phenomenon had occurred, future incidences were noted but not subjected to
further analysis since that category had become “saturated”. For example, very
soon it became clear that journalists were using the Internet to share information
about potential sources for stories they were working on. Unless the message
revealed something more than that, or some new dimension of that phenomenon,
it was relegated from the balance of the analysis process, in accordance with the
measures recommended by Strauss and Corbin (1990).
Data analysis followed, listed as step 6 of the procedures above. The data
collection and analysis processes overlapped to some extent. This also is accepted
as a standard occurrence in qualitative research (Strauss & Corbin, 1990). Specific
procedures for data collection, recording, processing and analysis are explained in
the sections immediately following this one and reviewed in Chapter 4.
Steps 7 and 8 involve the actual theorising about the content as the analysis
unfolded. This was perhaps the most challenging part of the project in terms of its
intellectual demands, and thus a separate chapter has been devoted to its
explanation, Chapter 4.
It has already been mentioned that the issue of research ethics arose during the
planning of this research project. It is worthy of further attention and an
explanation of the ethical safeguards which have been put in place, approved by
the Research Ethics Committee of the Queensland University of Technology. A
number of ethical dilemmas arose related to the appropriation of discussion list
participants’ words and ideas for the purposes of the study.
Punch (1994, p. 83) noted there were ethical traps inherent in almost all
research, particularly qualitative field research. He listed the major ethical pitfalls
for qualitative researchers as harm, consent, deception, privacy and confidentiality
of data (Punch, 1994, p. 89). Some arose in this study. However, the researcher
believed there were appropriate procedures available to ensure no-one was
harmed in the process of the research.
103
Punch (1994, p. 90) detailed the principle of “informed consent” as implying
that research subjects have the right to be aware they are being researched and a
right to be informed of the nature of the research. The issue of consent arose in the
project. It was partly the nature of the research site that prompted the dilemma.
Here were discussants taking part in a “virtual” conversation. Should participants
in publicly accessible discussion lists be informed that their discussions were to be
the subject of research? Or did the fact that they had volunteered their comments
to a large community of journalists or journalism educators indicate they were
willing to have their comments analysed by others?
Two main reasons could be proposed justifying a decision not to inform the
participants the research was being conducted. Firstly, the participants were
communication-aware. They were in the information business and were
volunteering their views to an information-aware community of journalists and
scholars. It would be a different matter if they were, for example, participants in a
domestic violence discussion group sharing innermost accounts of their
experiences of the phenomenon with a community of others with similar
experiences. This was not a sharing of very private matters, but a discussion of
journalism and its education. Secondly, the discussion was taking place in a
public, professional, domain — not unlike a session at a convention or in the
letters column of a professional journal. Take, for example, the extract from the
welcome message to Online-News list, quoted above, describing the list as a
“public list” (Online-News, 1996). The researcher could be justified in assuming a
level of implied consent to analyse the participants’ comments in such a forum. It
is recognised that these discussion groups fall on the “public” side of the “privatepublic” scale. Almost anyone with an e-mail account (certainly any journalist or
journalism educator) could subscribe to the discussion lists and observe or
participate in the discussions. The approach is endorsed by the findings of Reavy
(1995, p. 194) whose Q-method study of journalists’ and non-journalists’ attitudes
to Internet reporting found the non-journalists generally accepted the treatment of
Internet discussion list and Usenet newsgroup discussions as “public forums open
to the same rules as face-to-face forums”. The approach also sits well with that
adopted by the Australian courts in the first Internet defamation case, that of
104
Rindos v. Hardwick (1994), where it was held that messages posted to electronic
discussion lists constituted a “publication” for defamation purposes.
Punch (1994, p. 92) suggested qualitative researchers may have become too
sensitive on the privacy issue:
There is no simple distinction between “public” and “private” while
observation in many public and semi-public places is tolerable even
when the subjects are not aware of being observed.
However, this researcher opted to err on the side of caution on this issue and
posted notices to the lists announcing the research was to be conducted. These
procedures are outlined at the end of this section.
Punch (1994, p. 92) also outlined the arguments against gaining entry to a
research site “covertly”. Of course, this is counter to the principles of journalism
as well. Ethical codes state that journalists shall not use surreptitious means to
gain information (MEAA Journalists’ Code of Ethics, 1996.) This researcher
agrees one should not misrepresent one’s identity or gather information by
deception. Again, it is the “virtual” nature of the site which makes this issue
debatable. It is certainly possible to take on a false identity in an Internet
discussion list. This phenomenon has been documented many times (Reid, 1991;
Smith, 1992). Such deception would clearly violate fundamental ethical principles
in research. But what of the practice of simply “lurking” at the sites — monitoring
the conversations without participating in them? If this was adopted as a research
practice in a real life situation it would be fraught with ethical dangers. It might be
the equivalent of secretly taping conversations or observing behaviour through a
one-way mirror without the participants knowing they were being observed.
However, there is an important difference in an Internet discussion situation. The
discussants are aware of an audience, but unaware of the identity of its members.
The participants know there are an unidentified number of “lurkers”
eavesdropping on their conversations. It is not unlike a performance taking place
in a dark theatre where the actors know there is an audience there somewhere but
they are not sure who they are or whether the local newspaper’s theatre critic is
among them. The difference is that at any time a member of the audience can take
105
the stage to respond to something an actor has said. In that way the discussion list
is also comparable with a talkback radio program. Is it deceptive for a researcher
to “eavesdrop” on a talkback radio program and conduct a study about the
comments of the host and the callers? This researcher believes it is not. For these
reasons, the issue of deception is dismissed as a serious ethical concern for this
study.
A similar argument to do with the nature of the medium and its participants and
the “savvy” of the participants was used to dispel concerns about privacy, harm,
identification and confidentiality. The difficulty facing qualitative researchers is
the view that settings and participants should not be identifiable in print and that
they should not suffer harm or embarrassment as a consequence of research
(Punch, 1994, p. 92). Again, these obligations are negated when the participants
are already taking part in public correspondence with no concern for their own
identification. Given a sensitive treatment in the analysis and publication stage, it
would seem the participants could suffer no greater harm or embarrassment than
they had by choosing to post their original messages to the list. Further, given that
they were either journalists or journalism educators, it could be assumed quite
reasonably that they subscribed to the ideals of free speech and academic freedom
which would have them waive any possible claim to anonymity or confidentiality
in an analysis of their participation in such discussions. Nevertheless, precautions
were taken to allow confidentiality to those participants who desired that they
remain anonymous.
The issue of anonymity presents the flip side to the issue of appropriate and due
attribution associated with the law of copyright and academic concerns over
plagiarism. If one redefines the research site of the electronic discussion list as a
“virtual conference”, then its journalistic or academic participants would most
certainly want (at the very least) appropriate attribution for their ideas and (at the
other extreme) suitable remuneration for the excessive appropriation of their work
beyond that which would be expected for educational or news reportage purposes.
Middleton (1995) argued that anything sent to such a list was a kind of
“publication” and should be treated as such.
106
For the researcher, this does not sit well with concerns about the confidentiality
or anonymity of participants. The optimum solution would be to seek out each
discussant and offer them the choice of anonymity or attribution. While desirable,
this had two difficulties. Firstly, the sheer size of the data field (several
megabytes) and the number of participants (several thousand) made this
unachievable with the limited time and resources available. Secondly, a large
proportion of the discussants were uncontactable. Some were a mere name with
no address, while others would have changed their addresses (including e-mail
addresses) during the course of the study. The “optimum” solution was
unachievable.
Another consideration here is the impact of the grounded theory methodological
process upon the data (explained later). Axial coding involves the drawing of
comparisons between data, while selective coding elevates the theory above the
data, moving from description to conceptualisation (Strauss & Corbin, 1990, p.
120). After this process was complete, very little of the original data — the actual
words of the discussants — actually found their way into the final report. Rather,
they had been superseded by the researcher’s own theorising which had been
grounded upon them, supported with quotes from the data only where pertinent.
The prime ethical concern is with the final published work, which contains a
minimal number of connections to the original discussants, so few that any ethical
issues that arise from them were able to be dealt with on a case-by-case basis,
taking appropriate steps. This called for a second, pre-publication phase to the
ethical clearance procedures.
Having identified the potential ethical traps and gaining the approval of the
Ethics Committee, the following precautionary steps were taken:
1. Before the data collection began, the researcher posted the following message
to each of the discussion lists:
Research project notice
During the coming months I will be collecting the text of discussions
on this list for a qualitative research project developing a theory of
the influence of the Internet upon journalism and its implications for
journalism education.
107
The identities of individual discussants will not be revealed in the final
report without their express written permission.
When the research is written up, I plan to post a summary of both the
preliminary and final reports to the list for the interest and comments
of members and make the full report available at a designated Web
site on completion.
Please direct any comments or inquiries about this project to me
personally at the email address listed below, headed “Research
project comment”.
Thank you for your co-operation.
Mark Pearson
Bond University
Queensland Australia
[email protected]
2. When the data analysis was complete all participants quoted were contacted
seeking their permission to use their words in the report. Those not contactable,
and those who elected thus, were quoted anonymously. A total of 39 discussants
agreed to having their comments attributed to them by name in the final report.
3. After the examination process is complete, it is proposed a note will be posted
to each of the lists summarising the findings and stating that the full preliminary
report is available for perusal and comment on a nominated Web site.
It was anticipated that the execution of these procedures should satisfy concerns
about attribution, consent, deception, privacy and confidentiality and result in no
harm being done to any of the participants.
3.7
Data Collection and Recording
Huberman and Miles (1994, p. 428) defined “data management” as “the
operations needed for a systematic, coherent process of data collection, storage
and retrieval”. This section details those operations.
Data collection and recording were conducted in accordance with the guidelines
suggested by the proponents of grounded theory techniques (Glaser & Strauss,
1967; Strauss, 1987; Strauss & Corbin, 1990). Marshall and Rossman (1989, p.
79) outlined a range of data collection techniques available to qualitative
108
researchers. The techniques of document analysis and what they describe as
“unobtrusive measures” best suited the techniques proposed for this study — the
saving and analysis of relevant messages to electronic discussion lists.
For this study, the data were collected by saving all messages to each of the
electronic discussion lists to hard disk for the period of the study. The collection
period was the nine weeks beginning February 1, 1997. Storage and retrieval was
performed using the qualitative data management software NUD.IST, which
stands for “Non-numerical Unstructured Data Indexing, Searching and
Theorising” (Richards and Richards, 1990b, p. 4). The actual operations of
NUD.IST have been well outlined by Richards and Richards (1990b), however the
key features utilised in this project were the attachment of headers to documents,
the division of documents into text units and sections, indexing, formatting,
retrieving and node building. It was not anticipated that the text would be broken
into extremely small units or that the search function would be used extensively
since there did not seem to be any advantage to this project in conducting
intensive discourse analysis. The emphasis was to work towards theory building
as explained below.
The computer-aided storage and retrieval system also facilitated the retention of
the material and its successive manifestations, as recommended by Huberman and
Miles (1994, p. 431). They suggested 11 items which should be retained for
several years after the project to assist in establishing replicability. They included
the raw material, partially processed data, coded data, the coding scheme or
thesaurus, memos and other analysis, search and retrieval records, data displays,
analysis episodes, report text, general chronological log or documentation and the
index of all the above material. NUD.IST allowed all of this to be kept on line for
later access.
3.7.1 Storage, retrieval and reduction
The process of storage and retrieval was as follows. All correspondence on the
four discussion lists for the nine weeks was saved to hard disk. These original files
were kept for later reference. Because of the large quantity of data collected, the
109
data was reduced. All four lists were subjected to analysis for the first of the nine
weeks. Thereafter, only one of the lists was subjected to analysis for each of the
following eight weeks on a rotating basis, meaning data from three weeks of each
list formed part of the final analysis. Further reduction was necessary. Copies of
those files were edited down to all messages related to the influence of the
Internet upon journalism practice and education. These included documents which
demonstrated some influence as well as those which discussed influences. (For
example, a journalist might ask for an Internet reference for a source she was
pursuing, while another might debate the veracity of such sources.) Once the
documents had been reduced to such Internet-only topics, they were broken into
single text units and sections, each with their own header attached, and loaded into
NUD.IST in an indexed form. This formed the basis of the analysis process,
which involved further formatting, retrieving and node building as theories were
developed, detailed in the next chapter.
3.8
Data Processing and Analysis
Huberman and Miles (1994, p. 428-9) detailed three linked subprocesses in
qualitative data analysis: data reduction, data display and conclusion drawing /
verification. To Huberman and Miles (1994, p. 429) data reduction occurred as the
“potential universe is reduced in an anticipatory way as the researcher chooses a
conceptual framework, research questions, cases and instruments”. They defined
data display as “an organised, compressed assembly of information that permits
conclusion drawing and/or action taking”, facilitating the researcher’s thinking
about the meaning of the data. Finally, they defined conclusion drawing and
verification as the opportunity for the researcher to interpret, “drawing meaning
from displayed data”. Marshall and Rossman (1989, p. 113) explained that data
collection and analysis “go hand in hand to promote the emergence of substantive
theory grounded in empirical data”. This section outlines the procedures used in
the grounded theory methodology, considers how software such as NUD.IST
facilitated such a process and, finally, how the strategies were implemented in the
project.
110
3.8.1 Grounded theory techniques and their accommodation
Turner (1981, pp. 226-227) listed several advantages to the researcher in using a
grounded theory approach. Firstly, it aided the development of theories which
conformed closely to the situations or phenomena being observed. Secondly, the
theories were likely to be complex enough to account for the complexities of the
phenomena. Thirdly, the researcher was directed “immediately to the creative core
of the research process”.
Specific techniques of data analysis are associated with the grounded theory
approach and were used in this study. They included the techniques of open
coding, axial coding and selective coding as well as the display technique of the
conditional matrix. Each will be explained briefly here, as they are inherent to the
approach adopted.
However, it is important to note that there is no single approach to grounded
theory unanimously endorsed by its originators. To the contrary, Barney Glaser
and Anselm Strauss, authors of the foundational work The Discovery of Grounded
Theory (1967), have more recently disagreed publicly on many of the techniques
that should be used. Glaser (1992) took issue with the approaches of Strauss and
Corbin (1990), suggesting their techniques produced “a forced, preconceived, full
conceptual description, which is fine, but it is not grounded theory”. Rather than
attempt a purist approach from either perspective, this researcher decided to
follow the basic principles of grounded theory as gleaned from the general
literature on the approach, but adapt the techniques where necessary in the
interests of the project. That said, the following grounded theory techniques were
put into practice:
a. Open coding
Strauss and Corbin (1990, p. 61) defined “open coding” as “the process of
breaking down, examining, comparing, conceptualising and categorising data”. It
involves the labelling of phenomena (Strauss & Corbin, 1990, p. 63), the
discovering of categories (Strauss & Corbin, 1990, p. 65), the naming of
111
categories (Strauss & Corbin, 1990, p. 67), the developing of categories in terms
of their properties and dimensions (Strauss & Corbin, 1990, p. 69) and the writing
of code notes (Strauss & Corbin, 1990, p. 73). The categories are formed through
the labelling and grouping of similar incidents (Strauss & Corbin, 1990, p. 74).
Strauss (1987, p. 63) noted that the process of open coding served a
“springboard” function in the analysis.
The analyst does not remain totally bound within the domain of these
data, but quickly jumps off to wonder or speculate or hypothesise
about data, and phenomena, at least a little removed from the
immediate phenomenon.
Strauss (1987, p. 64) proposed that the codes developed at this stage were only
provisional. Later sessions may or may not sustain their usefulness.
b. Axial coding
Strauss (1987, p. 64) noted that the researcher had to make an important choice to
code more intensively around particular categories. This focus became the “axis”
of the category being studied, with comparisons being made between this and
other categories, building up a “dense texture of relationships”. Strauss (1987, p.
64) broke this process into three stages:
• The laying out of the category’s properties by dimensionalising it;
• Hypothesising about the phenomena associated with the category,
specifying conditions and consequences, interactions and strategies
associated with it; and,
• Relating the category to other categories.
This takes the coding process to a new depth and closer to the development of
theory. Strauss and Corbin (1990, p. 96) defined “axial coding” as:
112
A set of procedures whereby data are put back together in new ways
after open coding, by making connections between categories. This is
done by utilising a coding paradigm involving conditions, context,
action / interactional strategies and consequences.
Axial coding is where the conceptual demands upon the researcher become more
complex because it is an iterative process of inductive and deductive thinking,
involving repeated comparisons and questioning (Strauss & Corbin, 1990, p. 114).
The key to it is the linkage of subcategories to a category using a set of
relationships denoting causal conditions, phenomena, context, intervening
conditions, action/interactional strategies and consequences (Strauss & Corbin,
1990, p. 99).
This is the key to grounded theory as proposed by Glaser and Strauss (1967, p.
106) as the “constant comparison method of qualitative analysis”. The defining
rule for the procedure, they noted, was that while an incident was being coded for
a category it should be compared with previous incidents in the same and different
groups coded in the same category. Through this constant comparison process,
theoretical properties in the category begin to emerge.
c. Selective coding
Selective coding takes the project to a higher plane, with the researcher required
to decide upon the category or categories central to the study. Here, all other
subordinate categories and subcategories are systematically linked to the core
category (Strauss, 1987, p. 69). Strauss and Corbin (1990, p. 116) defined
“selective coding” as: “The process of selecting the core category, systematically
relating it to other categories, validating those relationships, and filling in
categories that need further refinement and development”. This is the stage of
higher theoretical development, integrating concepts into a clear story line and
translating these into an analytic story. This involves the selection of a core
category and the relating of other major categories to it (Strauss & Corbin, 1990,
p. 142). It begins with a shift from description to conceptualisation (Strauss &
Corbin, 1990, p. 120); prioritising the salient phenomena (Strauss & Corbin, 1990,
113
p. 121); determining the properties and dimensions of the core category (Strauss
& Corbin, 1990, p. 123); relating other categories to the core category (Strauss &
Corbin, 1990, p. 124); validating the relationships (Strauss & Corbin, 1990, p.
129) and validating the theory against the data (Strauss & Corbin, 1990, p. 133)
— “grounding” the theory in the data.
Strauss and Corbin (1990, p. 176) defined “theoretical sampling” as
sampling on the basis of concepts that have proven theoretical
relevance to the evolving theory. [Proven theoretical relevance]
indicates that concepts are deemed to be significant because they are
repeatedly present or notably absent when comparing incident after
incident, and are of sufficient importance to be given the status of
categories.
The significance of this expression is that it reinforces the fact that in grounded
theory researchers sample events and incidents which inform theoretically
relevant concepts (Strauss & Corbin, 1990, p. 193). Sampling varies in its nature
and its rigor at the different levels of coding. Glaser and Strauss (1967, p. 110)
explained that the procedures contribute to a delimiting of the theory as the coding
unfolds. The theory “solidifies” as major amendments become less frequent as the
analyst accommodates new findings into the theory or fine-tunes it when they
cannot be accommodated. This continues until the categories become
“theoretically saturated”, a point at which the data is no longer highlighting new
aspects of a category (Glaser & Strauss, 1967, p. 111). Glaser and Strauss (1967,
p. 62-63) drew the distinction between adequate sampling in qualitative research
and that in quantitative research. While the quantitative sample is judged on the
basis of established statistical techniques of random and stratified sampling, the
theoretical sample is judged by how widely and diversely the analyst has chosen
groups for saturating categories. Such a process was instigated for the data in this
study, with categories and sub-categories being developed to the point of
“theoretical saturation” where no new conceptual insights were emerging from the
data.
114
The proponents of grounded theory also support the use of visual devices to help
formulate and articulate relationships among and within categories. Strauss and
Corbin (1990, p. 158) define the “conditional matrix” as
An analytic aid, a diagram, useful for considering the wide range of
conditions and consequences related to the phenomenon under study.
The matrix enables the analyst to both distinguish and link levels of
conditions and consequences.
Strauss and Corbin (1990, p. 159) explain that grounded theory is a “transactional
system”, with any phenomenon being examined through action / interactional
sequences. The conditional matrix is the “complex web of interrelated conditions,
action / interaction, and consequences that pertains to a given phenomenon”
(Strauss & Corbin, 1990, p. 161). It is an analytic tool for capturing and describing
the conditions and consequences which might impact upon a phenomenon
(Strauss & Corbin, 1990, p. 175).
Strauss (1987, p. 143) explained that such “operational visual devices” were an
often useful, though strictly optional, method of helping the researcher
conceptualise and visualise the relationships between and within categories.
Turner (1981, p. 231) developed a nine-point listing of the stages in a grounded
theory study which accommodated the above procedures but expressed them in a
more straighforward way. Turner’s stages were:
1. Develop categories: Use the data available to develop labelled
categories which fit the data closely.
2. Saturate categories: Accumulate examples of a given category
until it is clear what future instances would be located in this category.
3. Abstract definitions: Abstract a definition of the category by
stating in a general form the criteria for putting further instances into
this category.
115
4. Use the definitions: Use the definitions as a guide to emerging
features of importance in further fieldwork, and as a stimulus for
theoretical reflection.
5. Exploit categories fully: Be aware of additional categories
suggested by those you have produced, their inverse, their opposite,
more specific and more general instances.
6. Note, develop and follow up links between categories: Begin to
note relationships and develop hypotheses about the links between the
categories.
7. Consider the conditions under which the links hold: Examine
any apparent or hypothesised relationships and try to specify the
conditions.
8. Make connections, where relevant, to existing theory: Build
bridges to existing work at this stage, rather than at the outset of the
research.
9. Use extreme comparisons to the maximum to test emerging
relationships: Identify the key variables and dimensions and see
whether the relationship holds at the extremes of these variables.
These steps were followed with the assistance of the computer analysis program
explained below.
3.8.2 Impact of computer-aided analysis
All of these processes — both the foundational principles as they apply to
qualitative research generally and the specific procedures required of grounded
theory methodology — can be executed using appropriate software. It is vital to
stress at this point that the software is only a tool to assist in the implementation
of already sound qualitative analysis techniques. It is not an end in itself. It does
not replace the need for methodological rigor nor can it take the place of the
researcher in the conceptualisation of the project and the inevitable decision
making about data selection and reduction.
116
Nevertheless, it can certainly provide mechanisms for the effective handling of
unstructured data and enhance the rigor of a qualitative study by providing tools
— electronic indexing systems, note books, filing cabinets, word processors,
research assistants, calculators and mapping functions — which would otherwise
have to be done manually and in a linear way. The NUD.IST program selected for
use in this study allowed for the recording, storage and indexing of data. The
program allowed data to be stored in tree-structured indexes, facilitating a
developing database of both the original documents and the researcher’s notes on
their conceptualisation. Searches were also indexable, conceptual development
traceable and conceptualised by the graphic display of the evolving relationships
in tree form (Richards and Richards, 1991b, p. 45), which could apply to
categories and sub-categories (Richards and Richards, 1991b, p. 51). The result
was the capability of ongoing analysis of index systems and their theoretical
content without losing essential links with the text (Richards and Richards, 1991b,
p. 52).
3.8.3 Validity and reliability
Important methodological issues span the processes of data collection,
management and analysis. They are the issues of validity and reliability, which
parade under several guises and have been the subject of semantic debates
between qualitative and quantitative researchers. The term “validity” has taken on
different meanings for the two research approaches, although scholars in both use
it to refer to the level of academic rigor of the research process. The semantic
difference stems from the fact that the term “validity” and the procedures
associated with it had been well entrenched in quantitative research before it was
adopted by the qualitative school. Bryman (1988, p. 28) explained that, in
quantitative research, validity referred to the issue of how a researcher could be
sure a measure actually reflected the concept it was meant to reflect. In a similar
way, the term “replication” has a tradition in quantitative research, entrenched in
the natural sciences, with the results of experiments only being accepted by the
scientific community if they achieve the same results if repeated under the same
conditions (Bryman, 1988, p. 37).
117
Qualitative researchers have been forced to rethink terms such as “validity”,
“generalisability” and “reliability”, terms which Denzin and Lincoln (1994, p. 11)
contended have already been “retheorised” in postpositivist, constructionistnaturalistic, feminist and interpretive discourses. Most qualitative researchers
have not rejected notions of validity and rigour out of hand, but have reshaped
them to be more appropriate to their methods and aims. In developing their criteria
for assessing interpretive validity in qualitative research, Altheide and Johnson
(1994, p. 488) argued that validity of research depended on the needs of the
“interpretive communities” to whom it was addressed and the goals of the
research itself. “Validity will be quite different for different audiences,” they
contended.
Others work at the empirical end of the qualitative spectrum and have devised
actual mechanisms for evaluating the validity of qualitative research, while
recognising this will be approached in a different way from the quantitative
approach. Marshall and Rossman (1989, p. 144) talked of the “criteria of
soundness” of a qualitative project and the need to develop a logic “that will
solidly defend the proposal”. Morse (1994, p. 230) used a different taxonomy in
suggesting a number of ways of ensuring the rigor of a qualitative project,
including the need for ensuring the adequacy and appropriateness of data;
auditing; verification with secondary informants; and the use of multiple raters.
Adequacy, according to Morse (1994, p. 230) is the principle of ensuring
sufficient data have been collected. Data should be collected until “saturation”
occurs and variation explicable. As explained above, it was anticipated a
“saturation” point may be reached where new issues and categories were failing to
emerge and commentary was becoming redundant. This was not seen as a
problem. Qualitative research is usually based upon much less data than was
available for this project. As Miles and Huberman (1994, p. 27) noted, qualitative
research is usually concerned with small samples of people “nested in their
context, and studied in-depth” and that qualitative samples tend to be “purposive,
rather than random”.
Appropriateness refers to the suitability of the sampling to the theoretical needs
of the study. “Sampling occurs purposefully, rather than by some form of random
selection from a purposefully chosen population, as in quantitative research”,
118
wrote Morse (1994, p. 230). As noted above, grounded theorists call such an
approach to sampling “theoretical sampling”, allowing for sampling decisions to
be made during the whole research process and requiring the researcher to engage
in a dialogue of constant comparison with the data (Hutchinson, 1988, p. 136).
Morse (1994, p. 230) explained the audit trail involved six types of
documentation: “raw data, data reduction and analysis products, data
reconstruction and synthesis products, process notes, materials relating to
intentions and dispositions, and instrument development information”.
Verification of the study with secondary informants involves taking the model
back to the informants and presenting it to them, confirming the accuracy of the
study and perhaps eliciting more information (Morse, 1994, p. 230). Morse (1994,
p. 231) recommended against using the quantitative model of ensuring reliability
and validity by using multiple raters. She contended this went against the grain of
the inductive nature of qualitative inquiry, introducing an investigator with
different insights and lacking the experience of analysis on the project. “No one
takes a second reader to the library to check that indeed he or she is interpreting
the original sources correctly, so why does anyone need a reliability checker for
his or her data?” she asked (Morse, 1994, p. 231).
Grounded theory exponents use yet another set of descriptors to conceptualise
the process of ensuring rigor in projects using their methodology. The key concept
is “verification”, applied to the checking of discovered theory against new data
and new coding as the project proceeds (Strauss, 1987, p. 17). Strauss and Corbin
(1990) offered several strategies for validation and verification, including the use
of the technical literature as “supplementary validation” to the accuracy of
findings (1990, p. 52); verifying hypotheses against actual data (1990, p. 107); and
the seeking out of explanations as to why particular cases might not fit the
developing theory (1990, p. 139-140).
This project was designed to address most of the above concerns with rigor
using a range of strategies. It endeavoured to cover the requirements of both
adequacy and appropriateness. There was enough data available (several
megabytes of discussion list conversations) to fulfil the project’s needs.
Discussions of implications of the Internet for journalism were selected as those
119
appropriate to the study. Each of these document types was auditable using the
NUDIST software, which comes equipped with mechanisms for maintaining an
ongoing log of the developing project, including memos relating to problems,
issues and verification strategies. The gathering of data from more than one
discussion list sits well with Huberman and Miles’ (1994, p. 435)
recommendation for cross-case analysis, looking at multiple cases in multiple
settings to enhance generalisability. Marshall and Rossman (1989, p. 146)
explained that such triangulation by using multiple cases and bringing in data
from different sources strengthened a study’s usefulness. Finally, a basic multiple
rater procedure was implemented, detailed in Chapter 4 below.
3.9
Limitations
Every study has its limitations. Some potential limitations of this project must be
noted.
Firstly, the data collected spanned all discussions on the lists during the period.
The researcher had to decide which of those data had some relevance to the core
topic — the influence of the Internet upon journalism and its implications for
journalism education. This was clearly a subjective process. To begin with, the
researcher was casting a very wide net, working from a broad definition of what
may be relevant data. As the project proceeded, in accordance with the grounded
theory principles, only the data most pertinent to the research focus qualified for
collection. Such a narrowing was suitably noted at the time of collection and an
appropriate memo written for explanation. The point here is that much depended
upon the judgement of the researcher.
Morse (1994, p. 225) noted that “qualitative research is only as good as the
investigator”. She listed versatility with research methods, patience, persistence,
meticulousness, and the ability to recognise leads as key requirements of a
qualitative researcher (Morse, 1994, p. 226). To this researcher, it seems such
attributes are also the hallmarks of good journalism. The research project at hand
involved little in the way of role management. Discussion lists were being
monitored and analysed without the researcher forming part of the scene. In fact,
120
that was the only decision regarding the researcher’s role: whether to be a
discussant on the lists being researched; whether to become a participant whose
words, in turn, would be analysed. It may well be acceptable to do exactly that.
However, this researcher reached the decision not to participate in the lists being
analysed because the researcher would not normally subscribe to all of the lists
and be privy to the discussions taking place. Rather than complicate the analysis
with the researcher’s own contributions, the decision was taken not to participate
for the data collection period. (Some might argue with this, of course. The
researcher’s “withdrawal” from the list he normally subscribed to, Journet, could
be portrayed as a corruption of the data in that the researcher’s own routine
contributions represented a valid role in their own right, worthy of analysis, and
their absence may well have deprived the project of strings of valuable data.)
The researcher’s own prior experience is relevant to his or her role in that it has
the potential to both enhance and detract from the study. This researcher has 12
years of experience in postgraduate scholarly research (mainly in history and law
using historical and legal analysis but with one project using quantitative
methods) as well as 15 years’ experience as a journalist. Of course, potentially
there were both positive and negative aspects to this background as it affected the
project at hand. The historical and legal research background provided an
understanding of the research process and a competence in those research
approaches. The experience as a journalist provided skills and understandings not
dissimilar to those listed by Morse (1994, p. 226) and cited above. Of course,
journalists exercise such skills on shorter deadlines. Nevertheless, there appears to
be much in common between the journalistic and the qualitative research
approaches.
Morse (1994, p. 221) saw it as important that the researcher recognised why he
or she had selected a topic for study. This researcher has no difficulty providing
an answer for this question, having been involved from an early stage with the
exploration of journalistic applications of the Internet (Pearson, 1993). This has
extended to the development of projects with tertiary journalism students where
the Internet has been used as the primary means of research and publishing, often
challenging techniques used traditionally in journalism.
121
The following chapter, Chapter 4, reports upon the practical implementation of the
methodology; presents a summary of the key results; and demonstrates the
relationship of the results to the original research questions.
122
Chapter 4:
Introduction to Results and Discussion
4.0 Introduction
This chapter provides a mechanism for introducing and explaining the structure of
the analysis chapters. It reports upon the practical implementation of the
methodology; presents a summary of the key results; and demonstrates the
relationship of the results to the original research questions.
4.1 Centrality of research questions to the structure of remaining chapters
Chapters 4 to 7 contain the results of the data analysis and the discussion of
arising issues in the context of the literature reviewed in Chapter 2. This structure
is designed to allow the best opportunity to address the research questions
outlined at the beginning of this thesis document.
The two key research questions were:
1. What do journalists’ and their educators’ electronic discussions tell
us about the influence of the Internet upon journalism?; and
2. What are the implications of this for journalism education?
Two sub-questions were identified as being important to the development of a
theory of the influence of the Internet upon journalism and the implications for
journalism education. They were:
a. How are the Internet's influences upon journalism best
categorised? and
b. What new tasks or practices have journalists adopted in their work
as a result of the use of the Internet?
The structure as outlined allows the optimum opportunity to address these
questions.
This chapter, Chapter 4, provides a vehicle for addressing sub-question “a”
related to the categorisation of the Internet’s influences upon journalism. Part of
124
the value of this study has been to develop categories of influence, a conditional
matrix showing the ways the Internet has influenced journalism, as chronicled by
the discussions under analysis. This chapter presents that matrix and its categories
in textual form.
Chapter 5 sets the scene by presenting and discussing the results relating to
the influences of the Internet upon the context in which journalism is practised:
the cultural, communicative, environmental, legal and ethical, media-related and
audience-related considerations which inform journalists’ work. This discussion
begins to address the first key research question and establishes the skeleton for a
framework answering sub-question “a”.
Chapter 6 presents the results and discussion related directly to the first
research question: the actual direct influences of the Internet upon the very
practice of journalism; taking into account the news topics journalists choose to
report upon, their methods of research, their writing procedures and their editing
and publishing practices. Sub-question “a” is also addressed here with the
continued development of a framework categorising the Internet’s influences upon
journalism. This chapter also covers, by implication, sub-question “b”, in that it
identifies and discusses new tasks and practices journalists have adopted in their
work as a result of Internet use.
Chapter 7 addresses the second primary question by identifying and discussing
the implications of these influences for journalism education. It does this in two
ways: firstly, it reports upon the journalists’ and educators’ own discussions about
such implications; and, secondly, it presents and discusses a number of important
educational issues that arise from the previous analysis which have not been
addressed by discussants.
Chapter 8, the Conclusion, draws upon the main themes of the preceding three
chapters to present in textual form a theory of the influence of the Internet upon
journalism practice and its educational implications.
125
Chapters 5-8 are written in the narrative style in which grounded theory
research is reported: the telling of the story of the theories in a narrative form
(Glaser, 1992). Here, the story is that of the influences of the Internet upon
journalism and the implications for journalism education.
An explanation of the application of grounded theory procedures to the analysis
is presented below at 4.3.
4.2 Report upon data collection and computer analysis
Data were collected from the four electronic discussion lists: CARR-L (Computer
Aided Research and Reporting List); Online-News (a list for those publishing
electronic newspapers); SPJ-L (Society of Professional Journalists List); and
Journet (Discussion List for Journalism Educators). A total of 1217 messages
across the four subject lists over a nine week period beginning February 1, 1997
were analysed. Of these, 629 informed the study, while 588 were deemed to be
saturated or irrelevant to the study. A numeric breakdown of the analysis of each
list appears at Appendix 2.
(Saturation is a natural and necessary part of qualitative research. A high level
of saturation is expected in a study such as this, since much discussion takes place
on such discussion lists which has nothing to do with the topic at hand. This is
explained further below at 4.3).
4.3 Analysis procedures: grounded theory in practice
The analysis process which follows accords with Strauss and Corbin’s (1990)
recommended grounded theory steps. The software program NUD.IST was used
to facilitate the analysis task. Stage One coding, based on all four lists over a
single week represented the “open coding” stage, described by Strauss and Corbin
(1990, p. 61-73). This involved the labelling of phenomena, the discovery, naming
and developing of categories and the writing of code notes. (As explained at 3.9
above). Strauss’s (1987, p.64) second stage, that of “axial coding”, involved more
126
intensive coding around particular categories. This was conducted during both
phases of the coding process as categories were revisited, sub-categories linked
and connections made between codings, allowing theoretical properties in the
category to emerge. Strauss’ (1987, p. 69) final coding stage, “selective coding”,
involves the researcher deciding upon the category or categories central to the
study. To some extent, the research questions pre-determined this core category:
influences of the Internet upon journalism practice and the implications for
journalism education. But it involved going further than this by developing a
theory of such influences and implications, grounded in the data as coded, to add a
theoretical dimension to the analysis of each major category and identified the
common threads which linked categories and articulated crucial relationships.
This was an iterative process, which began during the Stage Two coding process
and continued through to the final write-up of the results and discussion as each
category’s memos were revisited and retheorised.
All messages for a particular week were read for initial coding purposes. A
record was kept of those deemed saturated, irrelevant or superfluous to the
research questions and they were then filed separately. As the analysis progressed,
more were categorised as saturated because they shed no new light on the
particular category. This was in accordance with the principles on data reduction
laid down by Glaser and Strauss (1967, p. 111) who described “theoretical
saturation” as the point at which data are no longer shedding light on new aspects
of a category. For example, the category ‘2.2.2.3 Web resources used by
journalists’ lists a range of Web sites journalists use in their reporting. Numerous
examples arose in the very early stages of coding, so many in fact that the point of
saturation was soon reached because new examples of such sites added nothing
new to the analysis. Other data were coded to the “Saturated” category because
they were simply irrelevant or superfluous to the key research questions. For
example, some messages were repeated accidentally through a user or server error
or arrived with unintelligible coding or a blank page. Overall, 588 (48%) of the
total 1217 messages fell into the “Saturated” category. This is understandable,
since discussion lists are used to debate much more than the influences of the
Internet upon journalism and saturation point was achieved relatively soon in
many categories.
127
The fundamental criterion used for deciding whether any part of a document
was worth coding for the purposes of the study was focussed clearly on the
research question. The researcher asked “What does this tell me about the
influences of the Internet upon journalism or its implications for journalism
education?”. If the data shed new light on this question it would be coded and if it
shed light in a novel area a new category would be developed or a previous
category would be re-evaluated and the relevant data coded to it reassessed in the
light of the change.
The 629 messages shedding light on the study under these criteria were each
given a unique identification number, tagged according to their subject, sender
and date and were printed in hard copy form. Each message was then introduced
into the NUD.IST program and coded according to the developing list of
categories, outlined below. Some messages were coded into several categories,
while others were deemed to be relevant to only a single category.
As a phenomenon arose which was not adequately addressed by a category, a
new category would be developed. The categories themselves were continually
being compared, contrasted and adapted to better meet the needs of the data as
new issues arose, in accordance with the axial coding procedures outlined by
Strauss (1987, p. 64). The NUD.IST program facilitated this continual process of
change, since it logged each document attached to a particular category. This
allowed for an easy return to the particular documents to make necessary coding
revisions as amendments were made to the categories in which they were coded.
NUD.IST’s most sophisticated features of textual analysis were not used in the
project, for fear they would detract from the interpretative, constant comparison
approach adopted in using the grounded theory analysis techniques.
Stage One of the analysis process involved the analysis of 526 messages during
the first week of February 1997 across all four lists: CARR-L, Online-News, SPJL, and Journet. Of these, 396 were deemed worthy of coding. This phase resulted
in the development of three major categories through which to examine the
influence of the Internet: Influences upon the Context of Journalism Practice;
128
Influences upon Journalism Practice itself; and the Implications for Journalism
Education. Each of these three categories had several sub-categories which, in
turn, often had their own sub-categories, giving more than 100 categories in all.
Stage Two of the analysis involved the focussing, in turn, upon a week of
messages from each of the four lists through a further eight week period, meaning
that at the end of the analysis period each of the lists had been analysed over three
full weeks, the first as part of the initial week’s analysis of all four lists, and the
second and third times as individual analyses of that particular list. (This explains
why so many messages were analysed from the first week of collection,
contrasting with the relatively small number in ensuing weeks.)
The map of influences developed during the Stage One analysis was fine-tuned
during the second stage, with categories being adapted as new data presented
original insights or challenged previous insights. The map of influences as
developed after the full analysis period is presented in Appendix 3.
An inter-rater reliability check was performed on 10 messages during the course
of the analysis, with two independent raters categorising each of the messages into
the 14 major sub-categories of their choice. Level One reliability was achieved if
either of the raters classified the message into the same primary category (1, 2 or
3) as the researcher. This was achieved in 80 per cent of cases. Level Two
reliability was achieved if either of the raters classified the message into the same
secondary category (1.1, 1.2, 1.3 etc) as the researcher. This was achieved in only
50 per cent of cases, which prompted the researcher to clarify each category and
fine-tune the category classifications to avoid duplication and misinterpretation.
The development of categories and the coding of individual messages to those
categories was an important first step in the analysis process, but more important
was the development of memoranda relating to each category, justifying its
existence, defining its parameters, theorising about and exemplifying its content,
comparing and contrasting it with other categories, and articulating its
relationships to other categories. While several categories demonstrated
129
relationships with each other, each was exclusive to the extent that no two
categories addressed overlapping concepts.
This approach was in accordance with Glaser and Strauss’ (1967) constant
comparison approach to data analysis. A schema was developed to assist with the
analysis process, drawing upon recommended coding procedures outlined in
Strauss and Corbin (1990, Chapter 12).
Data for each category were reviewed before memos were developed under the
following code note headings:
Date:
Node Number:
Heading for category:
General comments:
Conceptual labels:
Paradigm features:
Theoretical notes:
Relationships:
Variations:
Processes:
Causal conditions:
Phenomenon:
Context:
Educational implications:
Strategies:
Intervening conditions:
Action/interaction:
Consequences:
Conditional matrix:
Operational notes:
Diagrams:
Skeletal memoranda were developed for each category in accordance with the
above schema after the first week’s data from all four lists (Stage One) had been
coded. During the Stage Two coding process the memoranda were updated with
new insights and comments emanating from the messages being coded to the
categories. Some new categories were introduced and others were repositioned in
the framework during this process. By the end of the eight weeks of Stage Two
coding each category had been subject to considerable further analysis, with gaps
in understandings narrowed and numerous examples catalogued for important
130
insights. The point of “theoretical saturation” had been reached, with the data
offering no new conceptual understanding to the analysis (Glaser & Strauss, 1967,
p. 111). The notes written under these headings formed the core material for the
analysis presented in Chapters 5-7 of this document.
4.4 Summary of categories and results
A single core category and an accompanying core result emerged from the
analysis process, along with three subsidiary key categories and three key results.
These categories and results constitute the main findings of the project and
address directly the research questions. In grounded theory research, the telling of
the story and the theories which develop as the narrative unfolds is a more useful
process than the listing of results. Nevertheless, in the interests of clarity, the core
category, the three key categories and the associated results of the study are
summarised here in prose form and appear in diagrammatic form in Table 4.1.
131
Core Category: The Newest Journalism: Multi-Journalism
Core Result: Influences of the Internet upon journalism are so momentous that they represent the
emergence of a new multi-dimensional and multi-purposed endeavour, “Multi-Journalism”, with
profound implications for journalism education.
Research questions addressed: 1 and 2, sub-questions a and b.
Key Category 1: Influences of
Key Category 2: Influences of
Key Category 3: Implications
the Internet upon the context
the Internet upon the practice
of these influences for
of journalism.
of journalism.
journalism education.
Focuses on key contextual
Numerous influences of the
Issues and phenomena
domains underpinning
Internet upon the actual work
shedding light on the
journalism reportage which
of journalists; including their
educational implications of
are themselves being
news values, reporting topics,
influences upon journalism’s
influenced by the Internet.
research and writing practices
context and practice:
and editing and publishing
educational resources,
techniques.
methods, curricula and
Key Result 1: Context in
which journalism reportage is
outcomes.
practised is itself being
Key Result 2: The very
influenced markedly by the
practice of journalism has
Key Result 3: Influences of
advent of the Internet. This
been transformed in
the Internet upon both the
has profound implications for
identifiable ways through the
context of journalism and its
the very raison d’être for
use of the Internet.
practice render current
journalism as a social
Manifestations span the depth
approaches anachronistic and
institution and raises serious
and breadth of journalism
demand a re-evaluation of the
questions about its future role
practice, with monumental
aim, role and function of
and direction.
implications for the way
journalism education.
journalists work.
Research questions
Research questions
Research questions
addressed: Question 1 (in
addressed: Question 1 and
addressed: Question 2
part).
sub-questions a. and b.
Table 4.1 Core category and core result, key categories and key results and
research question connections.
132
Core Category: The Newest Journalism: Multi-Journalism
This is the main, overarching theoretical concept to emanate from the study which
represents a synthesis of all three of the category-based results listed below and
addresses the totality of the research questions posited. It is the conceptualisation
that grounded theory research deems the “core category”, the fulcrum for an allencompassing theory grounded in the data which is the focal point of the study
(Strauss, 1987, p. 69).
Core Result: The influences of the Internet upon the context in which journalism
is practised and upon the very practice of journalism itself are so momentous that
they represent the emergence of an endeavour which, while retaining many of the
characteristics of journalism as we have known it, is too fragmented, multidimensional and multi-purposed to be classified as such, a notion which has
profound implications for journalism education. The researcher coins the term
“Multi-Journalism” to describe this new manifestation of journalism as an
occupation.
The Core Category and the Core Result emerge through the discussion in
Chapters 5-7. They address both research questions and both sub-questions and
their discussion forms the basis of the concluding Chapter 8.
Key Category 1: Influences of the Internet upon the context of journalism.
This category focuses on the key contextual domains which underpin journalism
and which are themselves being influenced by the Internet. To this category were
coded six sub-categories representing identifiable influences of the Internet upon
the context in which journalism is practised, including: journalists’ culture;
communication between each other; their work environment; legal and ethical
issues impinging upon them; the media in which they work; and the audiences
they serve.
Key Result 1: The context in which journalism is practised is itself being
influenced markedly by the advent of the Internet. This has profound implications
for the very raison ’dêtre for journalism as a social institution and raises serious
questions about its future role and direction.
133
Key Category 1 and Key Result 1 are discussed in Chapter 5 and begin to
address Research Question 1.
Key Category 2: Influences of the Internet upon the actual practice of
journalism.
To this category were coded four sub-categories under which were identified
numerous influences of the Internet upon the actual work journalists do; from the
news values they ascribe to events, through to the topics they choose for reporting,
their research and writing practices and their editing and publishing techniques.
Key Result 2: The very practice of journalism has been transformed in numerous
identifiable ways through the use of the Internet. While the quantification of these
influences is beyond the realms of this study, its manifistations have been
documented here. They span the depth and breadth of journalism practice, with
monumental implications for the way journalists go about their work.
Category 2 and Result 2 are addressed in Chapter 6. They offer answers to
Research Question 1 and Sub-questions a and b.
Key Category 3: Implications of these influences for journalism education.
Coded to this category were issues and phenomena identified by discussants
which shed light on the educational implications of these influences upon
journalism’s context and practice. Four sub-categories emerged, dividing the
category into implications for educational resources, methods, curricula and
outcomes. It was not anticipated that this category would be saturated or complete
at the end of data analysis, simply that it would form a foundation for discussion
and analysis of such issues in Chapter 7 of the study.
Key Result 3: The influences of the advent of the Internet upon both the context
of journalism and its practice have been so profound that they render current
134
approaches anachronistic and demand a comprehensive re-evaluation of the aim,
role and function of journalism education.
Category 3 and Result 3 are addressed in Chapter 7. They seek to provide
answers to Research Question 2.
4.5 Brief description of the 14 sub-categories
While the Core Category and the three Key Categories described above form the
backbone of the study, the 14 sub-categories make up its skeletal framework, and
of themselves constitute an answer to Research Sub-Question “a”, which asks
how the Internet’s influences upon journalism might be best categorised. It is
important that these are explained briefly at this point so that at least a
fundamental understanding of how the data were coded is achieved. A more
detailed exposition of each sub-category and its subsidiaries forms part of the
results and discussion of each of the three key results in the next three chapters.
The following 14 categories form the skeletal framework of the analysis. Each
is described in a single sentence to give an overview of the findings.
1. Context
The six influences upon the context in which journalism is practised.
1.1 Journalists’ culture.
Influences upon the culture of journalists and journalism, including their sense of
community, camaraderie and co-operation; their perceptions and attitudes,
particularly their attitudes to technology and their adherence to old values; the
mission of journalism, the different press systems throughout the world and the
role of journalists in those systems; and broader public perceptions of journalists.
1.2 Communication.
Influences upon the ways journalists communicate with each other and the
language they use, particularly the advent of new technology-based words.
135
1.3 Work environment
Influences upon the immediate environment in which journalists work, including
the industrial issues which confront them; their options as freelancers; their
approaches to job hunting; the technology and other resources made available to
them in news rooms; and new opportunities arising, particularly new job types.
1.4 Legal and ethical issues
Influences upon the broad range of legal and ethical issues inherent in the context
in which journalists work, including intellectual property, fraud, free speech, trade
practices, defamation, privacy, freedom of information legislation, privacy,
etiquette, commercial incentives, self-regulation and subterfuge.
1.5 Media
Influences upon the media in which journalists work (newspapers, magazines,
radio, television, magazines, new media etc) and upon the qualities of new media
which differ from traditional media, such as their international nature, their
design, their interactivity and their profitability.
1.6 Audiences
Influences of the Internet upon the audiences journalists serve, including their
profiles, sizes, interests, needs, priorities and methods of measuring them.
2. Journalism practice
The four influences upon the actual practices journalists use in their reportage.
2.1 News values and topics
Influences of the Internet upon the criteria journalists use for evaluating and
selecting the topics upon which they report, including influences upon some
traditionally identified values such as proximity of the news event, its currency,
and its degree of unusualness.
136
2.2 Research
Influences upon the ways journalists approach the research task in their work,
including the actual research techniques they use such as computer-aided
reporting; the nature of the sources available to reporters; and a range of research
problems which confront journalists such as the failure of new technology, time
consumption, privacy infringements, scams and costs.
2.3 Writing
Influences upon the actual writing process and techniques of journalists, including
the ongoing relevance of traditional writing techniques to new media writing
tasks.
2.4 Editing and publishing
Influences upon the final production phase of journalism, that of editing and
publishing work in readiness for dissemination, including issues of quality control
and the production skills required for new media publishing.
3. Educational implications
The four categories of implications of the above for journalism education.
3.1 Resources
Implications of the above influences for the resourcing of journalism education,
including the availability of necessary equipment, staff and textbooks.
3.2 Methods
Implications of the above influences for the methods relevant to teaching
journalism, and the relevance of traditional approaches in a new environment,
particularly focussing upon opportunities presented for delivering such courses
over the Internet.
137
3.3 Curriculum
Implications of the above influences for the content of journalism education,
including the effects upon the actual course work covered and the relevance of
traditional curricula in a new environment.
3.4 Outcomes
Implications of the above influences for the anticipated or desired outcomes of the
educational process, particularly upon the skills and understandings expected of
journalism graduates and their opportunities for employment in a changing
industry.
The 14 sub-categories detailed here break down into a further 92 subsidiary
categories, addressing the points raised in the brief descriptions above. This
constitutes the taxonomy, or map, of the influences of the Internet upon
journalism and the implications for journalism education and is set out in full as
Appendix 3. Each point is addressed as part of the analysis in the ensuing three
chapters.
138
Chapter 5:
Influences of the Internet upon the
Context of Journalism Practice:
Results and discussion
5.0 Influences of the Internet upon the context of journalism practice:
introduction and chapter outline
This chapter takes up the first of the three key categories to emerge from the final
selective coding of the data and addresses the constituent elements which formed
during the axial coding process. It outlines the development of a category which
begins to answer the first research question: “What do journalists’ and their
educators’ electronic discussions tell us about the influence of the Internet upon
journalism?”. In addressing the context in which journalism occurs, the analysis
and discussion offer important insights which inform the next stage of analysis,
detailed in Chapter 6, which focuses directly upon the practice itself. Chapter 7
addresses the implications for journalism education.
This chapter sets the scene for the rest of the analysis by presenting and
discussing the results relating to the influences of the Internet upon the context in
which journalism is practised. It is argued that journalism cannot be considered
separately from the context in which it is practised. This category embraces the
key contextual domains which underpin journalism practice and which are,
themselves, subject to the influence of new technologies such as the Internet. Six
sub-categories were coded to this category after emerging during the axial coding
process, representing identifiable influences of the Internet upon the context in
which journalism is practised, including: journalists’ culture; journalists’
communication with each other; their work environment; legal and ethical issues
impinging upon them; the media in which they work; and the audiences they
serve. As the conditional matrix constituting Figure 5.1 illustrates, the advent of
the Internet has led to a range of influences upon each of these contextual
domains, which have in turn impacted upon the environment in which journalism
is practised. Such environmental and philosophical phenomena underpin the very
practice of journalism itself. The data indicate that these, too, are experiencing the
influence of the Internet. Any examination of the influences of the Internet upon
journalism practice must start with them. Each will be addressed here in turn.
140
INTERNET INFLUENCES UPON
CONTEXT OF JOURNALISM PRACTICE
Context
5.4 Legal /
ethical issues
5.1 Journalists’ culture
⇒
5.2 Communication
Journalism
Practice
INTERNET
⇒
⇒
⇒
INTERNET
⇒
INTERNET
⇒
5.3 Work
environment
Context
5.5 Media
INTERNET
5.6 Audiences
Figure 5.1: Conditional matrix showing the influences of the Internet upon the
context in which journalism is practised.
5.1 Contextual Influence 1: Journalists’ culture
Several issues emerged from the data after the axial coding process which related
to journalists’ notions of each other; their work; their values; their sense of
mission and direction; and their social roles. It was decided that such phenomena
were best categorised under the heading “culture”, since both lay and academic
definitions of the term seemed to cover such manifestations adequately.
The Macquarie Dictionary (1987) defines culture as “a particular state or stage
of civilisation, as in the case of a certain nation or period”; and “the sum total of
ways of living built up by a group of human beings, which is transmitted from one
generation to another”. Academic communication definitions of “culture” are
broad and complex. Watson and Hill (1997, 55) define it as “the sum of those
characteristics which identify and differentiate human societies — a complex
interweave of many factors”. They proceed to explain there are cultures within
cultures, and that organisations or institutions can have their own cultures. They
141
note that culture is “transmitted through socialisation to new members of a social
group or society”. O’Sullivan (1994, 68) adopts a wide definition of “culture”:
“the social production and reproduction of sense, meaning and consciousness”.
Further, O’Sullivan notes the term is “multi-discursive”, able to be mobilised in a
range of discourses for a number of purposes.
Thus, both lay and expert definitions of the term allow for its use as a label for
an umbrella category assigned to these characteristics of journalists and
journalism.
The categories under the “Journalists’ Culture” umbrella were developed
drawing upon notations to 89 documents (messages) in all. Within this category
sit a range of influences upon the culture of journalists and journalism, including
their sense of community, camaraderie and co-operation; their perceptions and
attitudes, particularly their attitudes to technology and their adherence to old
values; the mission of journalism, the different press systems throughout the
world and the role of journalists in those systems. Each will be addressed in this
report of results and discussion.
The sub-categories developed to explain the influences of the Internet upon
journalists’ culture are illustrated in the tree form developed in the NUD.IST
software in Figure 5.2.
5.1 Journalists' culture
5.1.1 Community-cameraderie
5.1.2 Journalists' perceptions and attitudes
5.1.3 Mission of journalism
5.1.2.1 Attitudes to technology
Social roles of journalists
5.1.2.2 Traditional values
Figure 5.2: Internet influences upon journalists’ culture
5.1.1 Influences upon journalists’ sense of community and camaraderie
The data suggest the Internet is influencing journalists’ sense of community.
Journalists are building virtual communities (as coined by Rheingold, 1994) and a
142
sense of camaraderie through their Internet contact. A technological medium is
providing a channel for very human collaboration and social bonding. The data
offer numerous examples of this. Journalists shared humour through electronic
mail exchanges (C972A0057)1. Others articulated a distinction between Net-savvy
journalists and general news professionals (O972A0023); encouraging the idea
that their computer know-how gave them some sort of common experience or
entry to this elite “club” of those “in the know”. There was evidence of the Net
being used to solicit membership for professional associations and solidify that
membership, enhancing a sense of community through pre-existing social
networks (C972A0081). Sometimes this co-operation went beyond virtual contact
and took a physically tangible form such as the use of electronic mail to organise
car pools to conferences (S972A0145). At other times basic gestures of social
interaction helped reinforce a feeling of friendship or togetherness, such as the use
of positive reinforcement responses to reward valuable contributions to list
discussions (C972A0050). Collaboration occurred at an individual level, with
discussants working together to develop new Web sites which may be of help to
reporters and educators (C972A0090). It also surfaced at a corporate level, with
new forms of co-operation between news organisations which had not been
known for collaboration in the past, such as the developing online alliances
between newspapers and television stations (O972D0053). Even the social rites
associated with death extended to the virtual community of journalists, with the
conversion of the obituary into electronic mode as individuals contributed
electronic mail testimonials to a deceased colleague as a final mark of their
respect (S974A0009). The Director of Editorial at United Press International, John
Walston2, recorded this tribute to a recently deceased colleague:
His style of journalism was rooted in the early days of the printed
word. He created words. He invented meaning. Few journalists could
1
As explained in Chapter 4, the coding system used to refer to individual documents (discussion
list contributions) will follow this protocol. For example, document C972A0057 refers to the
0057th document catalogued from week A of month 2 (February) in year 97 from discussion list C
(CARR-L).
2
All discussants quoted in this document were contacted and offered the choice of being identified
or having their words attributed anonymously. Individual discussants are only named when they
have elected in writing a preference for being identified.
143
get away with that today, but he did and remained among the most
popular figures in the Bay area. (O972A0129)
Not all indicators of a virtual society were positive. The down side of
communities also emerged in the virtual context: discussants’ over-reactions to
criticism (O972A0038); their expressed reluctance to share know-how
(C972A0047); and an intolerance of bothersome “outsiders” (C972A0031). For
example, when one discussant was having difficulty signing off from the CARR-L
list and was sending messages to the list venting her frustration, another quipped
“Will somebody please put this poor thing out of her misery?” (C972A0031)
Before the advent of the Internet, opportunities for journalists to show a sense
of community or camaraderie were restricted to situations like face-to-face
newsroom
contact,
conference
attendance,
letters,
professional
journal
contributions and telephone conversations. These were limited by time and
resources and were impacted upon by personality and cultural boundaries. The
data indicated that the Internet provides opportunities for these types of
communication with individuals who might never previously have been contacted,
whom the journalist might not have known existed. The data offered evidence of
new “communities” of journalists developing. There is ample scope for work on
the social or professional needs which are being met by such contact and their
implications for journalists’ work.
Yet it must also be recognised that there was nothing in the data to indicate the
participation rates in such new virtual communities. While some might embrace
this new concept and begin to feel part of some electronic journalistic culture,
others may never develop such a sense.
FINDING 5.1: Journalists are building virtual communities and a sense of
camaraderie through their Internet contact, representing a cultural shift and
a contextual influence upon their practice.
144
5.1.2 Influences upon journalists’ perceptions and attitudes
Part of the examination of culture is a consideration of the role of journalists’
perceptions in that culture. There was evidence in the data of at least two kinds of
attitudes and perceptions which were being influenced by the Internet: journalists’
attitudes to technology and their adherence to old values.
5.1.2.1 Influences upon journalists’ attitudes to technology
Journalists’ attitudes to technology inform their actions and interactions related to
the Internet. The data showed that the existence of the Internet was influencing the
way journalists thought about:
• Themselves. The ability to use the Internet becomes part of the
makeup of the individual journalist, reflected in some of the attitudes
displayed.
• Others. The Internet also becomes a point of difference between
journalists and their colleagues and management, or distinguishes
them in their workplaces, or sets them at odds with their news
products.
The discussions revealed a variety of attitudes journalists display towards
technology, ranging from the plaintive cry of stranded discussion list recipients
like that mentioned above to remove them from the list (C972A0022) through to
the positive, confident reflections of Net “veterans” on the value of the medium to
their work (S972A0072). There was evidence of attitudes which could sit well
within all three of Harper’s (1998, p. 84) categories of views on new technologies
labelled as “benevolent revolutionaries”, “nervous traditionalists” and “serene
separatists”.
Discussants expressed concerns about other journalists’ lack of computer
savvy (O972A0028); establishing an identifiable point of difference between them
145
and their computer illiterate colleagues. Of special concern was a perceived
difference between the attitudes of journalist discussants to technology and the
attitudes of their managerial superiors. One discussant lamented (C972A0102):
When half the office has knowledge of what to do and half don’t, it
creates more fear and suspicion instead of teamwork. Management
seems to like the bells and whistles of Lotus that they learn in a oneto-one training from somewhere.
Thus, at least in the minds of some, the technology issue becomes a point of
difference with supervisors. Related to this was the sense of an anti-Internet
position among newspaper personnel who had suffered under previous
technological waves such as the direct-to-plate computer revolution of the 1980s
(0972A0028). So, while some journalists viewed the move to online publishing as
an exciting new venture, others approached it with trepidation having been scarred
by the introduction of earlier technologies. The findings add weight to those of
Kirkpatrick (1996, p. 11), who suggested change agents and opinion leaders in the
news room could play key roles in the adoption of new technologies.
Discussants held a further concern about their own media outlets’ portrayal of
the Internet which seemed to lag behind the discussants’ own progressive
attitudes. One complained that their own media group portrayed the Net as “a
strange, foreign place where tech-heads rule, hackers run rampant, and
pornography flourishes, rather than the mainstream phenomenon it has become”
(O972A0036). Another suggested journalists viewed Web publishing as “at best a
working tool, at worst a toy empire”, challenging the legitimacy of it as a viable
medium for those who had staked their careers in it (O973D0057). An indication
of the media establishment’s attitude to the new media and its journalists was the
fact that three entrants in the prestigious Pulitzer Prize, America’s highest
journalism award, were ruled ineligible because they worked for electronic
newspapers (S974A0004). Countering this was the fact that a smaller regional
organisation, the Utah Headliners Chapter of the Society for Professional
Journalists, had added a Web site category to its annual journalism contest
(S974A0006).
146
Nevertheless, there were signs that some journalists drew delight at working at
the less than respectable leading edge of a new medium, comparing it with the
development of other media at their fledgling stage (O973D0062). One discussant
encapsulated the attitude: “No medium has been respectable at its inception. But
frontiers attract gutsy people who have vision and will rely on it” (O973D0063).
Discussants displayed through their comments an attitude that being “in the
know” about technology qualified them for membership of a kind of elite club,
dismissive of those who were ignorant (C972A0022). This emerged as almost a
fan club mentality when the merits of certain computer hardware or software were
discussed, with one IBM platform supporter urging: “Nuke the Mac. Donate it to a
school ... purchase a real computer” (C972A0063). There was at times a cynical
dismissal of those who held out in support of print technology over Net
technology (S972A0083). One, Anne Louise Bannon, even apologised for
suggesting a solution to a problem which was “dreadfully low tech” rather than
Internet-driven (C972A0046). Positive attitudes included a general feeling that the
Net was getting progressively easier to use and navigate and a high level of
commitment of enthusiasts to the new medium, as with an Alaskan journalist who
“juggled” Web duties around a night job as a newspaper copy editor
(O972A0031).
It is clear from the data that the introduction of the Internet has influenced the
attitudes of certain journalists and their industry colleagues. The attitudes
journalists display towards the technology are important at each stage of the
journalism/Internet interface. They form a vital ingredient of the context in which
journalism is practised. Attitudes influence journalists’ approach to the technology
in the first place, and negative attitudes on the part of superiors, peers or the
journalists themselves may present real obstacles to the implementation of
Internet journalism ventures. Attitudes to technology can make or break the
Internet experience for journalists and their employer groups. Of course, it should
be acknowledged that those taking part in listserv discussions are, perhaps,
“converts” to the technology and should be expected to show a more committed,
perhaps at times polemic, response to such issues. Further research could be
147
carried out with journalists who do not use the Internet or discussion lists to draw
broader conclusions.
FINDING 5.2: The existence of the Internet is influencing the way some
journalists think about themselves and others, influencing their actions and
interactions, and representing a cultural shift in the context in which their
journalism is practised.
5.1.2.2 Influences upon journalists’ upholding of traditional values
Journalists, like most professionals, invent and uphold certain notions of tradition
which serve to give their occupation historical validity and set them apart from
others. It is not dissimilar to the invention of tradition to do with nationhood
chronicled by historians like Hobsbawm and Ranger (1983) and White (1981).
The data indicate the use of the Internet, particularly the use of discussion lists as
a means of communicating, helps to perpetuate these traditional values. This may
or may not be positive. For example, if they are falsely premised, the
reinforcement of such myths could limit the imagination and act as a straitjacket
on journalistic enterprise. However, if they are in fact well founded principles
upon which sound journalism is based, they may serve to spread a notion of
quality and professional pride which enhances the practice of working journalists.
The discussions reveal several examples of journalists and educators raising
such traditional values as a positive reminiscence, harking back to professional
root tenets in support of their arguments or defending them against attack.
Discussants recall crusty old editors with ink in their veins, old hands who could
produce reams of quality copy on demand (O972A0129). They question why
experienced reporters are now chasing ambulances while youngsters are writing
the editorials (S972A0007). They defend traditional values or techniques against
attack by lambasting those who suggest new methods, as with the traditionalist
who labelled as parvenus those questioning the widely accepted inverted pyramid
as a news structure (C972A0127). Old biases and prejudices are perpetuated as
discussants joke about the copy desk as the enemy of reporters (C972A0121),
148
while technological skills are downplayed in favour of traditional planning,
research and writing skills, as this discussant noted:
Critical thinking, research skills, story-telling and a passion to keep
people informed are the most useful (and probably rare) qualifications
in either the new or old media. (O972A0057)
Nevertheless, the Net provides a venue for the challenging of such assumptions,
with the above attitudes mainly being reactions to other discussants’ questioning
of old values. Some resort to the farcical in their call for a return to the “good ol’
days”: “Newsprint NOW!” one discussant screamed, “I could not imagine trying
to papertrain a dog with a computer screen” (S972A0083).
It is worth considering the extent to which individuals hark back to the
traditional when faced with challenges to their modus operandi. This may be a
common human reflex, particularly when new practices threaten to reshape a
professional hierarchy as a different set of skills becomes important to success as
a practitioner. The data present evidence of at least two identifiable outcomes of
the raising of old values as a discussion point:
• The Net might serve to spread or perpetuate such values by
providing new vehicles for their dissemination, leading to journalists
being imbued with such values when they might never have otherwise
encountered them. (This might apply, for example, to international
journalists who adopt Western democratic traditions of journalism, as
discussed at 5.1.3 below.)
• Equally, the Net might serve as a vehicle whereby such professional
myths can be questioned and dispelled when they might otherwise
have continued unquestioned for generations.
It is a significant contextual influence upon the practice of journalism, since the
introduction of the new prompts re-evaluation, and perhaps glorifying, of the old.
This may be a common human reflex, particularly when new practices might
threaten to reshape a professional hierarchy as a different set of skills become
important to success as a practitioner. The introduction of new technologies such
149
as the Internet into an occupational culture with long-held beliefs and time-worn
practices clearly forces both a perpetuation of, and a questioning of, such
traditions and a tendency on the part of some to espouse such traditional beliefs,
perhaps as a defence mechanism when under threat. It is this dynamic, clearly a
consequence of the introduction of the Internet, which provides an important
contextual influence upon journalism practice.
FINDING 5.3: The introduction of the Internet has prompted both a
perpetuation and a re-evaluation of long-held journalistic beliefs, a cultural
and contextual shift with implications for the practice of journalism.
5.1.3 Influences upon the mission of journalism
A key cultural factor is journalists’ perceptions of their mission in society and of
their appropriate roles and functions. Journalism emanates from certain traditions,
in Western cultures from post-revolutionary French and British liberalism and
notions of free speech. This has been further developed in the United States and is
entrenched in its Constitution as the First Amendment. Journalism in other
cultures with different press systems has had other missions. For example, in
developing nations journalism has been seen to adopt a role supportive of State
and corporate development and enterprise in the national interest. Such differing
missions dictate that journalists play varying roles in different societies and even,
as Singer (1998) pointed out, within the same society. Journalism practice cannot
be divorced from the context of the values which underpin it.
The Internet, being an international medium, is unrestricted by national borders
and, as an inanimate technology, is ignorant of the parochial contexts of
journalism as it is practised within them. These are human constructions, many of
which are positioned precariously awaiting challenge from approaches which have
evolved elsewhere.
The influence of the Internet is likely to be different for journalism practice in
different press systems. This project focuses most strongly on the Western press
system, particularly as the discussion lists monitored are dominated by North
150
American journalists and educators, as profiled in Chapter 3. Yet the impact of the
medium upon differing press systems, even as marginally different as those in
Britain and Australia, is a vital contextual consideration.
There was no doubt the Internet was being used as a means of publishing by
journalists in developing countries such as Ghana and Cambodia (Harper, 1998,
pp. 125-130). The data presented some tantalising insights which are deserving of
attention in further research. For example, in one document forwarded to a list for
discussion which summarises a debate on censorship of the Internet at the World
Economic Forum, an Iranian professor charged the West with trying to “globalise
liberalism”, to “export an ideology” (C972A0074). Certainly, the Net provides a
vehicle for journalists to communicate and share information and views on free
speech issues (C972A0033, S972A0044). Journalists publishing across borders
find that what constituted free speech in one country or jurisdiction could be
illegal in another (C972A0074). Discussants encountered difficulties with this
issue in discussion on electronic filtering systems designed to censor out
“offensive material” on the Internet (C972A0041).
While the Iranian professor might have been disturbed by the threat to his
country’s political institutions and principles, a Russian was delighted by it. The
head of the Mass Media Centre at St Petersburg University, Dmitry Ruschin,
compared the advent of the Internet with the Russian Revolution:
It is a revolution that is quickly giving Russian men and women the
power to exchange ideas and information, a power we never had until
now. It is changing us in ways beyond our wildest dreams to give us
new responsibilities and ultimately strengthen our independence as
citizens, severing forever the suckling umbilical that has prevented
man from becoming citizen, and has so often given tyranny free reign
over Russia. The Internet has arrived in full force, and Russian
journalists are ready for it. (S973A0003)
Clearly, no matter whether the Internet is seen as a positive or a negative, as a
threat to one press system or as a proponent of another, its advent has prompted a
re-evaluation of journalism’s role in different societies, a crucial contextual
151
influence with momentous repercussions for the practice of journalism
internationally.
FINDING 5.4: The international nature of the Internet has prompted a reevaluation of the mission of journalism and a comparison of alternative
national press systems, representing a potentially major shift in the context in
which journalism is practised in many countries.
A further aspect of the Internet’s influence upon perceptions of the mission of
journalists is the effect it might be having upon the actual social roles journalists
fulfil. Such an impact can prompt lasting cultural shifts which will alter both the
context in which they do their work and the actual practice itself. When a new
medium such as the Internet is introduced into society it creates a new market for
information and ideas. Journalists and their media outlets, as traditional brokers in
news and entertainment information, face a dilemma: do they continue in their
previous roles and practices, or do they create new roles and adapt practices to
attempt to serve this new market and, perhaps, new social needs? Action and
interaction then arises between journalists and their employers, audiences and
other professionals vying to perform such roles. This was an area identified as a
goldmine for further research by Singer (1998), who suggested journalists’ roles
as gatekeepers might be both threatened and reinforced by the new media.
The discussion indicates considerable change in the social and corporate roles
of journalists brought about by the influence of the Internet. Certainly, there is a
need for journalists to perform their traditional roles of providing information and
accounts of news to audiences. However, in addition to that, new roles are
emerging. Discussion has positioned journalists in these roles, many of which
were unheard of before the advent of the Internet. The data present the journalist
in a new range of guises, illustrated in Figure 5.3, including “the journalist” as the:
• Creator of interactive devices on Web sites, such as one which
helped users improve their health (J972A0003 at line 221).
152
• Discussion facilitator, co-ordinating with newsroom staff to operate
online chats (J972A0003 at line 282).
• Incremental news updater. This has been part of the function of radio
news bulletins until now, where the Web has made it a multi-media
function (J972A0003 at line 333).
• Innovative and versatile, rather than medium-bound, news deliverer.
Until now, journalists have been encouraged to refine their skills
within a single medium, following the formula or “style” of news
delivery accepted within that medium and that particular organisation.
Here, part of a job description is to be adventurous or experimental
(J972A0003 at 346).
• Information consultant or broker, delivering information “which
addresses or solves problems” rather than delivering news
(O972A0014). This was the subject of debate, with discussants
claiming librarians already fulfilled this social role (O972A0015).
• Both writer and designer (O972A0051).
• “Web scientist”, having both journalism skills and a technical
understanding of new technology (O972A0158).
• Investigator / crime fighter on the Web. For example, journalists
tracked down NCAA hackers and reported upon the process
(C973B0004).
153
‘The Journalist’ as the ...
• Creator of interactive devices
• Discussion facilitator
• Incremental news updater
• Innovative and versatile
• Information consultant or broker
• Both writer and designer
• “Web scientist”
• Investigator / crime fighter
Figure 5.3: Internet influence upon the social roles of journalists
154
The roles were identified largely by recruitment advertisements posted to the
discussion lists, some by large media organisations such as Time magazine and the
Chicago Tribune.
This analysis is crucial to a contextual understanding of the influences of the
Internet upon journalism practice. If, as is demonstrated here, the Internet has
prompted a fundamental shift in the role and function of journalists, and here at
least eight new roles of journalists are articulated, then the actual practices which
make up that role must also be evaluated. They may be new practices, or perhaps
a reshaping or reallocation of old practices, but nevertheless this becomes a
fundamental influence of the Internet upon the cultural context of journalism.
The findings prompt reflection upon the arguments of Newhagen and Levy
(1998, pp. 9-21) reviewed in Chapter 2. They argued the Internet’s system of a
distributed architecture shifted power away from the journalist, leaving the
journalistic role problematic. They presented a dim view of the future role of the
journalist, suggesting journalists may become “pathfinders” and “information
specialists”, more egalitarian roles than the agenda setting and gatekeeping roles
they had held in the traditional media as articulated by Newhagen and Levy
(1998, pp. 19-20) and Singer (1998). However, the above findings portray a more
optimistic picture. While the roles identified above such as “discussion
facilitator”, “information broker” and “incremental news updater” appear to
position journalists in the “information specialist” category, it appears the
transformation is a natural progression in the new media environment rather than
the threatened upheaval hinted at by Newhagen and Levy. It is closer to the new
niche as a cohesive social force suggested by Singer (1998).
Nevertheless, the discussion lists undoubtedly offer a skewed view of the
industry, because they reflect the views and trends of those attuned to new media
and its implications. No doubt there are thousands of traditional journalism
workplaces where the role of journalists has not changed at all. The data also
indicate considerable displacement in social roles across other professions. There
is competition from others for the new roles, evidenced in the data as disputes
between journalists of different backgrounds (print, photo, radio, television, and
design) and between journalists and other occupations such as business
155
consultants and librarians. As Powell (1998, p. 44) pointed out, anyone can be a
journalist, leaving journalists to stake out their claim to the Internet territory
which encompasses their former work.
FINDING 5.5: The Internet has spawned new roles and functions for
journalists, with at least eight new roles of journalists identified, indicating
an important shift in the cultural context of journalism and resultant changes
in its practice.
It can be seen the Internet has had considerable influence upon the culture of
journalism, including journalists’ sense of community, camaraderie and cooperation; their perceptions and attitudes, particularly their attitudes to technology
and their adherence to old values; the mission of journalism, the different press
systems throughout the world and the role of journalists in those systems. These
cultural influences have varying impacts upon the overall context in which
journalism is practised, some reaching to the very nature of the actual work
journalists do.
5.2 Contextual Influence 2: Communication
A second contextual category emerged from the data in the axial coding stage,
accommodating the influences the Internet has had upon the ways journalists
communicate with each other and the language they use, particularly its influence
upon the emergence and spread of new technology-based words.
The communication environment in which journalists operate and the language
available to them are key contextual phenomena with considerable potential
impact upon the actual practice of journalism. Clearly, communication and
language underpin journalistic practice and demonstrable influences of the
Internet upon them are significant to this study.
156
Prior to the advent of the Internet, journalists’ communication with each other
was limited to a range of interaction possibilities, including face-to-face contact
with their own staff at internal news conferences, intra-office chats, telephone
dialogue both within and beyond their own organisations, conference attendance,
press conference attendance, membership newsletters, and rounds contact between
competing journalists. Yet all of this was limited by time, space and economics.
The categories developed to explain the influences of the Internet upon
journalists’ communication practices are illustrated in the tree form developed in
the NUD.IST software in Figure 5.4.
5.2 Journalists' communication
5.2.1 Journalists' use of language
Figure 5.4: Internet influences upon journalists’ communication practices.
The data revealed the Internet is providing opportunities for these types of
communication with individuals who might never previously have been contacted,
whom the journalist might not have known existed. The Internet has had
considerable influence upon the communicative context in which journalists
operate, particularly upon the language they use to articulate their practice. Under
conditions where journalists need to gather information or seek advice on their
reporting practices, many will now turn to the Internet as a mechanism for seeking
such advice or information. The consequence of this action is at least a
supplementary avenue for such inquiries, and in some cases an alternative avenue
for such inquiries.
Purposes for which journalists were using the Internet to communicate with each
other included the sharing of research techniques and sources (C972A0003;
C972A0029), contacts (O972A0080), story ideas (C972A0029), technical
knowledge (C972A0039), help paths (C972A0040), industrial information
(C972A0056), and job opportunities (J972A0003). All of this happens externally
157
through Internet services, and internally through intra-organisational intranet
frameworks.
Take, for example, this remark from a journalist frustrated with Web search
engines who turns to ask the Online-news listserv community for help, in a tone
similar to that which might be used if asking colleagues in the news room if they
could help out:
After three hours using the AOL browser plus Yahoo and Alta Vista
searches, I give up. Can anyone help me find an article I’m told was in
the Washington Post in the last week or two that listed the donors to
the Democratic Party who stayed overnight at the White House?
(O972A0080)
Responses came from several correspondents giving the answer. This simple
exchange demonstrates the communicative difference the Internet has made to the
context in which journalism is practised. Before the advent of the Internet, the
journalist might have asked around the office for this information, perhaps dug
manually through back issues of the newspaper if they were available, or perhaps
phoned the newspaper office seeking the information. Instead, the basic inquiry
can be made to the listserv and the journalist can set about completing other tasks
while waiting for responses to arrive.
FINDING 5.6: The Internet offers new means of communication for
journalists, representing an important development in the communicative
context in which journalism is practised.
5.2.1 Influences upon journalists’ use of language
Language is central to the communicative context in which all humans exist and
function. It is even more the case for journalists, whose occupation relies upon
effective linguistic communication. Any effect of the Internet upon the language
journalists use in their work will therefore constitute an important influence upon
158
their journalism practice. The analysis of the data identified several manifestations
of the influence of the Internet upon the language journalists use in their work and
in communicating about their practices.
There have been numerous additions to the vocabulary of journalists,
particularly new words related to technology and the Internet, some of which
might already have been familiar to computer experts but are now used more
broadly by both journalists and their publics. Examples include: “hacking”,
“email”, “ftp”, “telnet”, “Usenet” (O972A0093) and “push and pull” technologies
(O972A0070).
There has been a proliferation of acronyms associated with tech-speak and with
more economical communication in discussion list and electronic mail contexts.
Examples include the acronyms above, but also FAQ (Frequently Asked
Questions) (C972A0011); HTML (Hyper Text Markup Language) (O972A0056);
BTW (by the way); IMHO (In My Humble Opinion); and OJT (on the job
training) (O972A0045). An important question here is whether this is inclusive or
exclusive for readers and audiences.
Along with the extension of language comes a vagueness in the use of some new
high-tech words. For example, the acronym BTW was used by discussants on
different occasions to mean both “by the way” and “before the Web”
(O972A0028), with meanings still being negotiated. There was also evidence that
terms like “Web” and “Internet”, each with their own precise definitions as
outlined in Chapter 1, were being used interchangeably (O972A0093).
New colloquial Internet expressions had crept into the discussion list
vocabulary, such as “techies”; “crash your box” (C972A0102); “HTML geek”
(O972A0043); and “buggy” (meaning littered with bugs) (C972A0063). The rapid
dissemination of such colloquialisms through listservs and Web sites outstrips the
speed with which such linguistic developments might have been incorporated
through traditional face to face contact or through more formal mechanisms of
textual exchange such as journal and magazine articles. The informal, “chat” style
of discussion list dialogue lends itself to the use and spread of such
159
colloquialisms. Again, the question arises as to the inclusivity / exclusivity of such
a development. Further research might ascertain whether such linguistic
differences set tech-savvy journalists apart from their more traditional colleagues.
Further, the Internet appeared to have internationalised journalists’ language and
outlook, prompting the need for translation services (O972A0056) and sparking a
debate over whether English should be the primary language for Net
communication (S972A0109).
The Net brings with it the capacity for the enhancement of journalists’
vocabularies and language skills, both through osmosis via list discussions and
through more formal strategies such as the “Word of the Day” listserv
(S972A01054). Membership of this listserv at <www.parlez.com/word-of-theday/> entitled the subscriber to a word and a definition each day, along with a
quote showing the word used in context. Such facilities can serve to distinguish
journalists as craftspeople of words, wordsmiths, which might be an important
point of difference given the challenges to their domain becoming evident
elsewhere in the data and in the literature.
As noted above at 5.1.3, the Internet has prompted new roles for journalists.
Some have linguistic tags attached to them, such as descriptors for new
occupational terms for journalists like “Webcasters” (O972A0070).
At the same time there is a debate over whether this language really represents
new phenomena or is simply an application of new labels to old concepts. For
example, one discussant noted “online fraud” being described as a unique
phenomenon when it is really just a manifestation of fraud as it has been known
for centuries (O972A0093).
A final manifestation of the Internet’s influence upon the language of journalism
is the use of different journalistic forms for communication on discussion lists and
in electronic mail, raising the question of whether this transformation carries over
into journalists’ language in their communication with audiences. A useful
160
example was the Weekend Australian’s Syte section being published during the
data collection period, which incorporated hypertextuality as a glossary to offer
readers background information on stories.
Under conditions of the advent of new technology and its use, individuals will
strive to find or adapt language to meet new needs. The Internet presents new
phenomena which require articulation. This is the case with journalsits as their
language is transformed as an influence of the Internet upon their practice and
upon the context in which it is performed.
FINDING 5.7: The Internet has influenced the linguistic context in which
journalists work, by adding to their vocabulary and providing them with
ways to describe themselves and their practices. This is an important
contextual influence of the Internet, given that language is central to the
journalistic endeavour.
5.3 Contextual Influence 3: Work Environment
The third major contextual category to emerge during axial coding was the
category of Work Environment. This category deals with the influences of the
Internet upon the immediate environment in which journalists work, taking in the
industrial issues which confront them (for example, the conditions of freelance
journalists and reporters’ approaches to job hunting); the increasing technological
knowledge required of journalists; resources made available to journalists in their
news rooms; and new opportunities arising for journalists, particularly new types
of jobs. These influences, while not identifiable as elements of journalism practice
itself, contribute to the immediate environment in which journalism is practised.
Influences of the Internet upon them therefore potentially can have enormous
impact upon the reportage of journalists and they thus comprise an important
contextual category. It was an influence recognised by Christopher (1998) who, in
her review of the impacts of technology on the newsroom, found the reshaping of
the work of journalists and their newsroom environments impacted upon the final
161
product — “the information by which a community knows itself, and on which it
bases its judgments” (Christopher, 1998, p. 140).
The categories developed to explain the influences of the Internet upon
journalists’ work environments are illustrated here in the tree form developed in
the NUD.IST software in Figure 5.5.
5.3 Journalists'
work
environment
5.3.1 Industrial
issues
5.3.2 Tech.
know-how
5.3.3 Newsroom 5.3.4
resources
Opportunities
Figure 5.5: Internet influences upon journalists’ work environment
5.3.1 Influences upon journalism industrial issues
The data indicate the Internet has had a transforming influence upon the
organisation and positioning of journalism as a vehicle for labour. In some
contexts it has influenced the way journalists relate to each other, their employers
and their work environments. The industrial context is an important one to the
practice of journalism because it is here that the conditions and rewards of
journalism practice are negotiated and decided upon. The conceptual labels
emanating from the data indicate new alliances of journalists, new communication
vehicles for their industrial discourse, new contact points for the sale of their
labour and virgin sites for industrial dispute, negotiation and agreement.
According to the discussions analysed, the Internet has had a number of
transforming influences upon the industrial context in which journalists practise
their work. There were indications that the sheer cost of technology and its
inherent challenges (such as the solutions to the Year 2000 conversion problem)
may stunt salary growth for journalists (or at least be used as an excuse to do so)
(C972A0058).
162
The increased use of computers for Internet production and publication raises
workplace ergonomic issues with industrial repercussions, such as the incidence
of carpal tunnel syndrome (C972A0063), a workplace health and safety issue
arising in various guises since the early 1980s, most notably as RSI (repetitive
strain injury). Discussants also noted this as a potential challenge for journalism
educators and students (C972B0012).
There was ample evidence of discussion lists being used as a new medium of
communication to debate industrial issues and to compare notes on working
conditions (C972A0105). They also provided new points of access for
professional associations and unions to reach working journalists (C972A0095),
particularly in the midst of strike action as a method of announcement and
immediate access to the rank and file. This was put into effect during a journalists’
strike in Detroit during the data collection period (J972C0007).
The data showed that the uneven distribution of technological resources in the
news room, such as certain software or Internet access, could lead to “have/ have
not” divisions between workers and management. One reporter complained:
Neither (software package) was available to the whole staff, just
editors. No money was put into training … (C972A0102)
Further, the discussion lists and electronic mail publication allow for such
observations or grievances to be publicised broadly among the constituency,
perhaps exacerbating pre-existing ructions. Some Web sites became rallying or
referral points for disparate groups like freelance journalists. An example was the
ASJA Contract Watch site at <www.asja.org/cwpage.htm> which was signposted
regularly in postings to the lists (C972A0056; C973B0019). Such sites brought
the issue of freelance journalists’ rights and payments to the attention of other
journalists and editors.
Freelance journalists’ rights to the electronic republication of their contributed
work featured as an important industrial issue during the collection period, with
numerous references to it in the data (C972A0056). In February 1997, the New
York Times was in dispute with its freelancers on this issue (J972C0009). One
163
discussant suggested the new technology argument was merely a smokescreen for
eroding accepted industrial conditions:
The issue is the use and excuse of the coming new world of electronic
journalism to mask radical, unilateral changes in accepted business
practices. The material to be used in this new world should be
contracted for and paid for in a reasonable manner, no less than has
been done — and continues to be done — in the old. (J972A0007)
A pessimistic view of the process was presented by one contributor who
lamented the gap between the quantum of journalists’ contributions to the news
process and their treatment by that process: “The electronic distribution mill is
just that, a mill, and the journalist merely a millworker”, he lamented
(O972D0060), reflecting the concerns in this regard expressed by Christopher
(1998). Imaginative new publishing options present new avenues for the use and
reuse of freelance journalists’ work, such as the mirroring of material on other
Web sites such as that developed by one publisher, The Mining Company
(O972D0013). This raises questions about the rights and obligations of journalists
when they have been distanced somewhat from their work by the onselling
practices of intermediaries (O972D0014). All this requires greater sophistication
and awareness in the terms of contracts freelancers might enter into with
publishers and online redistributors (O972D0046). (Legal aspects of the
republication issue are addressed in the intellectual property discussion at 5.4
below.) A complicating factor for freelance journalists was evident in the
availability of free material posted to the Net, a phenomenon cutting across the
traditional freelance journalism market. For example, European writer, Evan
Rudowski, offered an unsolicited story gratis to the CARR-L list, with the plea:
“Anybody in print media — if you use it and mail me a copy of your publication I
will be eternally grateful.” (C972A0101).
Countering this erosion of the freelance market was evidence of the
establishment of central clearinghouses for freelance work and writers’ royalties,
with associations or enterprises acting as the intermediaries between freelancers
and their markets (J972A0003). Another advantage was the phenomenon of
discussion lists and Web sites serving as employment markets for the posting of
164
positions vacant. Some organisations operated services charging job seekers a fee
(S972A0042), while free listings of jobs were featured on Web sites such as JJOBS at the University of California at Berkeley (J972C0002). Similar services
existed in other sectors with, for example, the dedicated service Jobline
specialising in job listings and notifications for positions in public relations and
corporate communication (S973A0006).
A further advantage of the Net for freelancers is its capability to be used to track
publishers who may owe them money for stories. There was evidence this might
also help to steer freelancers off exploitative or fraudulent employers
(S972A0105).
The advent of a new technology like the Internet prompts a reshaping of
labour conditions for journalists whose industrial rights and practices were
structured upon previous technologies. Pay rates, work environments, workplace
facilities, reporting relationships, negotiation techniques, industrial debates may
all be affected. This all occurs within the context of the newsroom — an actual
physical place — or the virtual newsroom, the cyberspace in which the practice of
journalism occurs and which still involves labour relations between individuals,
groups and companies.
Several important issues do not emerge from these data and are worthy of
further research. These are to do with the intricacies of the journalist/employer
relationship and the displacement of other professionals in the news room which
eventuates when journalists take on new roles.
FINDING 5.8: The advent of the Internet is influencing the industrial context
in which some journalists go about their work. Journalists whose work
practices and conditions have been transformed by this new technology are
being forced to negotiate new conditions. Changing tools of trade, work
places, methods of dissemination and productivity are prompting a
restructuring of industrial relationships and agreements.
165
5.3.2 Influences upon the technological know-how of journalists
The analysis also suggests the work environment is demanding a range of new
technological understandings of journalists as a result of Internet influences.
Journalists’ practice will be informed by such understandings. Gaining the
understandings may enhance their work. Not having them might impede their
work. Some of the implications of the requirement that journalists develop such
understandings are detailed here.
Journalists are required to be au fait with technical jargon of computers, the kind
detailed at 5.2.1 above. Their understanding of computers and the Internet (and
their position in the new work environment) is premised upon them acquiring this
vocabulary. Discussion is littered with jargon like “macro”, “utility”,
“dualheader”, “AskSam”, “PineMail”, “Cidco”, “Infogear”, “monochrome” and
“HotDog”.
Some journalists may be required to understand a range of technological
processes in order to operate properly in the new work environment and retain
ongoing Internet usage; for example, the ability to sort and strip electronic mail
messages (C972A0019).
Such technological know-how might present communication difficulties like
those mentioned at 5.1.1 between the technological savvy haves and have-nots.
This has important ramifications for the work environment, with evidence of
organisational divides (perhaps as a site of demarcation) between journalists with
certain levels of computer knowledge and technicians in whose domain computers
traditionally have fallen. For example, a discussant reported such a demarcation
when a journalist attempted to “meddle” in an area which might have been a
technician’s territory:
One techie said, “Oh, don’t fiddle with that, it might crash your box.”
(Fear spread like wildfire ...) and of course it probably wouldn’t.
(C972A0102)
166
This mention of fear indicates that among some there was evidence of an
ignorance or fear of technology which might be counter-productive or at least
inhibitive to journalism practice.
A specific kind of knowledge, will and ability is needed for journalists to keep
pace with new versions of software as they are released. This appears to be a
higher plane of technical know-how than journalists might have been expected to
possess historically. Take, for example, this call for help in dealing with the
onslaught of superseding software versions:
I’d like to know if anybody has figured out a way to make Access
Version2 (The Windows 3.1 release) and Access 95 or Access 97
coexist on the same computer without stepping over one another.
(C972A0103)
Journalists’ know-how in other areas might increase as their technological
know-how opens new opportunities for knowledge and skill access. Certain
software targets specific skills required in journalists’ work. Their knowledge of
this technology may help them in their work and set them apart from pretenders to
their positions. For example, journalists accessing a speed reading program via the
Net were able to add this attribute to their skill-set (C972A0106).
In this and other ways, technological know-how may be self-perpetuating.
Discussion lists themselves serve as a forum/knowledge pool for sharing
technological information and advice. Once the journalist has mastered the
technological knowledge required to participate in such discussions, other
technological learning opportunities present themselves.
Of course, technological know-how may be more than a contextual
consideration. It may well be a set of new skills required of journalists as they go
about their work. Technology generally, and the Internet in particular, has indeed
opened a range of new researching, reporting, publishing and communicating
opportunities for journalists. Yet at the same time it comes laden with certain
knowledge requirements and demands upon journalists’ time. To use it
effectively, and to take advantage of its transforming potential, journalists need to
invest time in learning new language, software capabilities, technological
167
processes; both at the point of first using the technology and as an ongoing feature
of their lives and work if they are to make optimum use of its offerings. This must
come at a price, since there must be tasks or knowledge acquisition of other types
(perhaps extra story research, reading, other forms of professional development or
sheer output) which have been eroded to make way for the demands of the Net.
This raises a range of important questions related to the technological imperative
in the journalist’s work environment: What is the prognosis for a journalist who
has little knowledge of new technology but is competent at traditional journalistic
tasks? Would there continue to be journalistic roles for such individuals, even if
they refused to learn about new uses and applications? When is more knowledge
about technology too much; that is, when does it start to erode the quality of a
journalist’s work or occupy too much of a journalist’s time? These questions are
beyond the scope of this study, but are worthy of further research as the new and
old journalism are defined and redefined in the light of technological
developments.
The
demands
that
journalists
have
these
technological
understandings represent an important contextual influence upon their practice (to
be addressed in the next chapter) which has substantial educational ramifications
(which will in turn be addressed in chapter 7).
FINDING 5.9: The journalistic work environment is demanding a range of new
technological understandings of some journalists as a result of Internet
influences. Such technological know-how may well determine individual
journalists’ work practices and continued relevance.
5.3.3 Influences upon resources available in newsrooms
A key contextual consideration essential to an understanding of the transforming
influence of the Internet upon journalism practice is the newsroom resources
available to journalists. The MediaSource (1995a) survey showing 68% of
journalists used online services at least monthly and their 1997 survey showing
45% accessed the Internet daily was clearly dependent upon suitable levels of
access to the technology. Clearly, journalists’ potential to make use of this
medium and the extent to which it affects directly their work will be dependent
168
upon resources provided to them. Quinn (1998b, p. 251) found reporters’ access to
Internet resources in Australia was sometimes limited severely. Garrison (1998,
p.7) also found US journalists complained about lack of resources, while Williams
and Nicholas (1998, p. 3) found the same difficulties faced British journalists,
particularly younger ones.
There is evidence of five categories of resources being provided to journalists
for their Internet access. The first is the actual hardware they require for computer
work and Internet connection. This includes the computer itself, scanners,
modems, telephone lines and capacities, CD-rom drives, and radio and television
interface equipment (J972A0003). Secondly, journalists discuss a whole range of
software requirements which vary according to their reporting and publishing
tasks. Software mentioned in list discussions includes word processing software
such as Word (C972A0063); database programs such as Access (C972A0103),
spreadsheet software such as Excel, Lotus and SPSS (C972A0063), electronic
mail facilities such as Eudora (C973B0001) and Web browser software like
Netscape Navigator and Internet Explorer (C972A0039). Thirdly, it is the
combination of the above mentioned hardware and software which makes for a
configuration which lends itself to Internet reporting and publishing. For example,
the hardware and software might be configured to create a newsroom “Intranet”,
an in-house resource accessed on site from an Internet browser which contains
customised spreadsheets, databases and other resource material for the use of that
organisation’s reporters in their research (C972A0038). Fourth, an important
newsroom resource is the human resource of technical support on hand to solve
technical problems as they arise, either in-house or contracted (C972A0102).
Finally, discussants identified a fifth resource need — that of appropriate and
ongoing training in the use of the above hardware, software and configurations
(C972A0102).
An interesting phenomenon to emerge is the notion of the intranet and its poor
uptake in a newsroom where journalists had not been encouraged to work cooperatively and, instead, jealously guarded their resources. The culture was out of
synch with the culture the technology assumed.
169
The problem in such cases is that the organisation’s culture doesn’t
encourage this kind of teamwork; instead, it encourages employees to
be star performers who are out to look good as individuals.
(C972A0047)
Journalists’ attitudes to technology have already been explored at 5.1.2.1, but this
response is more an indication of journalists’ attitude to themselves and each other
than it is an aversion of some kind to the technology itself. It demonstrates the
complexity of imposing an apparently superior technological solution upon a
culture which has pre-existing power structures and value systems. This adds
another dimension to Kirkpatrick’s (1996, p. 6) observation that Web access itself
was secondary to other newsroom functions to the extent that managers may not
even know who in their offices had such access. Web navigation had not yet
established itself as a production role in newspaper newsrooms, making it an
ambiguous and ill-defined task in organisational structures and procedures.
As well as the issue of resources being available within a newsroom is the
associated phenomenon of those resources being accessible electronically by
journalists working from outside the newsroom, either as employees at home or
on assignment or independent freelancers who might pool resources to establish
their own electronic networks of resources, as with the Reporters Network
(C973B0001).
It can be seen that the newsroom resources provided to journalists make up a
vital contextual factor in the work environment. Their level of availability stands
to affect greatly the extent to which the advent of Internet will influence the
practice of journalism.
FINDING 5.10: At least five categories of newsroom resources will affect the
extent to which the Internet is able to influence journalistic practice:
hardware, software, configurations of both, technical support and training.
These constitute a vital contextual ingredient in the work environment.
170
5.3.4 Influences upon the opportunities available to journalists
A category emerged from the data relating to new opportunities available to
journalists as a result of the advent of the Internet, particularly the specific new
employment positions which were opening up. This category is distinguishable
from that discussed at 5.1.3 — Influences Upon the Mission of Journalism, where
new social roles for journalists were outlined. While that category focussed the
changing role of the journalist in society, this category examines specific new
opportunities in evidence in the data, particularly new position descriptions for
journalists.
The data indicated the Internet has had a profound influence upon the
opportunities available to journalists to practise their work. New opportunities
have arisen within the existing definition of “journalist” and new job types have
emerged which involve the practice of journalism. New opportunities are offered
by the Internet within the current framework of the occupation “journalist”. The
Net provides a new vehicle for freelance journalists to sell their work via
discussion lists and personal Web sites (C972A0101). It offers an avenue through
which publishers can solicit work from journalists (J972A0012). It also provides
new opportunities for writers to better communicate their stories through the
Web’s multi-media features (O972A0075). There are many others of which
readers might be aware, but did not surface from the data pool. Of course, the flip
side of new opportunities is what old opportunities might be being superseded by
the Internet. Examples might be the closure of smaller newspapers as their
advertising base is eroded by new media markets, the digitisation of photography
and the closure of darkrooms, with parts of the photojournalists’ work being
undertaken by others; and the continued demise of printers and compositors as
technological developments and Web delivery further supplant the traditional ink
on paper medium. Such issues did not arise in the data, and might be the subject
of further research, with this as a particular focus. One example of a down side of
the Internet advent was evidence of journalists being exploited by contributing
their work to scam operations; in other words “phantom” opportunities were
surfacing which proved fruitless (C972A0100). Again, this may not represent
anything greatly new. Journalists have long been the victims of shonky publishers
whose high hopes and promises came to nothing as new magazines and
171
newspapers closed after their first edition. What is new is that the nature of the
medium might leave victim journalists less able to pursue such individuals after
the event.
The data provided considerable evidence of a range of new job types emerging
as journalists use the Internet in their traditional work and as new work roles and
media unfold. Twenty-six new position descriptions for journalists surfaced from
the data. They included the telecommuting journalist (C972A0083), the journalist
programmer/developer (C972A0083), the “Web-savvy editor” (J972A0003), the
computer-assisted investigative reporter (J972A0003), the online publishing
business development manager (J972A0003), local news producers (J972A0003),
database/Internet news researchers (J972A0003), graphics news producers
(J972A0003), digital editors (J972A0003), online news writers (J972A0003),
assignment editors (J972A0003), online freelancers (J972A0004), content editors
(O972A0078),
Web
TV
(O972A0144),
databasers
content
editors
(O972A0144),
(O972D0059),
online
Webmasters
entertainment
editors
(O972A0144), Web author/musicians (O972A0176), special projects editors for
computer-assisted
reporting
(C972B0009),
multimedia
co-ordinators
(C972B0017), online producers (J972C0002), newspaper directors of computerassisted journalism (C972B0028), editor-in-chief of Web-based product
(O972D0012), Web designers (O972D0043), design directors (O973D0039) and
Web site developers (O973D0060).
Each of these position titles emerged in job advertisements posted to the lists
or in the titles nominated by individual discussants in their electronic mail
signatures. (Several originated from the same one or two discussion list
documents, since a common posting to the lists was a catalogue of positions
vacant, as at J972A0003).
The emergence of such new positions raises a range of issues. A recurring
theme is the question as to when the journalist becomes a technician (or “geek”)
and vice-versa. Several of the position advertisements required journalists who
had considerable technical know-how, while some required no journalism
expertise. For example, a Web designer position for Philadelphia (Inquirer)
172
Online required “degree or extensive training in either fine or applied art. A sense
of humor helps” (O972D0043). Journalism experience was not detailed as a
requirement. One discussant viewed this as a natural progression into a new
medium:
It kinda follows that editors are no longer reporters, so of course they
need to know more than just reporting. For online, they may or may
not need to know more than HTML ... that’s what programmers are
for. Knowing and understanding new technology are two different
things. But it still holds you cannot spread the world on the Web
[without] first learning how to do that [journalism], and then learning
how to best package that together for the “readers” (“Web” Science,
more than just Computer Science). (O972A0158)
This notion of packaging the news material for an audience is a crucial one, since
that has been the hallmark of journalism in other media. Rather than mere
information disseminators, the journalists’ role has involved a degree of crafting
for enhanced meaning. Divorcing this “meaning” from the equation, for example
by rendering a position the mere processing and formatting of material for Web
display, prompts the fundamental question of whether the new position is actually
journalism or some other role. For example, in traditional newspaper journalism a
clerical assistant could perform the task of typing and reformatting data for a
television guide. But the instant that task involved the creation of content for that
guide (such as a program description) it became the work of a journalist. Some
positions stressed the creativity aspect. For example, an advertisement for an
online producer with skills in headline writing, page design, photo cropping and
story placement also required “creative decisions about how to interact with
readers” (C972B0025). The tendency was towards seeking individuals with the
vision and adaptability to reach audiences creatively, particularly when it involved
adapting an older medium like newspapers to a new environment. One discussant
summed up this view:
The future of online newspapers won’t lie in the hands of journalists
who simply place the old ideas of news on fiber optic cables. Instead,
173
online newspapers are going to need people who understand human
communication, visual impact, design, and who have an eye for the
future. (O972A0145)
While the positions might, at one extreme, seem a world removed from
journalism as it has been known, others read as though traditional tasks such as
sub-editing have simply been transplanted to a new environment. Rather than
succumb to the new media hype, one advertisement called for someone who had
“strong knowledge of the limitations of the Web as a publishing medium”
(C972A0083).
The mention of music in a Web author/musician position (O972A0176), raises
the issue of multi-media skills, and of whether a single individual needs them or
whether an organisation can draw on separate individuals for each skill. Similarly,
the international nature of the medium seems to be prompting opportunities for
multi-lingual journalists, as evidenced by a vacancy at VHeadline / VENews,
Venezuala’s English language news site, which required someone with “at least a
rudimentary knowledge of Spanish, but essentially with an ability to speed-write
in electronic journalese” (J972C0002).
Some positions seemed to require simply everything. A Web site developer for
the Athens Banner-Herald / Daily News needed intermediate to advanced HTML
application development, proven Web page design ability, journalism training,
basic Unix skills, design tools ability such as Photoshop and Freehand, PC and
Mac platform abilities, CGI and Perl understanding, “the ability to be a new media
evangelist”, and “ability to self-start” (O973D0060). One would expect that
someone displaying such an array of skills could name their starting salary, but a
US group researching wages for new media positions found that typically they did
not pay more than comparative traditional media positions (J972C0004).
The key question emerging from the above discussion is: “It’s a job, but is it
journalism?” Several of the job descriptions hint at answers to this question, and
of course they will vary according to the position descriptions. However, some are
clearly so far at the technical end of journalism that their duties might well
174
constitute a technician’s role rather than a journalist’s. A related question is: “It’s
a new job type, but is it a new job?” Here, the concern is that new labels for jobs
do not necessarily mean the core work has changed. Is the phenomenon of new
job types brought about by a failure of the existing job types to match new or
transformed work, or by some perceived need for “fresh” titles for a fresh
medium? Perhaps, for example, a “producer” is no more than a copy editor or subeditor using new tools to perform much the same work. One suspects otherwise,
however, particularly given the new multimedia functions of the Internet. The
technology has given rise to positions requiring different combinations of old
tasks and new ones.
These are important influences of the Internet upon the context in which
journalism is practised. The creation of new opportunities within existing
journalistic roles and the evolution of new positions in journalism, or at least the
perception of there being new job types, represents a considerable contextual
influence since it impacts upon the very work a journalist might be expected to
undertake. The extent to which that work differs from previous notions of a
journalist’s practice is the subject of the next chapter.
FINDING 5.11: Numerous new opportunities have arisen for journalists in the
new media, both in their existing positions and in prospective ones. They are
exemplified by the 26 new job titles which emerged from the data set.
However, detailed study of the positions indicates some may not be
“journalism” positions as such, but technical information processing roles
which involve little creativity. Others may be traditional journalism positions
repackaged with a new title in a new context.
In this section 5.3, four key influences upon journalists’ work environments have
emerged from the data analysis. These include influences upon the immediate
environment in which journalists work, taking in the industrial issues which
confront them (addressed at 5.3.1); the increasing technological knowledge
required of journalists (5.3.2); resources made available to journalists in their
175
news rooms (5.3.3); and new opportunities arising for journalists, particularly new
types of jobs (5.3.4). It can be seen from the evidence to emerge from the data that
individually and collectively these indicate the Internet has had considerable
contextual influences upon the work environments of journalists. Depending upon
their proximity to Internet influences, journalists’ work environments may well
have been transformed by the advent of important new industrial relationships,
demands for certain technological know-how, the provision or scarcity of new
resources, and the promise of new opportunities for work as a journalist. Each has
important ramifications for the actual practice of journalism which will be
addressed in the next chapter and for the education of journalists which will be
addressed in Chapter 7.
5.4 Contextual Influence 4: Legal and ethical issues
An important contextual sphere for journalists is the legal and ethical environment
in which they work. Journalists practise within a legal and ethical context which
determines whether their work in researching, writing, editing and publishing
meets the standards of the community. A whole range of laws and ethical
principles impact upon their work. Some legal constraints, such as those created
by defamation law, can go to the very words journalists are allowed to say or
write. Ethical considerations such as community expectations about privacy and
good taste may have no legal standing but represent important social and moral
pressures. The data analysed indicated there have been significant changes to this
environment which stand to impact upon the practice of journalism. They showed
the Internet is forcing a reinterpretation or re-evaluation of existing laws and
ethical principles as they apply to journalism practice and the development or
drafting of new laws and ethical guidelines. Their impact varies across the fields
of journalism, across the different roles journalists perform and across
jurisdictions which vary markedly throughout the world.
The categories which emerged during axial coding to account for the influences
of the Internet upon the legal and ethical contexts in which journalism is practised
are illustrated in the tree form developed in the NUD.IST software in Figure 5.6.
176
5.4 Legal and ethical context
5.4.1 Legal context
5.4.2 Ethical context
• 'Publishing'
• Deceit
• Free speech
• Commercial
exploitation
• Censorship
• Netiquette
• Prior restraint
• Inaccuracy
• Intellectual property
• Intrusion
• Copyright
• Trademarks
• Fraud
• Trade practices
• Defamation
• Privacy
• FOI
Figure 5.6: Internet influences upon legal and ethical issues confronting
journalists.
5.4.1 Influences upon the legal context of journalism
A number of general issues emerged from the data to do with the interface
between the Internet and media law. These will be addressed first, followed by
specific legal dilemmas raised by discussants. Most centre upon difficulties
arising with the introduction of a new technology into legal frameworks which
were established over the centuries to cope with pre-Internet circumstances. Much
of the Net discussion centres upon interpretations of US law, disregarding the fact
this is an international medium crossing borders with vastly differing media laws.
177
A key question concerns the issue of where a jurisdiction, and liability, starts and
ends.
Microsoft’s Bill Gates was quoted in one message as saying: “It’s always
surprising how old concepts carry over into the new medium ... Anybody who
says you have to start over — I don’t agree with them” (C972A0074). This is a
central issue: To what extent does the Internet require a revolutionising of media
law and to what extent are existing laws and legal frameworks adaptable to this
new phenomenon?
• Publishing: The Internet has spawned a spate of publishing, much of it by those
unfamiliar with legal requirements, prompting ignorant discussions and advice
(O972A0162); warnings on postings such as “Use this information at your own
risk” (C972A0003); and blatant breaches of others’ rights (S972A0021). The
extent of open transgression of fundamental publishing law prompts the question
as to whether it is at all possible to regulate Internet publishing with the same
level of effectiveness as traditional publishing has been regulated. The legal
context is complicated by the fact that actions do not have to be illegal to prompt
legal concern in the Internet community. The sheer bulk of new publishing
happening on the Internet contributes to the “litigious consciousness” or legal
paranoia of participants. Discussants were concerned that lawyers were actively
scanning the Internet, making poorly founded allegations of legal infringements in
attempts to extort quick settlements from the ignorant or poorly resourced
publishing “newbies” (O972A0151). So, there is evidence of a gung-ho, almost
anarchistic, “publish and be damned” approach and, simultaneously, a trepidation
borne of legal fear and ignorance.
The very act of publishing electronically was the subject of debates by
discussants demonstrating their ignorance of a fundamental aspect of the law,
demonstrated in Rindos v. Hardwick (1994) and explained by Pearson (1997, p.
251). Legal definitions of “publishing” almost universally include electronic
posting as such (S973A0020 and S973A0021), yet discussants question the basis
of this. Take, for example, this contribution from discussant Don Porter who
suggested he might be tempted to flout this established legal principle.
178
And, is putting something up on a Web site really tantamount to
“publishing” it? After all, all you’re actually doing is posting it in an
accessible place, similar to tacking up a notice on the front porch of
your house, and inviting people to drop by and take a look at it. The
initiative to stop by, find the material, and read it comes from the other
side. Traditionally, publishing has implied distribution. Where is the
distribution with a Web site? (S973A0014)
Clearly, however, electronic discussion lists serve as a useful forum for
discussion of legal issues, referral to useful Web sites and point of contact for
support groups. Debate over the legal positioning of Internet publishing prompts a
revisiting of traditional practices which had become accepted as convention.
Discussants adopted the attitude: “This appears suspicious, but, hey, we were
already doing that with newspapers for a couple of hundred years.” One example
of such rethinking the legal positioning of the media was articulated by a
discussant who pondered the trade practices implications of the newspaper cover
price:
The thing is that when she buys the newspaper she [the reader] thinks
the transaction that’s taking place has to do with the sale of the paper
to her. But that’s not the major transaction. The major transaction is
the sale of her attention to the advertisers. If we weren’t so used to it,
we’d say it was a con. (O972A0053)
• Free speech: An important legal contextual consequence to be identified
through the data was the use of the Internet by journalists to communicate about
free speech issues (C972A0033). Examples included seminars on free speech
(S973A0026); the Freedom Forum’s First Amendment Ombudsman’s comments
being published (S972A0044); and publications such as FACTNews, a free
speech and privacy digest at <www.factnet.org> (C973B0010).
The counterpoint to free speech is censorship, and considerable discussion
centred on various manifestations of this phenomenon. The two main issues of
censorship to emerge were the development of electronic filtering systems to
censor out offensive material (C972A0041) and the legal issue of prior restraint,
179
court orders prohibiting publication (S973A0005). Electronic filtering systems,
commonly known as “net nannies”, are software packages designed to screen and
disallow access to Web sites at pre-programmed addresses or which contain
certain words, which might be obscenities or individuals’ names. They were seen
by discussants to prompt important questions with impact upon journalism
practice, including:
• What works of journalism might be blocked when such systems are
put in place?
• Who determines what is “offensive”?
• To what extent might “offensiveness” extend from obscene material
to political material?
• What restrictions on journalists’ access to information for their
reportage might occur if such restrictions are put in place?
(C972A0041).
Most obvious was the difference in views on censorship internationally
(C972A0074), a disparity noted by Smethers (1998, p. 16). Journalists researching
or publishing across borders find that what constitutes free speech in one country
or jurisdiction is illegal in another. The questions also reflect the problematic
positioning of the Internet in established regulatory mechanisms, protocols and
language and to some extent support the observation of Flew (1998, p. 96) that the
debate over regulation had shifted from censorship to the education of audiences.
• Prior restraint: The issue of prior restraint has long been a moot one for media
organisations and governments. Under what circumstances might a court be
empowered to order a publisher to stop publication? Even in the most liberal
democracies such powers are exercisable in certain circumstances, such as where
confidential information is about to be revealed in the mass media. A case
emerged during the data collection period involving the Dallas Morning News
(S973A0005). It demonstrated that the Web provided a vehicle for media
organisations to avoid prior restraint restrictions such as injunctions by going
180
immediately to the press stage in a very short timeline and publishing material
much sooner than they might otherwise have been able to. Publication of the
material by the Dallas Morning News on their Web site seven hours before they
were due to go to press with their printed edition rendered the material already
“published” in the eyes of a judge asked to issue a prior restraint order, rendering
the issue “moot” (S973A0011). It was described as an “historic pivot-point”
(S973A0012). The case raised hopes that traditional media might use Web
publication like a Trojan horse to disseminate information before a court has the
opportunity to restrict them.
• Intellectual property: Discussants raised concerns about the impact of the
Internet upon several specific areas of law with potential influences upon
journalism. Most prominent were concerns over intellectual property laws,
particularly copyright and trademarks. Journalists themselves have been tempted
to plagiarise others’ work from the Internet, as in the Darville case in Australia
(S972A0115). There, controversial author and columnist Helen Darville was
alleged to have stolen the work of an American journalist Peter Anspach and used
it under her own name in her column in Brisbane’s Courier-Mail newspaper.
Views ranged from the Net being an intellectual free-for-all, with Internet
presence being a de facto waiving of rights, through to a strict traditional
interpretation, applying copyright law as it stood pre-Internet to this new
publishing medium, despite its tempting cut-and-paste features. This reflected the
“ideological continuum” of views on the matter articulated by McMillan (1998).
One discussant featured a rider which summed up the dilemma in a particularly
poignant fashion: “Items lifted are done with permission...” the disclaimer
announced (C972A0033). So much can in fact be “lifted”, simply cut from one
copyright site and pasted into another, often constituting a copyright breach. The
very question of linking to another Web site with its own original material was
identified to be a breach of copyright in some jurisdictions, serving as a pitfall for
journalists building hypertext links in their work (C972A0033). This was
identified as being particularly hazardous when advertising was solicited for a site
assuming such prominent links. During the data collection period, large media
organisations sued the Web company TotalNews for “framing” their Web sites in
that way (O972D0011).
181
There was ample evidence traditional media practices were being revisited and
questioned. For example, there was a legal battle over non-news corporations’
ownership of data, such as the National Basketball Association’s ownership of its
basketball scores (C972A0041). Old work was being reassessed as the issue arose
as to who held the “e-rights” (rights to electronic redistribution) to the work
(C972A0056). Traditional lending practices of libraries were being rethought and
their application to an Internet context was considered questionable because of
intellectual property concerns. One discussant noted: “The Internet is going to
give us choices. Put differently, we have to endure the worst of the new. Let’s not
try to preserve the worst of the old” (O972D0061).
The e-rights issue raises a contractual minefield for freelance journalists
negotiating with publishers over their work, with a gamut of deals done with
different publishers (C972A0056). Nevertheless, discussion lists serve as a vehicle
for co-operative solutions to intellectual property problems, such as the ASJA
Contracts Watch, tracking freelancers’ battles for compensation for electronic reuse of their works (C972A0056). Copyright varies across jurisdictions, yet
freelance support groups purport to act globally for writers (J972A0024).
Again, the question arises whether this is anything new, or simply old law
applied to a new situation. As one discussant commented: “The material to be
used in this new world should be contracted for and paid for in a reasonable
manner, no less than has been done — and continues to be done — in the old”
(J972A0007). Discussants found parallel examples from the old world to illustrate
how things might not have changed that much in the new (O972A0149;
O972A0151). Nevertheless, discussant John C. Abell asked whether the Internet
had “increased the material value of all information” (O972A0013). The copyright
battleground indicates the new worth of archival material in such a readily
accessible form, adding value to newspapers which were once only kept by
libraries or used to wrap fish and chips (O972A0134). The notion of the library as
a public collection and distribution point was under challenge when projected into
the new environment where previously legitimate archiving for the “social good”
might now be deemed to constitute a copyright breach (O972A0135;
182
O972A0174). Traditional definitions and practices which navigated copyright
laws were found to have no electronic equivalent. For example, what someone
might view as an electronic “clipping” of newspapers to download onto disk
might be viewed by regulators as photocopying subject to copyright provisions
(O973D0005).
Discussion broached the interesting question of where the legal onus rests —
in having to apply for copyright licence or in having to defend one’s copyright
rights. One not-for-profit archiving project, the “Digital Bindery” — warned
publishers they would copy their work for archiving purposes unless
electronically refused access by the copyright owners, thus seeking to reverse the
obligation on the user to seek permission from the owner (O972A0122;
O972D0021). Such a proposal for the reversal of the onus in the copyright
relationship was seen as reflecting the anarchy of the Net with a convention which
would never be practical to enforce (O972A0150). This practice of caching
others’ pages for redistribution to commercial users prompted a debate over
whether this was breach of copyright in profiting from others’ work or simply the
provision of a free delivery service (O972D0021; O972D0029; O972D0031). Part
of this discussion centred upon whether the time had come for society to change
its view of the value of information and be more willing to pay for it
(O972D0052). This issue echoes the ethics discussion of this project’s
methodology chapter at 3.6, questioning the extent to which discussion list
contributions were subject to either confidentiality or copyright protection.
Discussant Mark Loundy contributed this view:
Fair use applies to this area just as it does in paper-based media.
Posting a protected work here is not, as some have asserted, equivalent
to a casual mention in oral conversation. (O972D0062)
• Trademarks: Trademarks raise further problems for journalists using such
words in their work. This has long been an issue with the unauthorised or
inappropriate use of corporate names, with Xerox and Post-It Notes being active
protectors of their trademarks by advertising correct usage to journalists in the
Columbia Journalism Review (1998, May/June, pp. 13 and 50 ). However, the
183
data indicated this was now moving on to a situation where electronic words were
being appropriated for corporate protection, such as “e-greetings” and “gateway”
(C972A0033).
• Fraud: Fraud was a legal issue which did not receive much explicit attention,
but surfaced in the data in an indirect sense in discussion about potentially
fraudulent practices (C972A0033). It became clear fraud was an important
contextual consideration for journalists which had the potential to impact
negatively on their actual practice, thus requiring them to be dubious about
information gathered on the Net and to be on the alert for scams and deception.
• Trade practices: Trade practices issues arose in discussion, including
indications that publishers might face liability if they built online subscriber levels
beyond what their networks could handle, as happened with America Online
(C972A0041) and online publishers needing to beware of touting a service as
“free” when it was simply building a client base from which to sell advertising
(O972A0058). Again, this raises the question of whether this is exactly what most
commercial media organisations have been doing for decades anyway. A larger
scale trade practices issue to surface in the data was that of restrictive trade
practices associated with the concentration of corporate ownership across newly
converged media. During the data collection period the European Commission
was examining whether Rupert Murdoch’s News International joint venture with
British Telecom to provide Internet services was a restrictive practice or the abuse
of
a
dominant
market
position
(S973A0013).
Competition
regulators
internationally were being faced with a preponderance of such questions as
traditional news media players moved to alliances with communications,
computing and entertainment conglomerates. One example was that described by
Harper (1998, p. 36) of the move by Microsoft into the news business.
• Defamation: The dominant legal area of concern for publishers, defamation,
becomes particularly problematic on the Internet, though discussion of this key
topic was limited during the collection period. Nevertheless, there was evidence
that inexperienced publishers were wide open to libel suits through sheer
ignorance of the law and the instant, simple means of publishing (C972A0041).
Again, any law suit to do with Internet content was described by discussants as
184
“groundbreaking”, when it may not be. It was usually just a case of existing
defamation laws being applied to a different medium of publication (C972A0126).
The true difficulties arise when publications cross defamation jurisdictions, as
noted by Pearson (1997, p. 251). Two explanations are proposed for the limited
discussion of defamation on the lists under analysis. Firstly, the list discussion
was dominated by US participants, where First Amendment interpretations favour
the publisher defendant in defamation litigation, suggesting discussants might not
have yet had as much cause for concern as those in Commonwealth countries.
Secondly, discussants mentioned discussion lists (S972A0068) and Web sites
(S972A0071) devoted to defamation information and debate, indicating many
might take their concerns and comments to such specialised forums.
Two further legal issues arose in the data, privacy and Freedom of Information
legislation, both of which are discussed at other points in this chapter but are
worthy of some comment here.
• Privacy: While privacy is a tort in some jurisdictions, it is usually viewed as an
ethical issue confronting journalists in their reporting techniques and is addressed
as such in more detail at 5.4.2 below. Nevertheless, two brief legal ramifications
surfaced in the data. The first was to do with “spamming” — the sending of
unsolicited electronic mail messages, explained by Harper (1998, p. 169). Data
revealed that some online publishers had been banned by US courts from
spamming advertisements to individuals (S972A0153). The second was the
simple but significant point that privacy invasion can be the flip side of Freedom
of Information rights and privileges legislators might grant journalists. For
example, the freedom to inspect people’s driving records might represent freedom
of information for the convenience of journalists, but invasion of the privacy of
those individuals whose records are being made available (S972A0114).
• Freedom of Information (FOI): Freedom of Information (FOI) legislation is
also an aspect of the practice of journalism. The data offered some examples of
how the Internet’s influence upon this area of the law may affect the context in
which journalists operate. FOI legislation takes on a range of forms in different
jurisdictions, with its usefulness to journalists largely influenced by the
185
convenience and economics of governments’ provision of information to them.
Discussants raised several examples of difficulties on both counts. One involved a
small daily newspaper — the Shelbyville News in Shelby County, Indiana —
which had difficulty getting public data from the local authority because of
incompatibilities in its database configuration. The City of Shelbyville wanted to
charge it $90 per hour for the special programming needed to download the
information (S974A0002), which one discussant deemed the same as charging for
access to the information (S974A0005). Another suggested the posting of all such
information to the Internet should be the standard adopted for open access
(S974A0008). Short of this, there was the suggestion media company lawyers
could ask for an order demanding government departments “show cause” why
they would not make electronic public records available in a usable and accessible
form (S974A0001).
FOI arose in the data in other significant ways. USA Today nominated the
discussion of it as a “hot site” on its own Web page, demonstrating how matters of
self-interest can be promoted by the mainstream media to their own advantage
above other important social issues (S972A0136). The international nature of the
FOI issue was exemplified by the Canadian use of the CARR-L discussion list for
distributing a media survey on the British Columbia FOI legislation with an
accompanying call for advice from journalists in other countries (C972B0026).
Both examples indicated the Net was being used by journalists for promoting,
standardising and improving legislative measures which impacted upon the
journalistic endeavour.
Overall, the data demonstrated that legal dilemmas prompted by the Internet
presented direct influences upon journalistic practice itself and indirect influences
upon the context in which journalism and publishing takes place. Several of the
influences listed actually impact on the very work journalists do — what they can
write about individuals, whether they have access to materials which may be
censored by governments, whether they can publish their work across borders
without fear of repercussions and whether others are able to reuse their work
electronically without compensating them. Others are more contextual: legal
impediments to journalism being conducted in a context of free speech;
186
educational and professional development materials available to journalists to help
with their understanding of legal issues; and the distinction between ethical and
legal implications of, for example, the invasion of privacy.
FINDING 5.12: The advent of the Internet has prompted significant changes to
the legal environment in which journalism is practised. It has forced a
reinterpretation and re-evaluation of existing laws as they apply to
journalism by demonstrating that certain laws are inappropriate in this new
context. Crucial legal dilemmas arise for journalists to do with definitions
and applications of publishing, distribution, jurisdiction, ownership and
access.
5.4.2 Influences upon the ethical context of journalism
Codes of behaviour which may or may not have legal sanction traditionally have
underpinned journalism practice. Journalists throughout the world have ethical
codes of varying types by which they are meant to abide. In the United States, it is
the code of professional conduct of the Society of Professional Journalists. In
Australia it is the Code of Ethics of the Australian Journalists Association (Media
Entertainment and Arts Alliance). A range of dilemmas has arisen in traditional
journalism related to such ethical guidelines, chronicled by Lloyd (1985, pp. 227237) including:
• Defining behaviour specifically enough to rule out some actions
totally;
• Grappling over whether the social good emanating from a
journalistic exercise justifies the unethical means by which it was
conducted;
• Methods of enforcement of ethical codes, necessary to take them
beyond mere motherhood statements; and
187
• International differences in culture, morality and ethics, positioning
journalistic behaviour differently in diverse press systems.
While some experts such as Harper (1998, p. 26) have argued that the Internet
stands to improve the credibility of the media by giving audiences better access to
checking and comparative data, discussions of ethical issues on the lists indicate
the introduction of this new technology offers a multitude of new scenarios under
which journalism ethics might be tested and feel the strain. As with the law, most
can be viewed within a traditional framework. Nevertheless, it is the force of the
new dilemmas raised by the Internet which brings more pressure to bear upon
some already questionable principles and practices.
Several issues arise from the data, which axial coding allowed to be grouped
into the following five categories: deceit, commercial exploitation, netiquette,
inaccuracy and intrusion.
• Deceit: Deceit can take a range of forms, only some of which surfaced in the
data. Plagiarism becomes a substantive ethical issue, with the cut and paste
facility of word processing and a world of textual materials available on the Net
(C972A0033). This is also a legal issue as breach of copyright discussed above at
5.4.1, but there are shades of plagiarism which fall in the ethical domain even
though they may be strictly legally permissible. For example, ideas should still be
attributed to their originators, even though no copyright may lie in them.
Seemingly innocuous, even helpful, Internet innovations such as a discussion list
dedicated to sharing book reviews (C972A0003) have the potential to be used as a
vehicle for plagiarism.
A further example of deceit as an ethical issue is hidden identity, a problem
highlighted by Singer (1998). Real-life subterfuge is cited on a list (S972A0014),
raising the issue of Internet subterfuge, as journalists take on different identities or
“lurk” on discussion lists in search of information for their stories.
• Commercial exploitation: Hidden commercial agendas and purposes have
always been an issue with traditional media (as in advertorials, unacknowledged
188
sponsorships and so on). Net publications might, for example, claim to be free, but
subscribers might be unaware of the very targeted exposure to advertisers they are
being subjected to (O972A0053; O972A0058). One manifestation of this is the
“cookie” phenomenon, where companies gain a psychodemographic profile of a
user by electronically tracking their viewing and purchasing habits by placing a
so-called “cookie” (flagging device) on their browser (O972D0008). There have
been a number of attempts to limit such intrusion, including the company
Clickshare’s feature of a “reverse cookie” option for users to opt out
(O972D0009). Discussants questioned whether the provision of false information
in response to a cookie would be illegal (O972D0018). Some companies indicated
they were not concerned with the ethics of intrusion via cookies, saying that
customers did not complain about the practice (O972D0035). Countering this
were discussants arguing many were not aware they were cookie recipients and
were suspicious of the uses to which the information was later put (O972D0037).
Similarly, so-called “free” Net publications could have undisclosed biases and
profit bases not made apparent up-front to readers (O972A0075). Advertorials
(sponsored messages masquerading as news as a common practice in traditional
media) have also made their appearance on the Net (O972A0175). The concerns
echo those of Williams (1998, p. 38), who noted the blurring line between
advertising and journalism in the Internet environment.
Another ethical breach in the commercial exploitation category is the misuse
of electronic mail addresses to send unsolicited material (O972A0135,
S972A0153). Related to this is the notion of “spamming” — sending bulk
unsolicited material to targeted groupings or discussion lists (O972A0175).
• Netiquette: Netiquette, or the social mores of Internet correspondence, becomes
an ethical issue for journalists. Good manners were not previously considered an
ethical issue, but they transgress this border now as journalists breach netiquette
by performing much of the behaviour flagged above: failing to reveal their
identities, spamming lists in search of information or in publishing their work,
failing to advise work is for publication and so on. Some netiquette protocols with
ethical implications include the courtesy of responding to list discussions privately
189
to save bandwidths and subscriber time (C972A0023; C972A0028) and leaving
on an electronic mail signature misleading readers into believing the
correspondent is speaking on behalf of an institution, when they might be making
a private comment (S972A0166).
• Inaccuracy: There are difficulties in accepting second-hand information via the
list and attributing it to the original source as if it is credible, when it could be
seriously eroded in the transfer (S972A0094). Some such information has been
posted and amended time again as it has been transferred from list to list, in
classic Chinese Whispers style. One journalist told of a policy not to disclose
names from news reports unless able to interview them personally (S972A0166).
• Intrusion: The whole issue of archiving publications and communications
becomes an ethical one for publishers. Of special concern is the notion that semiprivate electronic mail or discussion list comments might be archived in
perpetuity for journalistic access, when this purpose was never intended
(O972A0135).
Beyond the actual categories of ethical concern emerge two general
observations about journalistic ethics and the Net: education and regulation. As
with so many other contextual issues discussed already, discussion lists and Web
sites clearly serve as a forum for ethics understanding and discussion which did
not exist previously (S972A0094). Specific educational repurcussions are
addressed in Chapter 7. The regulation of journalistic ethics on the Net is an issue
in itself. A News Council advertised its complaints mechanism to the Net public
via the discussion lists being monitored, which represents a new means of
marketing such bodies (S972A0009); but the question is prompted: What special
mechanisms exist or are required to regulate journalists’ ethical behaviour on the
Internet?
Ethical issues make up an important aspect of the context in which the Internet
is transforming journalism practice. Journalists work within ethical constraints —
either self-imposed or imposed by professional bodies. With the advent of the
Internet those constraints are being renegotiated and re-evaluated as their
application to new contexts is assessed. The result is that some ethical
190
considerations relate directly to the practice itself, while others add to the mosaic
of contextual issues raised by this new medium.
FINDING 5.13: The Internet has deepened the complexity of journalism ethics
by positing a new range of scenarios where their honesty and integrity can be
challenged. Five categories of ethical concern arise: deceit, commercial
exploitation, netiquette, inaccuracy and intrusion. Each shows evidence it has
been complicated by the Internet advent. Education and regulation are
identified as the key general issues needing attention.
5.5 Contextual Influence 5: Media
A fifth major contextual influence emerged from the data during axial coding: the
influences of the Internet upon the media in which journalists worked. It became
clear there were contextual influences upon the media in which journalists
practised their journalism (newspapers, magazines, radio, television, magazines,
new media etc) and that there were certain qualities of new media which differed
from those of traditional media, such as their international nature, their design,
and their interactivity; all of which could be attributed to the advent of the
Internet. This section is therefore divided into two main parts: influences upon the
media and the qualities of new media.
The categories developed to explain the influences of the Internet upon the
media in which journalism is practised are illustrated here in the tree form
developed in the NUD.IST software in Figure 5.7.
191
5.5 Media
5.5.1 Type of media
5.5.2 Qualities of new media
5.5.1.1 Newspapers
5.5.2.1 International nature
5.5.1.2 Radio
5.5.2.2 Currency
5.5.1.3 Television
5.5.2.3 Interactivity
5.5.1.4 Miscellaneous
5.5.2.4 Accessibility
for new publishers
• Magazines
• Wire services
5.5.2.5 Commercial
potential
• Newsletters
5.5.2.6 Design attributes
5.5.1.5 New media
5.5.1.6 Non-news players
5.5.2.7 Mass / niche markets
5.5.2.8 New communities
5.5.2.9 'Push' vs. 'pull'
5.5.2.10 Capacity
5.5.2.11 Ephemeral nature
5.5.2.12 Multimedia attributes
Figure 5.7: Internet influences upon the media in which journalism is practised
5.5.1 Influences upon the type of media in which journalism is practised.
Vital to the context in which journalism is practised is the medium in which it is
positioned. The Internet offers whole new publishing formats for journalism. For
example, some outlets for journalism are solely Web-based, such as that
developed by an individual reporter to tell the story of a particular plane crash
using multimedia reporting techniques (C973B0022). At the same time, traditional
media such as newspapers, magazines, radio and television, are adapting their
existing products to take account of Internet developments or are launching whole
new versions of their products in this new medium. The actual medium in which
journalists work is central to the context in which the Internet is influencing their
practice, since their practice is directed at reporting and processing news for this
medium. Discussion on the lists offered insights into the influences of the Internet
192
upon this crucial contextual domain for journalism. After axial coding of the data,
six categories emerged, including newspapers, radio, television, miscellaneous
(magazines, newsletters, wire services), new media and non-news services. Each
is explored here.
5.5.1.1 Newspapers
Newspapers, as the oldest mass medium, have undergone transformations in their
markets and practices as each new medium — radio, television and so on — has
been introduced. The Internet presents both challenges and opportunities for
newspapers. On the one hand, it is potentially a new vehicle for competitors to
establish market presence at little expense and represents yet another distraction
for an ever diminishing pool of newspaper readers who are encountering more
demands upon their time. However, there are also potential opportunities for
newspapers on the Net: online versions of their products can allow re-use and
resale of information which might otherwise have been forgotten and Internet
marketing could bring more readers to their advertisers. Existing production
schedules, infrastructures and a mountain of textual information make newspapers
well positioned to post the most information to the Net. Whether or not they can
profit from this is a question of debate.
There was ample evidence newspapers had started their own online services,
providing a new shop window for their existing products and new products in
their own right. Some Web sites feature links to all known newspaper sites, as
with NewsCentral with more than 1900 links to newspaper sites (C972B0015). By
December 1998, this had expanded to at least 3263 newspapers (Editor &
Publisher Interactive, 1998). These services took advantage of the instant nature
of the medium by, for example, providing direct reports from sports events
(C972A0001) and the Nashville Banner mailing a digest of their main news
stories direct to recipients’ electronic mail boxes, a service especially popular with
readers who have moved elsewhere (C972B0023).
Newspapers were seen to have an advantage over competitors in the online
world, with existing arrangements with staff and suppliers, such as syndicators
who might provide online material at a nominal add-on fee (O972D0010).
193
However, they were also seen to have a disadvantage in that content they had
obtained free and featured as a service to readers (and enterprises) now had value
as online content, such as movie listings (O972D0017; O972D0034). This
happened at the San Francisco Chronicle’s site in a dispute with the National
Association of Theatre Owners (O972D0034). Similarly, the Denver Post was no
longer able to list United Artists films showing in that city after that organisation
found an alternative outlet (O972D0041).
Online versions of newspapers incorporated features of other media to take
advantage of the multi-media features of the medium, as with the use of audio
grabs (C972A0015) and video footage (O972A0026), as noted by Harper (1998,
p. 80), in his profile of the Chicago Tribune’s online edition. It was contrary to the
German experience chronicled by Neuberger (1998) where most were merely
electronic versions of their print content. But such features had unanticipated
hurdles and costs, such as the logistics of building a direct feed of the State of the
Union address into the Washington Post site, without camera resources; leading to
alliances with television groups in an attempt to reduce outlays on resources
(O972A0098). The question of co-operative developments and alliances with
other media such as television was the subject of discussion list debate
(O972D0053). An example of TV/Radio/Newspaper Website collaboration was
evident in The Gate site involving the Tampa Tribune (O972D0055).
Newspaper presence on the Net spanned the range of publications. Small
community newspapers were using the Net to publish online versions, raising the
question: What advantage is there in international publication of such small
publications and do other advantages make it justifiable? (C972A0014)
Newspapers such as Schuylkill Online may have provided part of the answer by
using the Associated Press wire service as part of their site to give local readers
access to national and world news, adding broader value to an otherwise strictly
local product (O972D0020). Nevertheless, the fate of local newspapers on the Net
appeared problematic, as they had traditionally emphasised local news to the
exclusion of national and international news (O973D0008). Regional newspapers
brought legislative information to their readers online from local parliamentary
sessions (C972A0015). There was indecision over whether papers should “brand”
194
their region online rather than their newspaper name. For example, the site
Scotland Online represented a joint venture between a newspaper group and other
investors (O972D0020; O972D0027). Some newspapers no longer produced print
editions; they were exclusively online (S972A0054; S972A0059; S972A0061).
Niche/specialist publications, such as the North American Potato Market News,
were creating online versions (S972A0066).
Some of the top international newspapers were achieving high Internet
exposure, such as the New York Times with its 600,000 page views daily facing
the question of whether to charge for Internet access (S972A0115). And
journalism student newspapers were going online, providing new audiences for
their work (S972A0175).
By creating online versions, newspapers were breaking old conventions, such
as that which prevented them crediting stories to a competitor (O972A0013); and
newspapers which had traditionally competed within the same newspaper group
might now offer a joint online product (O972A0028). Newspaper groups were
forming alliances across media and across borders to establish online operations,
breaking down traditional demarcations, as with the ChinaByte venture
(C972A0041). An example of mammoth co-operation, but which closed down
March 4, 1997, was PoliticsNow, a Web site joint venture between Walt Disney
Company’s ABC News, the Washington Post and the Times Mirror (S973A0022).
There was also evidence of more co-operation within groups between titles
(O972A0155; C973B0005). International newspapers published online versions to
the world, sometimes in their non-English native languages (C972A0016).
Organisational structures within newspaper companies were being revisited,
trying to decide where their online teams should be positioned in their buildings
and how existing resources should be reorganised. This was evidenced by
questions from a Venezualan correspondent setting up online division
(O972D0026). The query drew the response that the two teams should be kept
separate because it is a “different business”: companies should hire “champions”
dedicated to the new venture because those who tried to push new media onto preexisting staff did not succeed (O972D0038). Such findings reinforced the
195
observations of MediaSource (1997) who reported newspapers were viewing their
Web sites as separate entities, featuring almost 50% different content from their
newspaper partners.
The Internet experience was prompting newspapers to re-evaluate their revenue
bases (O972A0008). This rethinking of the revenue base had the potential to
impact on both the new and the old versions of the newspaper products.
Discussant Diane Haugen suggested rethinking the value of information by
starting from scratch: “start from the assumption that the information is free —
then figure out what people are willing to pay for... On the part of newspapers,
this is going to require a profound rethinking of what they’re doing on the Web”
(O972A0008). One group, Knight-Ridder, indicated it had made its decision on
the issue by announcing it would sell Knight-Ridder Information Inc, its online
information service, to concentrate on its core newspaper operations
(S974A0011).
Changes
required
rethinking
the
relationship
with
the
reader/customer, impacting on both old and new versions of newspapers
(O972A0018). Radical suggestions for profitability under the new order were
proposed such as a system where customers would pay per article required rather
than for a whole publication (O972A0022).
Part of this re-evaluation of their business involved newspapers revaluing their
archival materials. Online search engines and archiving tools made old news
valuable (O972A0022). Archival access had a wide variety of cost structures
attached, as newspapers grappled with determining the actual value of information
(O972A0022). Some built their own search engines into their pages, while others
relied on universal searches (O972A0085). Outsiders were valuing newspaper
information resources and appropriating them, such as archiving projects which
were purportedly philanthropic ventures but whose long-term commercial
ambitions were being questioned (O972A0156). There were indications a whole
new “compilation industry” could emerge, with middle players producing
compilations of newspaper reports on important issues (O972A0022).
Traffic through Web sites was being recognised as the means for developing
future readership of both hard copy and Internet versions of newspapers, with
circulation spin-offs for advertising claims. Marketing strategies not unlike the old
196
tabloid newspaper Bingo battles of the 1980s were being used to attract viewers to
sites: Visit the site and “win cool prizes” (C973B0016).
Discussants proposed recipes for newspapers’ success in their online versions.
One suggested taking a hard look at the advantages of online publishing:
Most important for considering online news, it must be easier to use
for real, unstated goals than is its competition: print. What we say we
want and what we really want often are radically different. The latter
is what determines news-consumption habits. This mitigates for push,
not pull. It mitigates for breadth, not depth. It mitigates for efficiency,
not community. It mitigates for multiplicity, not singularity. And it
absolutely requires predictability with regard to reward. It doesn’t
have to be the best. It merely has to reliably give a minimally
acceptable return in exchange for minimal effort. (O972A0179)
The discussant raises the terminology “push” and “pull” in discussing the
relationship between online products and their audiences. Does the news
organisation “push” its product on its online readers, or does it rely on them to
“pull” its product to them on demand. An example of an online provider going out
and “pushing” news on readers was the Nando.net News Watcher which pushed
automatic news updates on subscribing readers (O972A0155). This phenomenon
is discussed in more detail at 5.5.2 below addressing the qualities of new media.
Discussants questioned whether sometimes newspapers presented barriers to
accessing their online versions which readers might not tolerate. For example, the
New York Times site required users accept a cookie if they want ready regular
access without passwords (O972D0042).
A concern at revenue loss was expressed, with evidence that advertisers and
sponsors were going to Web sites such as those operated by schools, bypassing
newspapers and traditional media (O972D0044). College online newspapers
might also have taken advertising previously directed to mainstream newspapers,
discussants argued (O972D0048).
197
Online versions of newspapers were deemed to have certain advantages, most
notably a more interactive relationship with readers (O972A0018). They offered
new communication interfaces with readers: online forums hosted by journalists
and electronic mail options for letters to the editor (O972A0002) and interactive
classified advertisement searches, within particular newspapers and across groups
(O972A0142). Online production was seen to lend itself to special event
publishing on the Web, such as the annual sled dog race in the Yukon
(O972A0031) and the State of the Union address by the US President
(S972A0164).
Speed of publication was embraced as a key online advantage for newspapers.
As was explained at 5.4.1 above, newspapers showed they could avoid prior
restraint restrictions with legally contentious material by publishing on the Web
first (S973A0027). Speed allowed newspapers to break news as fast as their
electronic competitors and to flag follow-up stories in their forthcoming print
versions, a useful cross-marketing strategy. This positioned newspapers as a
breaking news medium, a position previously occupied by radio and television
(S973A0020).
A further advantage identified by discussants was that text rather than graphics
would be the key organising mechanism for the Internet display of Web sites
(O972A0026), giving newspapers an advantage over their visually oriented
competitors. Existing newspaper products were already reaping the benefits of the
added dialogue offered by discussion lists acting as a forum for their comparison,
discussion and improvement of techniques (C972A0122), such as with digital
photography (C973B0015).
Discussants identified a range of problems with the transition to online
publishing. News companies were criticised for investing in a rock solid
infrastructure of an online version which proved inappropriate and cumbersome
for an embryonic media form (O972A0019). They were also criticised for placing
too much emphasis on the “bells and whistles” of online versions of their products
at the expense of genuine reader needs (O972A0019; O972A0028).
198
Organisational communication within newspapers was identified as an important
issue, as Web staffers staked out a new “section” of a newspaper premises. Their
relationships with pre-existing editorial staff, the institutional space and
positioning they occupy, and the degree of communication between traditional
product staff and online staff became points of discussion and conflict
(O972A0028). Discussants believed newspaper management sometimes viewed
online services as unnecessary, giving it a low budget and a low priority, and
hiring in entry-level staff as personnel (O972A0028). Basic rights of newspaper
employees such as the entitlement to a free issue of the newspaper were being
revisited for online staff: Should newspaper employees get free Web access if
they had an online newspaper ... and does this improve quality control of the
product? (O972A0028). The findings underscore those of Quinn (1998b, p. 248)
who found management attitudes an important determinant of the success of the
introduction of new technology to the news room.
There was concern at the demise in newspaper circulation because people “don’t
care about reading”, prompting the question as to how this might impact on the
very textual market for online newspapers (C972A0075).
A long-recognised advantage of newspapers has been that they last forever and
are clipped to save. Discussants were concerned that Web links tend to
“evaporate”, to the horror of readers and advertisers (O972D0045). Newspapers
have traditionally been archived in libraries with free access. The data collection
period showed evidence of a new “pay per view” approach to online archives,
reducing access or streaming it to those willing to pay (O972D0049). This was
accompanied by the suggestion that society needed to shift in its view of paying
for information (O972D0052), but failed to account for the fact that this was yet
another value-added point of difference about traditional newspapers that was
being eroded in the new market.
Technical differences were noted in the display and accessibility policies of
newspapers. For example, the actual display technologies of online newspapers
varied markedly (O972A0043), and individual newspapers varied in their
approach to featuring external links to other sites. Some, such as the Washington
199
Post, were quite hostile to links elsewhere (O973D0007), a protectionist trend
viewed by Riley et. al. (1998) as indicative of the commodification of the Internet.
In summary, the data indicated the influence of the Internet upon newspapers
occurs in the marketplace, in the newspapers themselves, in the perception of
readers and broader media audiences, in the minds and practices of employees
such as journalists and in the educational sector, where a medium such as
newspapers carries considerable weight in journalism programs.
FINDING 5.14: The Internet has prompted a major re-evaluation of the most
traditional of media in which journalists work — the newspaper. This
represents a major contextual change for journalists as their organisations
decide whether or not to develop online services and make adjustments to
their market positioning, staffing, audience relationships, corporate alliances,
organisational structures, editorial policies and resource allocations.
5.5.1.2 Radio
Radio is relatively easily adaptable to Net broadcast, but the data revealed it was
grappling with the merits of doing so. Part of this was that it was already available
as a short wave/am/fm product in its own right, offering the qualities of
immediacy and international reach so attractive to other media on the Net, with
substantial sound quality to boot. However, the data revealed many stations had
made the move to Web broadcast ... with seemingly little impact on the journalism
used for the medium; just broadcasting the same material down a different
channel (C972A0008). Nevertheless, by December 1998, 2032 radio stations had
established Web sites (Editor & Publisher Interactive, 1998). During the
collection period there was evidence of affiliations of radio stations developing on
the Web, such as <www.ontheair.com> where 300 stations broadcast live
(C973B0012).
Radio is already set up for quality broadcasting. Yet Web broadcasting implies
some loss of quality with the use, for example, of RealAudio technology which
varies in quality according to the bandwidth being used for Internet access. With
200
this in mind, discussants questioned the motivation for Web broadcast of radio
products (O972A0112). Nevertheless, the Web seemed to offer some advantages
to radio journalism. It allowed for exclusive Web offering of some programs such
as CNET Radio (C972A0008), niche broadcast on specialised topics like
technology news (C972A0008), internationalisation of national broadcasters such
as Deutsche Welle (DW) (C972A0017) and live coverage of important news
events (O972A0063). A new word was developed to describe such radio coverage
of news over the Web: “Webcasts” (C972A0008).
Discussants questioned whether Web broadcast of radio programs was an
effective use of the new medium (C972A0008). With the medium already
boasting immediacy and extensive reach via short wave, satellite and cable
distribution, they queried how much value Web broadcast added for radio. Live
broadcasts were even seen as a disadvantage for some who did not happen to live
in US time zones (C972A0008). Nevertheless, the addition of text and grouping
and navigation facilities to radio packages was seen as an advantage. Radio
stations were able to offer textuality, statistics, background materials and visuals
to accompany their sound reports, as demonstrated by the CBC Radio site from
Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada at <www.radio.cbc.ca.radio/regional/Manitoba>
(C973B0018). Such expansion of the radio package beyond sound indicated there
were likely to be affiliations with other media, particularly television. An example
of this arose during the collection period with the acquisition by the television
network CBS of the Web service SportsLine which included radio broadcasts
(S973A0008).
One discussant suggested there were three business models by which radio
stations could develop a Web presence: the private investment method (funded by
the station in-house); the contractor method (bringing someone in to set up the
Web operation); and the affiliate model, where a large company connects the
station to a nationally affiliated site (C972A0049). Such models seemed to be
similar to those adopted by newspapers and other media.
201
As with newspapers, the radio move to the Web was seen as offering
considerable opportunities to radio programs in journalism schools, coinciding
with their general move to digital editing and broadcast, allowing them to at least
keep pace with the industry or move ahead of the pack by taking their product to
virgin markets (J972C0003).
Overall, it became clear that influences of the Internet upon radio as a medium
stood to impact upon the work of radio journalists who might be expected to adapt
work practices to take advantage of the qualities of this new medium. At the time
of the data collection, however, that did not seem to be happening except at
production level, with the medium seemingly being used to pipe existing radio
journalism down the Web through new sites, which might be affiliations of other
coverage. Perhaps radio had most to lose and least to gain from Web influence: it
already had a fairly defined and limited usage in the home, workplace and motor
vehicle.
FINDING 5.15: While some radio networks have been innovative with their
move to Internet broadcast, the new medium does not appear to add as much
value to the radio product as it does to other media products. While
affiliations are forming to develop quite extensive suites of radio programs,
there seem to be more likelihood of radio being an extension of other Web
products rather than the backbone of innovative new packages. That said,
there seems to be scope for radio journalism resources and techniques being
adapted to add a sound component to Internet news packages, such as the
live streaming of the audio of important announcements.
5.5.1.3 Television
Television in its traditional media format was already offering a mix of text, sound
and vision, seemingly lending itself to the multi-media environment of the World
Wide Web. The data indicated television seemed to have embraced the Net as an
adjunct to its existing offerings. By December 1998, there were 1277 television
sites on the Web (Editor & Publisher Interactive, 1998). Discussants offered bold
202
predictions on its potential role on the Internet, with one contributor commenting:
“The broadcast paradigm just might shape the look, feel, sound, taste and, yes,
content of Websites more than any remnants of print journalism” (O972A0167).
By the time of the data collection, major networks had developed a Web
presence, but television faced the short term problem of technology delivering
slow, poor quality video streaming (O972A0098; O972A002). Harper (1998, p.
101) had suggested this was the major hurdle facing television on the Web, along
with the establishment of brand names and clashes of corporate cultures. Some
viewed this inferior vision as merely a short term hurdle and offered suggestions
for camerawork which would disguise shortcomings (O972A0124). While
technology may not yet be up to the task, the interest seemed to be in the potential
of the Internet for television (O972A0105) and the fear of losing ground to other
major media such as newspapers while waiting for technical perfection
(O972A0026). This then becomes a question of will and resources. Television is a
production-intensive medium. Even small clips for video streaming require
substantial time and effort (O972A0126). And the sheer popularity of the medium
presents technical impediments. Discussants reported telecommunications
breakdowns as mere hundreds of users tried to access a video stream, keeping it
far from mass usage potential (O972A0105). Program scripts needed to be
adapted to Web use if television Web sites were to take advantage of the
multimedia capability to be more than simply retransmission of television
programs (O972A0026). There was evidence that television Web sites might not
be as well patronised as hoped. For example, while the Election ‘96 sites were
swamped by viewers, CNN’s coverage of the US President’s State of the Union
address and the O.J. Simpson trial had disappointing responses (S972A0115).
Nevertheless, if these technical difficulties could be overcome the discussants
envisaged distinct advantages for television on the Internet. It was already well
equipped for multi-media broadcast of graphics, vision, text and audio
(O972A0178); the Net allowed a number of major stories to be covered
simultaneously on multiple channels by large groups with adequate resources
(O972A0074); network production impediments might not be as cumbersome
203
(O972A0087);
and
interactive
viewer
dialogue
could
be
incorporated
(S972A0115).
There were indications that television companies might find their niche on the
Internet through specialised offerings and strategic alliances. The technology
lends itself to live streaming coverage of conference proceedings, known as
“Webcasting” which could feature video as well as the audio mentioned in the
discussion of radio at 5.5.1.2 above (O972A0142). It suited special television
programs on sectional interests such as CNNfn’s business cable television channel
coverage at <www.cnnfn.com> (C973B0013). Television sites on the Web were
encouraging viewer dialogue, such as “chat rooms” on important news topics, just
as newspaper sites did (S972A0115). To this end, networks like NBC were
forming alliances with large corporations like Microsoft for imaginative online
video ventures, such as NBC Desktop Video — live video feeds from press
conferences, corporate meetings and other business news events (S973A0028).
Harper (1998, pp. 97-104) had provided an extensive profile of Microsoft’s
alliance with NBC to form MSNBC. Networks were also exploring new venues
for affiliations; such as ABC signing with BIG Entertainment to have news,
entertainment and sport programming aired at kiosks in 28 shopping malls across
the US (O973D0046). Discussants suggested such alliances were needed. All
traditional media needed something from each other as none was already perfectly
equipped for Web production (O972A0098). An example was the alliance with
the online service Sports Line which offered Internet radio broadcasts, scores,
news, photos, clips and discussion lists competing with ESPNET (S973A0008;
S973A0025). Another was when Disney and ABC News linked to launch
ABCNEWS.com, an online news service (S974A0010). Another alliance was to
form “The Site”, a computer-oriented news program on MSNBC produced by
NBC News and Ziff-Davis Publishing (S974A0012). Such an alliance with the
print media on a Web venture was indicative of the television industry’s fear it
would lose ground to other traditional competitors if it delayed its Web site
development (O972A0026). Television networks recognised that newspaper
groups could move to incorporating quality video clips in their sites and text
rather than vision was proposed as the “key organising element” online
(O972A0026). An example of three-way co-operation in Web journalism by a
204
newspaper, radio and television station was the election coverage in Tampa Bay,
where each medium played to its strengths in producing comprehensive coverage
via both traditional media and a Web site, Tampa Online (O972D0055).
Such alliances appeared to be attempts at establishing a Web presence while
waiting for the technical capabilities to catch up. Some showed extraordinary
promise. For example, software companies were developing suitable software for
television viewing, such as Netscape’s TV Navigator (C972A0074). Television
and Internet interchange was made possible for viewers with NetChannel Inc,
allowing viewers to switch between television and the Internet to exchange
messages with each other and view related Web sites (S974A0013). The danger
with moving too soon with inferior technology was seen to be in spoiling potential
markets with inadequate vision and slow feeds. There were attempts to collaborate
on developing quality control mechanisms through industry groups like the
Academy of Internet Boadcasters (C972A0081).
There were indications that contextual changes were impacting upon actual
practices of journalists in the workplace. For example, television journalists were
faced with the dilemma of whether to just try to get the story “out” or conduct
video streaming of the events for Web delivery (O972A0105). Further, journalists
might need to obtain digital videocam skills to prepare work for Web broadcast,
given the quantity of content likely to be required (O972A0167). Such issues are
taken up in Chapter 6.
In summary, television was grappling with the dilemma of becoming involved
with Internet services when technical hurdles confronted the effective supply of its
core content: vision. In order to establish some Internet presence, it sought out and
negotiated alliances with other traditional and some new players. There were
indications that influences of the Internet upon television as a medium were about
to impact upon the work of television journalists who might be expected to adapt
work practices to take advantage of qualities of new medium. This seemed to be
happening, particularly in the post-production area, as television producers turned
205
their attention to Web repackaging and affiliated Web services to add value to big
event coverage, such as chat rooms and video streaming.
FINDING 5.16: There has been a contextual shift for journalists working in the
television medium as networks attempt to establish an Internet presence,
mainly through alliances with other media outlets. Technical shortcomings in
the provision of vision to the new medium present the major hurdle.
Attempts to overcome it have resulted in enterprising applications of
television to the new medium which promise to influence the practice of
television journalists and new media journalists incorporating vision into
their productions.
5.5.1.4 Miscellaneous media
The data also presented evidence the Internet was influencing a range of affiliated
information industries. These included magazines, wire services and newsletters.
The presence of magazines on the Internet did not attract much discussion
during the collection period, nevertheless some basic observations emerged.
Magazines lend themselves to a Web presence as they already boast many of the
features of Web sites: they are colourful, sectionalised, often international in
outlook, and often dynamic in their design features. A Web presence can add
interactivity and instant publication to such features. Many existing magazine
titles had launched online editions, including the big players such as Conde Nast
Publications at <www.vogue.co.uk> offering selected full-text articles and a
summary of the current hard copy edition. The magazine also provided its
horoscopes electronically (C973B0014). Specialist titles such as Agricultural
Outlook magazine had also developed an online presence (C972A0078).
Discussants noted the emergence of “e-zines” — new electronic magazine titles
launched exclusively online with no hard copy equivalent. An example was a
purely scientific specialist e-zine known as HMS Beagle (C972A0037). The
expansion of magazine titles on the Internet was evident by December 1998, when
206
they had outstripped newspapers (3908 vs. 3263) in the Editor & Publisher
Interactive (1998) listings.
News agencies, or wire services, such as Associated Press (AP), United Press
International (UPI) and Reuters have long been the key providers of international
news to newspapers throughout the world. The Internet’s ready access to new
networks of information represents a challenge to such agencies. There was
evidence they had moved to establish themselves as key news providers on the
Web, perhaps attracting new subscriptions beyond their traditional role as mere
wholesale providers of news content to newspapers. By December 1998, there
were 167 syndicated news services on the Net (Editor & Publisher Interactive,
1998). Discussion during the collection period focussed upon The Wire Web site,
home of the Associated Press news agency. Some online newspapers directed
readers seeking international news straight to The Wire by featuring it as a
hypertext link on their Web sites (O972D0015; O972D0016). The site was
criticised for concentrating on the “bells and whistles” of presentation rather than
upon the content itself (O972D0003). Wire services were also seen as being
behind the times with their offerings; and out of synch with each other in the
restrictions they put on the online use of their content (O972D0005). There was a
suggestion they were not harnessing the potential of the Internet to their
advantage. If wire services recruited their member newspapers to provide online
copy they could “produce an online news report that would knock your socks off”,
newspaper editor Alan Flippen suggested (O973D0003).
Online versions of successful newsletters had become quite common — for
example, the electronic edition of “A Serious Business” (J972A0003). The
electronic distribution of a newsletter, via electronic mail or through the Web site
interface, provides instant information of a niche, exclusive quality (J972A0003).
Such newsletters require individuals to create and produce the content, providing
one avenue of work for journalists (J972A0003). The success of the newsletter in
the new media market demonstrated that in niches people would pay for
information, particularly if it was exclusive (O972A0002). Their success online
207
depended on them addressing narrowly focussed subjects (O972A0014). As
Director of Editorial at United Press International, John Walston, noted:
The key to the success of selling information is finding people who
don’t have the time to locate the free stuff. …Newspapers don’t seem
to have figured this out. The creators of niche newsletters have.
(O972A0002)
However, there was an argument that the appeal of a newsletter was not so much
the information, but that it “opens doors to other opportunities” (O972A0044). It
particularly opened opportunities for a publisher in consulting, conferences, book
and report publishing and cross-selling.
FINDING 5.17: A range of niche media industries, including magazines, wire
agencies and newsletters, are finding opportunities on the Internet and are
being forced to experiment with their offerings and redefine their territory in
response to market shifts related to the advent of this new medium.
5.5.1.5 New media
Evidence emerged from the data of new Web-based journalism outlets emerging
independent of the traditional players. These ranged from individually based
enterprises, such as the example mentioned at 5.5.1 above of the reporter who set
up his own site to report upon a particular plane crash (C973B0022), through to
full-scale projects developed by major players in other industries, such as the
Microsoft Corporation’s Sidewalk project, featuring a gamut of news, community
information and other data in select international cities. An example mentioned in
the data was the Seattle Sidewalk at <seattle.sidewalk.com>, featuring substantial
quantities of entertainment information (S974A0010). Further, information and
stockbroking companies had sites with information previously offered by
newspapers, representing another threat to that traditional market (C972A0013).
Between the single-story and the mass market operators of such new
journalism ventures there was evidence of boutique or niche market players,
specialising in news of a particular kind. The subscription-based LEGI-SLATE
News Service, for example, featured an editorial staff of 14 conducting original
208
reporting on Congress and legislative issues for online distribution only, not
repackaged for print. It also featured separate packaging of associated news
“products”, including an archive of committee votes, databases, transcripts and so
on (O973D0041). Another specialist site was the Ziff-Davis Publishing site
AdTalk, an online source of information about advertising and marketing, with
reporting, photos, and links to industry sources, market research companies and ad
agencies (S973A0008). At a less serious level, RoyaltyUK.com featured several
hundred subscribers for its entertainment-oriented news, features and fun
segments on royals, aimed at royalty fanatics throughout the world (O973D0061).
Further examples abound, showing that non-traditional players were able to enter
this new market and compete with traditional media outlets such as newspapers,
radio and television.
FINDING 5.18: Non-traditional media have entered the news provision market
on the Internet, competing on an equal footing with sites developed by
traditional media companies. Some are other large corporations such as
software developer Microsoft, while others are small, specialised, niche
providers who trade on subscriptions in their specialty areas. Each
represents new opportunities for journalists, at the same time as presenting
potential threats to their sovereignty over information provision.
5.5.1.6 Non-news players
There was also evidence of the emergence of new players, not previously media
providers, set up to bring news together from existing news organisations, such as
search engines which could specialise in news searches and the archiving
organisations which simply collect it all for posterity.
For example, the search engine Excite developed a news search facility titled
Newstracker (O972A0101) which operated in the background of the user’s screen
but presented news items of interest when they became available. At the time of
data collection, the main search engines did not search frequently enough to be
useful as a breaking news coverage vehicle (O972A0110; O972A0111;
O972A0128). Further, news archiving services such as archive.org collected news
sites from the Web and maintained a library of news material for access
209
(O972A0173). Internet service providers such as America Online (AOL) began to
provide content on their services, prompting discussants to question the
boundaries of the roles of service and content providers (O972D0019).
Two information media holding potential or lessons for journalists were the
encyclopaedia and CD-rom industries. Encyclopaedias online provided work for
writers and researchers, but perhaps not journalists, although this would depend
on the breadth of a journalist’s work and the currency of the information being
published (C972A0043). Lessons might be learned from the “crash and burn” CDrom industry (O972A0050) which suffered problems relating to misjudgment of
markets,
distribution
difficulties,
production
expense,
market
worth,
undercapitalisation, profitability time frames and distribution as part of hardware
deals (O972A0055).
Influences of the Internet upon these other niche markets might impact on the
work of journalists in that they might provide new avenues for their work.
However, the problem is with the definition of the work, and whether it is
journalism dealing with the reporting and processing of news, or whether it is just
the gathering and processing of information, which might not be journalism.
FINDING 5.19: The boundaries between the provision of news and the
provision of other content and services have become blurred in the new
media environment, an important contextual shift which has potentially huge
implications for journalists and journalism.
5.5.2 Influences upon the qualities of new media in which journalism is
practised
New media forms discussed above display a range of qualities which set them
apart from traditional media. These qualities are important to the context in which
the practice of journalism occurs since they add new dimensions to the research,
reporting and publishing processes. Their existence forces a reappraisal of
210
journalism and its role, practice and purpose, since previously non-journalistic
practices are being re-evaluated as journalism under this new context and
previously journalistic practices are being reconsidered for their value and
purpose. Qualities identified by discussants include the international nature of the
Internet; its currency; its interactivity; accessibility for new publishers;
commercial potential; special design attributes; its servicing of both mass and
niche markets; its spawning of new communities; its publication potential for both
“push” and “pull”; its capacity; its ephemeral nature; and its multimedia attributes.
These included, but extended those identified by the Los Angeles Times’ Leah
Gentry, quoted by Harper (1998, pp. 47-48). Each is addressed here.
5.5.2.1 International nature
The international nature of the Internet presents a quality which impacts upon the
context in which journalism is practised. Journalism had long been geographically
oriented, with newspapers, television and radio stations servicing particular local
communities.
Discussants observed this fundamental quality of media had changed forever.
Publications which were formerly limited by geographical boundaries and
distribution mechanisms now had world audiences, as articulated by Dmitry
Ruschin of the Mass Media Center in St Petersburg:
Now, the Novgorod Weekly Icon can be read in the high councils of
London, the St Petersburg Times entice the savvy wallets of Wall
Street, the mayor of Nizhny-Sanarka opine to those whose daily news
consumption once began with the New York Times. And readers in
Moscow can discover what is happening outside the city and even
outside the country, quickly and easily. (S973A0003)
Indicative of the world reach of Internet services was the Mongolia Web site
and electronic mailed daily newsletter (C972B0024). Languages were seen as less
of a barrier to international publication, with multi-lingual services in evidence
(C972A0016; C972A0017). Interpreting / translation services were advertised
211
(O972A0056). Publishing to a niche market might not previously have been viable
on a national basis, but niches could be significant on a world population scale
(O972A0004).
Further, the Internet allowed journalists a high degree of mobility without the
loss of contact with their communities, evidenced by a North American discussant
who moved to Moscow and still participated in the list (J972C0010).
FINDING 5.20: The Internet has rendered international the fundamental
geographical orientation of news media and journalists in some situations.
5.5.2.2 Currency
Immediacy (or currency) was one of the three key qualities of the new media
identified by Harper (1998, pp. 56-70)
The Internet allowed for an immediacy in the breaking of news (C972A0001), a
feature new to traditional media forms like newspapers, which, in their Web
versions, adopted the level of currency previously only boasted by radio and
television (C972A0014). The Internet was even faster than television in the
breaking of some news events, given the production and infrastructure required
for television broadcast (O972A0087). Discussants debated the potential of the
Internet as a live news source, but suggested the biggest news events might be
covered adequately by cable television, leaving Internet news breaking perhaps
for second-string events (O972A0087). SPJ Press Notes reported that not as many
cyber users turned to the Internet for breaking news as was expected, with O.J.
Simpson’s AOL chat room having about 6,000 participants, and CNN’s Web site
recording a short-lived 30,000 hits a minute just as the verdict was announced.
Despite this, such traffic was indicative of a new mass medium for breaking news
(S972A0115). The finding reinforced that of Harper (1998, p. 57), who cited the
example of a newspaper which printed a box in its lead story for the day saying it
212
would announce the winner of an important contract on its Web site as soon as the
news came to hand.
Traditional means of distribution of newspapers were complicated even
further in some parts of the world by difficulties with climate and transport. In
Russia, for example, the Internet allowed for the fastest access to any article
published in the national and regional presses of the former Soviet Union
(S973A0003).
Despite the facility of currency, some Web publications traded off not being
current, such as the syndicated columns News of the Weird and Mr Media, which
were released three weeks after the cover date, once they had been used by
subscribing newspapers (C972B0007). This simply added a life beyond
publication currency for content which was still deemed to have value.
Currency and the expectation of instant information can also work against the
new media. Time and frustration in accessing new media can be a negative in a
new environment where seconds of waiting in front of a computer screen seem
like hours to the impatient user, as with one user’s complaint about having to reenter a name and password each time the New York Times was being accessed
(O972D0040). Further, the datedness of material needed to be watched carefully
as Web sites developed in a flurry of enthusiasm were left unattended for months
or years, leaving their data, which might purport to be current, actually quite
dated. For example, one site accessed during the data collection period in
February 1997 had last been updated in December 1995 (O972A0116).
FINDING 5.21: The Internet has injected a new capacity for currency or
immediacy into news media reportage which is already being used as an
attraction to audiences seeking news on important events. Disadvantages
relate to users’ expectations of currency being frustrated by technical glitches
or poor site maintenance.
213
5.5.2.3 Interactivity
The potential for interactivity — genuine interaction between the user and the
medium — emerged as a positive quality of the Internet. It was the second major
quality cited by Harper (1998, pp. 58-61), who gave examples of newspapers
whose online editions featured extensive background information on important
issues and who invited dialogue with their readers.
This arose in a range of forms identified by discussants. There was the
convenience of having material of choice published straight to the user’s
electronic mail in-box (C972A0004). For example, the Nando.net news watcher
service allowed up to the minute news material from a range of sources to compile
in the background while the user went about doing other things (O972A0155).
The Internet heralded the era of searchable classified advertisements, including
the AdHound concept of classifieds where the users specify the category of ads to
be mailed to them (C972A0014). Web search tools were another manifestation of
interactivity, available both within sites and beyond for universal searches
(O972A0091). Sophisticated mechanisms to improve user efficiency included
time saving devices like speed reading display (C972A0084).
New Web services proposed offering advice to clients from paid experts in
specialised fields, going beyond what columnists and guest writers already did for
newspapers (O972A0084). Discussants observed that effective interactivity and
niche publishing services needed a critical mass of subscribers as a base from
which to make them profitable in the longer term, particularly if interactivity
implied subscribers contributing to the pool of material themselves (O972A0072).
This was certainly the case if newspaper-sponsored online advice channels like
those described above were to be cost-effective (O972A0084). The findings
reinforce the observations of McMillan (1998) who observed interactivity of new
media seemed to be organised around the perspectives of users, structure or
process. However, the lack of extensive discussion of interactivity might prompt
concern that journalists were underestimating this quality of the new media, as
suggested by Riley (1998).
214
FINDING 5.22: The Internet allows for more interactivity between users and
the medium and content providers look to interactivity as a point of
difference to attract subscribers.
5.5.2.4 Accessibility for new publishers
While traditional publishing and broadcasting required substantial infrastructures
and often specific licences, anyone can create an Internet news publication with
minimal investment. Harper (1998, pp. 118-131) chronicled examples of
minorities and journalists in developing countries taking advantage of this
inexpensive access. There was ample evidence that this was occurring, with a
litany of Web sites reported created and hosted by individuals. This was observed
to bring with it the enthusiasm of hobbyists and amateurs, as well as inherent
dangers for new players, such as legal liability (C972A0041). Discussion lists,
too, were able to be started and maintained by individuals, introducing a new form
of proprietorship and control with the terminology “list owner” which could mean
different things to different people (C972A0002).
New technology had reduced costs enough to make new players competitive
and some topic areas were able to support many advertisers, with snowboard
magazines an example (O973D0010). Net information sources with minimal
advertising, with most income going into editorial production, became a viable
competitor to the big corporate players, in the opinion of one discussant
(O973D0015). Another, Eric Meyer, suggested “popularity” and “profitability”
may be distinct concepts on the net: “Far too many look for a Holy Grail, seeking
to replicate others’ successes without understanding the uniqueness of each
market or product” (O973D0023). Niche net publications produced by astute
small players might prove to be the most effective vehicle for Internet profits.
Nevertheless, there might be situations where the economies of scale offered by
traditional media operators made them dominant in large markets (O972A0006).
FINDING 5.23: A significant contextual shift in new media ownership has
occurred, as the Internet presents opportunities for hobbyists and other small
215
players to start up as news providers with a minimum of infrastructure,
whereas traditional media are the preserve of large corporations.
5.5.2.5 Commercial potential
Much of the discussion of the qualities of the Internet centred upon the potential
profitability of an Internet presence. Kennedy (1997, p. 57) had found revenue
generation to be the primary motivation of traditional providers to their online
ventures. During the collection period an interesting transformation appeared to be
occurring. Discussants were reporting that some ventures were starting to convert
commercial potential into profits. But the extent to which those profits were “real”
was moot. The bigger traditional players were “loss leaders” in the field, drawing
upon resources they were already subsidising through their existing operations to
provide content for new media ventures. One discussant suggested the crucial
point of success was when the Internet market was large enough to absorb its
share of the loss leaders’ expenditure on editorial, for example 20% of the New
York Times’ budget (O973D0025). Such an accountant’s approach to new media
ventures required an acceptance of the need to carry costs necessary for
developing a revenue stream: getting customers, providing service, acquiring
advertisers and keeping employees (O972A0058).
While there was a proven tendency for consumers to buy goods over the
Internet, a key question was whether there would be a similar willingness to pay
for information (O972A0002; O972A0008). There was no doubt people already
paid for quality information by subscribing to newsletters, but in what quantities
would they pay for information on the Internet (O972A0002)? The New York
Times proposed testing this willingness by moving from 600,000 page views daily
to charging for access (S972A0115). The theory was that enough of a critical
mass of readers would pay for the service once a substantial base of free readers
had been established (O973D0064). Discussants suggested people appreciated
goods and services more if they had to pay for them (O972A0010; O972A0011),
but that in the news media advertising had eroded the audience’s appreciation of
what it cost to provide information (O972A0041).
216
The large traditional media operators followed the “loss leader” model, so it
would be difficult convincing large numbers of people to pay the full cost of a
competitor financed solely by subscriptions (O973D0003). It was up to new
media operators to educate their audiences that paying for information was both
acceptable and worthwhile. The time equals money aspect had to be sold to
audiences so they were willing to pay to save time (O972A0011). In this way, the
Internet might increase the value of all information (O972A0013). For example,
as noted earlier, sports organisations such as the National Basketball Association
seized proprietorship over their real time sports scores after recognising that these
had value to sports fans eager for Internet updates (S972A0067).
Market research was needed to determine what information people were
willing to pay for. Subscriptions were seen as a preferable long-term revenue
option over advertising since they only required maintenance once established
(O972A0070). Business users had already demonstrated in other traditional
contexts that they were used to paying for value in certain information, such as
mailing lists and professional journals (O972A0041). Perhaps some news was
marketable on its own (O972A0008). Perhaps there was scope for “micro
transactions” where subscribers were willing to pay a nominal amount for a story
of a particular kind, or perhaps to subscribe to a favourite columnist
(O973D0013). The difficulty seemed to be in reaching the right audience — those
willing to pay (O973D0037). The trick then became maintaining customer loyalty
by offering value in information for longer term subscriptions (O972A0008).
Subscription-based services traded on the time equals money formula, “finding
people who don’t have the time to locate the free stuff” (O972A0008), according
to discussant Diane Haugen.
A further question concerned the point at which customers might be willing to
pay. For example, were they willing to pay at the point of downloading articles on
a particular topic (O972A0008; O972A0022)? This was known as the “pay per
click” model and differed from subscriptions in that it relied on the user paying for
immediate access to the information (O972A0070). Some systems, such as the
Clickshare model, were set up to register royalty payments to member news
217
organisations automatically when a user clicked requesting an item from their site
(O972A0033).
There was evidence to support McMillan’s (1998) observation that Web sites
fell within distinct models of funding for their content. While some were pursuing
the subscription-based route to profits or innovative new models like pay-perclick, others were experimenting with different forms of advertising in new
Internet products, accepting that the most workable model might be through
advertisers paying the bills as it had been with traditional media (O972A0021).
The earliest and most obvious form of advertising was the banner advertisement
on the Web page, but discussants noted that publishers were toying with new
models, such as advertisers sponsoring forums on certain topics hosted by the
Web site (O972A0025). Some niche advertising opportunities were sought after
for their direct marketing potential. For example, one advertiser, AdOne
Classified Network Inc, bought up all the advertising space for the Web site
covering the Interactive Newspapers ‘97 conference, hosted by Editor and
Publisher magazine (O972A0142). Much of the advertising action was not at the
actual sites themselves, but at the initial point of contact for users, home pages of
the Internet Service Providers (ISPs) like America OnLine (AOL) and the Web
browser providers such as Excite. There was trade between the ISPs and the
browser providers, sewing up advertising on an exclusivity basis between them
(O972D0030). This confirmed the advantage identified by (Harper, 1998, p. 98)
that Internet purchasers were able to be quite specifically identified and targeted.
It reinforced the doubts expressed by advertising agencies surveyed by Raines
(1996, p. 44), who found many advertisers preferred investing in their own sites
over advertising with online newspapers. At the same time, the huge information
technology corporations like Microsoft were able to pull the big advertisers to
their Web projects. For example, Microsoft’s “Sidewalk” city entertainment
guides attracted ads from Barnes and Noble; BMW; United Airlines and Visa
before their debut (S973A0008). It had become clear that the advertising pie,
already cut into small pieces by the traditional media mix, had been fragmented in
the new media environment.
218
If advertising and subscriptions were not going to be easy paths, the new
media players needed to look to other avenues of profitability. Some of the
traditional media operators realised there were avenues which had been
underutilised in past, such as newspapers’ extensive archives (O972A0022;
O972A0153). However, they placed different valuations on the worth of this
resource, resulting in huge variations in what different publications charged for
electronic access to their archives (O972A0022). They were also on the lookout
for other “next generation profit” opportunities, using the Internet to sell other
avenues of their businesses in the way newsletters acted as a shopfront for
conference subscriptions and book sales (O972A0044; O972A0047). Profits were
also siphoned off by secondary parties offering news compilation and tracking
services to users (O972A0054). Also, some specialised in the content supply
business on a wholesale basis. News syndication companies such as Tribune
Media Services provided online content for a fee (O972D0007). But this became
an issue. Online news services complained the syndication companies exploited
them in their pricing of material compared with newspapers (O972D0010).
Greed became an ethical issue of real concern among discussants. There was a
view that scams — the scramble for the quick buck — were eroding the profit
potential of the new medium (O972A0058). Vin Crosbie of Digital Deliverance
LLC quipped:
P. T. Barnum once said, “There is a sucker born every minute.” Smart
guy, that Barnum. I wonder what ISP or Website he would be
operating if he were alive today. (O972A0058)
There was concern that the traditional boundaries between advertising and
other content were being breached in the dash for cash. For example, AOL was
selling advertisements into its community chat area known as “People
Connection”, with ads appearing in the public space of the chat area during
sessions (S973A0013). Profits were already affecting news judgments, discussants
felt (O972A0087), and the advertising-sponsored news delivery over the Internet
threatened to impact on the “value and integrity of journalism as a whole”, wrote
Philip E. Daoust (O972A0075). Discussants expressed concern at the “marketing219
centred business model” of some Internet Service Providers like AOL, along with
the associated hype and sometimes dubious ethical practices (O972D0022). Some
sites boasted unlimited Internet services for free, but customers were asked to pay
a “one time fee” and were subjected to advertisements. A discussant queried what
was actually “free” about such a service (O972A0048).
One discussant made the astute distinction between those making money on
the net (in new, solely Internet ventures) and those making money from the net (in
Internet services adding custom to pre-existing operations) (O972A0034). For
example, syndicated columns and features made more profitable by Web release
after their print version cover date, spreading the word about the column via the
Net and directing readers to the hard copy version to get it while it is “fresh”
(C972B0007). Newspaper companies approached the Internet as a mechanism for
adding value to their mainstream operations by acting as a virtual billboard
attracting new readers and added traffic for advertisers.
A discussant observed that the Internet pendulum had shifted from information
to marketing: “The Internet once was an information sharing medium. It is now
becoming reprocessing and marketing.” (O972D0060).
FINDING 5.24: The data highlight a contextual development of substantial
potential impact upon journalism: the quest for profitability in a new
medium. Attempts at making the Internet a commercially viable vehicle for
publishing have prompted experimentation with revenue raising measures
which challenge traditional assumptions about the role of information, news
and journalism in the overall media mix. Commercial pressures stand to
influence the journalistic endeavour in ways not encountered previously.
5.5.2.6 Design attributes
The design attributes of Internet publications, particularly Web sites, represent a
further contextual change for journalists. Such creations need to adapt to the
220
different computer screen sizes by which they may be viewed, requiring a design
flexibility previously not encountered in other media. It was recognised that
journalists would need to be visually literate, not just textually literate, to function
effectively in the new media environment (O972A0051), taking account of design
features which might not have been at issue in traditional media. The feature of
interactivity mentioned above at 5.5.2.3 was another variable which needed to be
taken into account. This created a new means of presentation, including hypertext
for Web publishing (C972A0004). The number of links, internal and external, and
their positioning, were important design ingredients in Web page design
(J972A0009), as had been identified by van Oostendorp and van Nimwegen
(1998). The availability of external links tempted viewers to leave a site, a design
challenge which resulted in many designers attempting to restrict the mobility of
users out of their sites. But this was seen to work against the basic human
curiosity and desire for freedom of movement (O972A0079).
Further, the unlimited space available to publications, unlike the limited
number of pages allocated to a newspaper, allowed comprehensive listings of data
relevant to audiences but at the same time presented design challenges for ease of
navigation (C972A0014). This might impact on the style of writing best suited to
the publication (S973A0030).
Experimentation with advertising on Web sites, noted above at 5.5.2.5, had its
own impact on design. Endorsed advertising standards similar to those applying to
newspapers had arrived, prompting the redesign of news pages (O972A0131).
And just as newspapers suffered design problems with the positioning of
advertisements on certain pages, Web sites suffered from poorly placed
advertisements on certain sites, such as an advertisement for adult material on a
religious Web site (O972D0004). Discussants debated the extent to which design
should have to accommodate advertisements and sponsorships (O972A0131), a
perennial argument in newspaper news rooms. It was recognised that the
positioning of advertisements was vital to Web page design and that the static
positioning of ads on a site became monotonous (O972D0004). Other newspaper
design elements, such as the arrangement of sub-headings, was seen as important
to Web sites as well (J972A0005).
221
Utility and simplicity were identified as important Web design elements,
featuring one main element to each page, but with hyperlinks to more or deeper
information (O972A0079). Discussants were critical of an overemphasis on
prettiness and an overuse of animations which blocked important information
such as addresses (O972A0028).
FINDING 5.25: Publication design is a contextual aspect of journalism being
influenced by the Internet. Journalists might be expected to practise in a
design environment paying greater attention to visual literacy and accounting
for other qualities such as interactivity, sponsorship and hypertextuality.
5.5.2.7 Servicing of both mass and niche markets
The Internet offered a contextual difference to traditional media in that it serviced
both mass markets and niche markets simultaneously. Certainly, traditional media
serviced both markets in different guises: community newspapers versus mass
circulation dailies; provincial television versus national networks; and ethnic radio
versus large public broadcasters. However, on the Internet a single medium served
both the mass and the niche at the press of a button. A major US newspaper Web
site, for example, could allow for readers to participate in their own chat room
discussion on, say, parenting — a niche issue. Discussants suggested the mass
media became more shallow, while the niche media allowed for depth of coverage
on a single issue (O972A0004). This had implications for journalists in deciding
how to cover a news story. Profitability in niche markets depended sometimes on
the perceived exclusivity of the information. As discussant Diane Haugen noted:
“The more some information is spread around, less valuable it becomes for
individuals” (O972A0008).
Internet news targeted at niche markets was typified by the “micro-tailored”
net news of Excite’s NewsTracker which tracked news on issues requested by the
user in the background while other work was being completed on the desktop
(O972A0070). There was a fear, however, that this did away with the traditional
element of surprise in mass media — stories on topics the reader or viewer might
222
not have pre-selected but nevertheless found fascinating. Does the shift toward
micro-tailored news mean the elimination of that surprise element, a discussant
asked (O972A0014). Of course, a more sinister view of the move to appropriate
and influence such niche choices by marketers is in line with that of Aufderheide
(1998, pp. 53-54), outlined in Chapter 2. It was her thesis that any journalistic
encouragement toward such niche products and community-based choices would
go against the grain of the forces of multi-national operators who found the
channelled and massified choices of consumers more attractive economically.
Niche markets could take a range of forms, including conference coverage
sites (O972A0142); business-to-business markets (O972A0044); specialised
discussion lists; and language, geography, profession or interest based sites.
Seemingly small niches could be substantial on a world population scale
(O972A0004).
FINDING 5.26: The Internet presents journalists with a unique mix of mass
and niche markets, requiring a sophisticated understanding of the
communication purpose journalism is meant to serve in each circumstance.
5.5.2.8 Spawning of new communities
There was no doubt the discussion lists themselves developed a sense of
community as outlined by Rheingold (1994) and discussed in Chapters 2 and at
5.1.1 above. During the collection period, discussants recognised this as a quality
of the Internet generally. One compared the Internet to a virtual town hall in an
attempt to show the communal nature of discourse occurring (O972A0072).
Another even suggested it might be an appropriate venue for indigenous peoples
to “repossess some virtual space” (S972A0103).
Yet the challenge was for new media operators to recreate that sense of
community described by Rheingold (1994) in their new, profit-seeking ventures
(O972A0025). Some doubted this was possible, suggesting the real new thrust
223
was towards efficiency in Internet operations over a sense of community
(O972A0179).
Journalists might be faced with the dilemma of recognising the nature and
dynamics of such communities in embarking upon their reporting, implying a
series of obligations they might not normally be expected to countenance in
traditional mass media, thus taking up the call by Aufderheide (1998, p. 55) to
counter such a corporate trend.
FINDING 5.27: There is evidence of Rheingold’s (1994) “virtual community”
throughout the Internet, prompting important contextual questions about the
role of journalists in such communities and the obligations they might face
beyond those of the traditional mass media.
5.5.2.9 Publication potential for both “push” and “pull”
Harper (1998, p. 115) had described the difference between “push” and “pull”
technologies. The interactivity of the Internet as a medium creates two possible
facilities for the breaking of news: “push”, meaning the information is published
to the user; or “pull”, where the user requests the information to be sent to them.
The phenomenon has been compared with the method of distribution of a
newspaper: those whose free community newspaper was thrown over their fence
had their newspaper “pushed” to them, whereas those who preferred to buy it at
the newsagency actively “pulled” the publication to themselves (J972A0003;
O973D0056).
The fact that material can be both pushed and pulled over the Internet is an
interesting quality of the medium, and it prompted discussion over the ethics of
the two approaches. Pushing material over the Net was classed by some as
“spamming”, the equivalent of sending junk mail to consumers (O972A0179;
O973D0035). Others drew the distinction between spamming and “push” which
224
was the result of individuals signing up for and being sent the data rather than
having to select it each time they needed it (O973D0054).
One view was that the interactive nature of the Web should give users the
choice on whether they wish to “pull” material to themselves. It was not a
broadcast medium, but rather a “transaction based interchange initiated by the
client rather than a server initiated transaction in the broadcast sense like radio or
television” (O972A0151), argued discussant Paul Jones. This suggests that push
“ignores the fundamental beauty of the Web: Users can choose where they go,
what they look at and enjoy the adventure of new discoveries” (O973D0017). The
opposing view was the pragmatic one which suggested the nature of the medium
demanded a scattergun approach to establish a critical mass of an audience for a
product.
The push-pull debate was complicated by the discussion of the role of
“intelligence agents”, software which goes beyond keyword searches to create a
profile of the user and to select material according to this profile (O973D0049).
One such service, Affinicast, allowed the user to create a composite of their own
interests by completing a profiling survey covering media interests and lifestyle.
The service then presented the user with choices of Web sites, news and features
(C972B0008). Since the user was complicit in completing the profile, they had in
fact “pulled” the initial material to themselves, but the question is whether the
continued sending of material to the user according to their profile becomes
“push” rather than “pull”. This customising of news is where some discussants felt
push technology would be successful in the long run (O973D0017). It was aligned
with the findings of Harper (1998, p.61-70) who detailed a number of attempts at
developing the personalised “Daily Me” edition of Internet publications featuring
tailored news selections for each audience member.
Push was attractive to consumers because it was convenient, and they did not
have to remember to “pull” the material in and it saved time (O973D0051). It
removed impediments to retrieval (O973D0024). Even discussion lists could be
categorised as “push” media, suggested Linda Richards:
225
Surfing takes time and effort. The Web can be a pain at the best of
times: especially in the real world where most users are in at 28.8 or
slower. If getting your news or specific information is the goal, then
some form of push can really be the answer. It’s convenient, it’s
painless. I don’t see the mystery. (O973D0026)
Push technology was seen as an ideal vehicle for Internet advertising, since
advertising sales people could boast a certain circulation for an advertisement and
advertisers could justify their expenditure on this basis (O973D0045). This could
be combined with data obtained from site hits using software such as Webcounter
mentioned by Kennedy (1997, p. 61). One of its most successful franchises was
Pointcast, with 30,000 subscribers at the time of data collection with 50 to 100
copies of the software downloaded daily (O973D0022). The software provided a
limited menu of news selection options for subscribers.
But push technology was not just a matter of sending junk news items to
subscribers. It was used in other ways, for example as a background application
which automatically updated a user’s anti-virus software once it had become
outdated or immediately notified colleagues once a user’s Web site had been
updated (O973D0044).
Some discussants were sceptical about the motive behind push:
They still seem built around the hopes and dreams of people looking
to make money rather than the real needs of real consumers...
Anything that impedes my computer’s primary mission, anything that
slows me down, makes me wait, distracts me while I’m trying to
work, is a nuisance. (O973D0040)
Discussants put the view that push technology would become less offensive to
many once technology had improved in coming years, particularly after fully
graphical electronic mail had become a reality, taking up much of the push
technology traffic (O973D0044; O973D0020).
226
The push-pull debate took on an ethical edge when considered in conjunction
with the practice of placing “cookies” on users’ browsers to create
psychodemographic profiles of their interests, discussed at 5.4.2 above. This push
technology was deemed to be overstepping the ethical mark (O972D0006;
O972D0008), as suggested by Riley et. al (1998). Some sites, notably those of the
New York Times and the Christian Science Monitor, totally blocked user access
unless they agreed to a cookie (O972D0024; O972D0025). Some argued
subscribers were ambivalent to the cookie phenomenon (O972D0028;
O972D0035). Others disagreed and suggested it was an insidious practice eroding
the credibility of the medium (O972D0037).
FINDING 5.28: The phenomenon of “push” and “pull” technology is an
important contextual consideration. The fact that journalists’ work might be
requested by some users but thrust upon others might inform their approach
to their work and their overall mission.
5.5.2.10 Capacity
The sheer, almost limitless, capacity of the Internet presents a further quality
affecting the context in which journalists practise their work. The unlimited
number of potential sites for publications rendered their owners able to create
regional and interest niche sites as well as multiple sites for different groups of
subscribers (J972A0003). Publishers had multiple broadcast channels (and media)
and could cover several stories simultaneously (O972A0074). For example,
electronic mail provides one publishing form, with messages sortable into
different “mailboxes” assigned to different purposes (O972A0027). Yet, the
greater question was how to maintain the supply of content to such a litany of
potential outlets, particularly since quality packaged journalism required
considerable production effort and resource base.
Also, despite the seemingly limitless theoretical capacity for content, technical
limitations on carriage rendered some applications problematic during the
collection period. For example, streaming video over the existing infrastructure
227
was fraught with problems. Too many requests and the communication lines
would crash. Discussants suggested this medium was at this stage better suited to
less popular niche stories (O972A0105).
FINDING 5.29: The Internet offers almost limitless capacity for “channels” of
news and information, a significant contextual shift from traditional media
where many publishing resources are severely restricted by the need for
publishing infrastructure and licences. However, this quality of the Internet
offers a further challenge to journalists and media outlets: how to supply
quality packaged journalism to such an array of distribution channels.
5.5.2.11 Ephemeral nature
“Our work is written on the wind,” discussant Steve Yelvington lamented. “How
many can show our electronic front pages of a day three months ago?”
(O972A0163). The comment summed up the ephemeral nature of the Internet.
The positive side was that it was perceived as a happening, “now” medium. The
downside was that it was perceived as fly-by-night and temporary, with
discussants expressing difficulty convincing clients they would still be around the
following year (O972A0058).
Web addresses would change and material would be replaced without notice.
“Unfortunately, in another week or so, the Washington Post’s link to my father’s
obit will be as dead as Dad is,” David H. Rothman noted (O972D0045). The
vaporous nature of the Internet meant the reverse problem also applied.
Publication was also irreversible. Whereas it might be possible to “pull back” an
edition of a magazine from newsagents, it was almost impossible to do so
effectively with something published electronically because there was a strong
chance it had already been forwarded or copied or used in some way before it was
withdrawn (S973A0014). The phenomenon had professional and legal
consequences in that serious errors were replicated and it was impossible to
guarantee a tarnished reputation had been restored with a correction. It was “just
like delivering your newspaper to a news kiosk on a busy street”, UPI’s Director
228
of Editorial, John Walston, noted (S973A0016). Newswriter at Washington State
University’s College of Agriculture and Home Economics, Terence L. Day, raised
the question of whether two distinctly different types of ventures might be
successful on the Web: “One would have long term viability, such as the Mercury
Center. The other is temporary in nature. These are exemplified by events and
issues.” (O973D0009). Perhaps some companies might specialise in creating these
ad hoc sites.
The ephemeral, transitory nature of the Internet raises the difficulty of
effective archiving for posterity. Discussants saw archiving as necessary to proffer
material to historians looking at the early development of the Internet, “for future
generations to enjoy” (O972A0165; O972A0170). They suggested there should be
an onus on publishers to keep at least their front pages (O972A0172). But
archivists’ attempts at storing Web sites encountered copyright problems as
publishers were suspicious of them stealing their intellectual property, prompting
Brewster Kahle to suggest it might all be too much bother: “If it isn’t useful and
fun then we will eventually stop collecting, and the early Internet will be lost like
most other early mediums” (O972A0174).
FINDING 5.30: The Internet is ephemeral by its nature, “written on the wind”,
a significant contextual consideration for journalists whose work will be
published into this transitory medium. It prompts consideration of
precautionary practices such as keeping back-up files of work, but also might
impact on the actual research and reporting enterprise. It also presents a
contextual shift in the mission of journalism, part of which in newspapers
traditionally had been as a medium of record, reporting events for posterity.
5.5.2.12 Multimedia attributes
The multi-media nature of the Internet is another quality with implications for the
context in which journalism is practised. The Web offers a combination of text,
still graphics, animated graphics, sound and video streaming capabilities which
229
add up to a genuine multi-media environment. Discussants noted that newspaper
Web sites were now able to offer audio and video clips (C972A0015;
O972A0026), adding a new dimension to a previously textual medium.
Sophisticated software premised on larger computer memory capacities enabled
the notion of dual media usage — downloading one new item while watching or
working with the other (O972A0087).
Yet the most exciting, and still most problematic, development was the
promise of live video streaming on a large scale. Most news sites still did not have
live streaming capability because of a combination of bandwidth incapacity and a
lack of agreements with networks which would provide the content (O972A0098).
The available formats were of a particularly poor quality, with one discussant
summing it up this way: “At best, it’s a gimmick.” (O972A0112). But the positive
view was that this was just another hurdle, and that inferior quality should be
suffered in order to have networks set up properly for when better quality video
did arrive (O972A0124). Special audio/video live players were becoming
available, such as Streamworks (O972A0142). A common view was that real-time
quality video on the Internet would put television stations on a par with
newspapers (O972A0026). Further promise was seen in the convergence of
television sets with the Internet, at first via TVNavigator software (C972A0074).
FINDING 5.31: The developing multi-media capabilities of the Internet
represent a key contextual consideration for the practice of journalism,
which needs to take account of text, graphics, animated graphics, sound and
vision in the new environment. Technical improvements to the provision of
video stand to transform the environment further.
The qualities of the new media considered here offer a context which prompts an
adaptation of journalistic skills and understandings to new environments. Just as
the introduction of radio forced journalists to adapt their practice to the
availability of sound; and television prompted an incorporation of both sound, text
230
and vision; the Internet in its various forms has certain new qualities and new
mixes of pre-existing qualities which impact upon journalism.
The qualities of new media the participants have identified as important
indicate a number of highly complex new mediascapes where previously stable
values, practices and markets are now being contested. The quality of commercial
potential (or lack thereof) was the most frequently discussed, which is to be
expected when a combination of other qualities indicates traditional media players
(including journalists) will have to earn their place in the new market.
The ever-changing quality of the new media brings with it its own journalistic
dilemmas — including deciding which skills are destined to be temporary ones,
devoted to completing tasks which may be superseded by technological
developments. Whole projects or media may be destined to be replaced by new
regulations or market alliances.
The terrain also represented a revisiting of old battlefields, such as that
between advertising and editorial. Traditional notions of editorial independence
were being questioned and compromised as profitability and survival became
motivating forces. Similarly the pushing of “free” news publications upon readers
reignited the contentious issue of free community newspapers and their delivery
into every suburban home. The arguments against the new media practices can be
turned against the old ones which had remained unquestioned for decades.
Journalists faced the need for greater discipline in their work with the
availability of more extensive freedoms: instant publishing, unlimited space,
direct access to readers’ electronic mail accounts, multi-media presentation,
needing to better estimate niche audiences’ needs and so on. At a production level,
the new qualities demanded new design and site construction considerations.
Interactivity might mean journalists have to give some ground to their
constituents. Whereas previous publishing was linear, with letters to the editor
representing the readers’ views in newspapers and talkback segments doing the
231
same in radio; truly interactive news sites might have readers commenting,
correcting, and even reporting simultaneously in a newly negotiated news process.
As readers/users are able to select their own news diets, the definition of
newsworthiness might well change, with a refocussing of the “unusualness” and
“novelty” aspects of news upon particular topic areas, rather than broad-brush
news gathering where all readers will be assumed to be interested in septuplets
being born in Iowa. (Now only those asking for the menu item World Records or
Bizarre Occurrences might be offered such as story.)
Journalism sponsored by the “rivers of gold” classified advertising revenue
might be re-evaluated when classifieds are segmented into their editorial-free
domain as an interactive search service. Fitzgerald (1998, p. 8) suggested free
classified ads on national Web sites like Yahoo! and Classifieds 2000 posed an
enormous threat to the newspaper industry’s most important advertising revenue
source. Journalism centred on the provision and processing of information was
under threat as suppliers of that information recognised its value and moved to
supply it themselves. Multi-channelling could prompt journalists to write a story
and rewrite it for a range of different purposes, using various research clips —
sound and video grabs — for different modes. Archiving systems and their ready
accessibility might take this phenomenon to the forefront of journalists’ minds
when doing their work. Until now, “writing for posterity” has not really been a
dominant feature of the journalists’ psyche as they go about their work. On the
other hand, their day-to-day work, written “on the wind”, runs the risk of being
erased forever as their Web site is updated.
5.6 Contextual Influence 6: Audiences
Categories emerged during axial coding explaining the influences of the Internet
upon the audiences for journalism. They are illustrated here in the tree form
developed in the NUD.IST software in Figure 5.8.
232
5.6 Audiences
• Audience analysis
• Motivations
• Audience input
• Popularity vs.
commercial success
• Audience or content driven?
for new publishers
• Willingness to pay
• Required audience base
Figure 5.8: Internet influences upon the audiences for journalism
Journalism cannot exist without audiences — readers, viewers and listeners to the
journalistic product. The data revealed the new Internet context was prompting a
re-evaluation of audiences and a recognition that the interactivity of the new
medium and the prising open of the market to new players may reward those who
take their audiences seriously. Part of the reappraisal was questioning who online
audiences were, how their support should be sponsored, whether publishers
should be targeting mass or niche markets, and how news values were affected by
the new selectivity of the audiences.
Some analysis of questions related to audiences has already been presented
above, particularly in the previous section.
McMillan (1998) posited the real game in new media was about the buying
and selling of audiences. Discussants suggested there was a need for quality
analysis of these new media audiences. There was a call for more pro-activity in
“getting into the lives and businesses of customers” to determine what they
needed in terms of information. This supported the kinds of linkages made by
Harper (1998, p. 22) between the demographics of Internet users and their news
233
appetites. It also supported the finding of Raines (1996, p. 42) that audiences for
online newspapers were either too narrow or ill-defined. It confirmed the trend
identified by McMillan (1998) toward more effective devices for measuring
Internet audiences. The interactive, user-centred model of the Internet made it
more important that publishers got to know their customers, according to
discussant Diane Haugen:
This model differs from one driven by the needs of the advertiser
where the goal is to create audiences and expose them to articles
which neatly surround ads. (O972A0008)
Motivations of users were deemed to be a significant factor in the kind of
material presented and the mode of presentation. Newslink figures were cited,
showing casual information browsing resulted in 98.5% of news transactions,
while intentional information seeking resulted in 1.5% of transactions
(O973D0038). Discussants asked: Why is an audience looking for news online?
One suggested comparison with traditional media was the key to finding the
solution:
Most important for considering online news, it must be easier to use
for real, unstated goals than is its competition: print. What we say we
want and what we really want often are radically different. The latter
is what determines news-consumption habits. (O972A0179)
Suzanne Lainson suggested there was a trend towards having audiences drive
the news agenda rather than simply inviting them to respond to it:
Rather than having newspapers write articles and then facilitate online
discussion by readers, they continually ask readers in advance for
guidance about topics which interest them. (O972A0018)
The experimental nature of the new medium should work in favour of
audiences’ requirements, she suggested. It might “involve offering a variety of
formats and tracking which seem to sell best” (O972A0019). This reinforced the
234
view expressed by the Radio and Television News Directors Foundation (1996, p.
17), that the journalism product must be at least as useful to audiences as the
material they are finding online for themselves. This idea of responding to users’
wants and needs carried over into journalism education, with the suggestion that
courses in writing should pay credence to online audiences’ responses/reactions to
the words they were served (O972D0056). Lainson again promoted the idea that
news, finely developed over centuries of newspaper publishing, “may have
become too narrowly defined to work well in the digital age” (O972A0029). This
reflected Harper’s (1998, p. 22) concerns that traditional media were not
providing enough of what their audiences clearly wanted, such as more crime
stories. Journalists and publishers needed to be ready to adjust rapidly to changing
market conditions (O972A0019), and perhaps traditional structures of news
writing and presentation did not allow for this. Discussants queried whether the
Internet was best suited to breaking news stories: immediate information, not long
reads (O973D0031).
There was recognition that publications may be popular with audiences but not
commercially successful (O973D0004), demonstrating the distinction between
success in content and return. Two categories of target audience were identified:
those targeted by the advertisers and those targeted by the writers. Sometimes they
were the same, and sometimes not, depending on the respective understanding of
the audience demonstrated by the advertising and content producers
(O973D0014).
Emphasis needed to be placed on audiences in the scheme of the overall
Internet enterprise, discussants argued. Online newspapers too often concentrated
on “bells and whistles”, mere gadgetry, on their sites rather than on what
audiences needed (O972A0019). Examples of publishers misjudging their
audiences abounded. Sites which were geographically based under the auspices of
traditional media titles often failed to grasp the level of understanding of their
region in this broader world audience, as noted by the Mass Media Centre at St
Petersburg State University (S973A0003).
235
Discussants questioned whether a publication should adjust its content to meet
the changing needs of its audience, or whether sites should be content-driven, with
audiences coming and going and the content staying basically the same
(O972A0006). Perhaps there was scope for both types of sites — the static, one
access only reference site and the ever changing site meeting the demands of a
maturing loyal audience.
Discussion lists were being used by both audiences and publishers for market
research: audiences were using them to get information on the best publications in
their interest areas (O972A0007), while publishers were using them to share
information about readers (S972A0133).
The sense of value audiences placed upon information was the subject of
debate. Discussants questioned whether people would pay more for higher quality
information (O972A0053), whether audiences were willing to pay on trust for
information which may or may not be useful to them (O972A0008), whether
information lost value in proportion to the extent it was spread about
(O972A0008), and whether the wealth of an audience determined whether the
publication should be subcription or advertising-based (O972A0047).
Two views emerged on the audience base needed for the ongoing success of
Internet publications. First, was Suzanne Lainson’s idea that a few successful
publications might serve the news needs of most people: that “a few cultural icons
will attract increasingly large audiences” (O972A0004). The counter-view was
that there would develop as many niche publications as there were sustainable
niches to accommodate them (O972A0004).
In summary, there seemed to be a range of views among discussants on
audiences relating to whether the Internet offers a mass or a niche audience;
whether Internet products should be audience or content-driven; and on the
willingness of new audiences to pay for news and information. In all, the diversity
of views seemed to show either a lack of understanding of audiences or a lack of
recognition that the characteristics of audiences might change.
236
This relates directly to the influences of the Internet upon journalism practice,
since a sense of audience has always been an important issue to journalism,
though it has often been poorly tuned in mass media products. Rather than
needing to rely on the “man on the bus” notion of audience or market research
statistics providing details of average socio-economic-demographic readership
breakdowns, the new media offers direct contact with audience members and the
opportunity for discourse with them on what they want from the news product.
Specially tailored or commissioned news stories allow journalists to know their
audiences better than ever before, at the same time offering pitfalls such as
potential for commercial biases or subconscious leanings towards anticipated
audience views. An important question will be how well traditional media interact
with audiences in the new media environment when there has been so little
interaction in the past.
FINDING 5.32: A diversity of views about audiences emerges from the data,
indicating the complexity and sophistication of the new media audience issue.
Common to the discussion is the fact that the Internet audience, or audiences,
need to be researched and treated differently from traditional media
audiences. For journalists, this is a central contextual implication, since a well
directed sense of audience underscores the approach to, and ultimate success
of, the journalistic enterprise.
5.7 Issues arising from this chapter and its relationship to Chapter 6
This chapter set out to examine the first of the three key categories to emerge from
the selective coding of the data and address its constituent elements which had
surfaced during the axial coding process. It worked from the guiding principle that
the influences of the Internet upon journalism could not be separated from the
context in which it occurred. The context in which journalism is practised is
indeed a complex one, but the analysis and discussion in the chapter has served to
offer important insights which inform the next stage of analysis, detailed in
Chapter 6, which focuses directly upon the practice itself. The analysis in these
237
two chapters works towards an answer to Research Question 1 which asks what
journalists’ and educators’ electronic discussions reveal about the influences of
the Internet upon journalism. (Chapter 7 addresses the implications of these for
journalism education, in seeking to answer Research Question 2.)
This chapter has determined the influences of the Internet upon the context in
which journalism is practised can be divided into the following categories:
cultural, communicative, environmental, legal and ethical, media-related and
audience-related. This represents an initial framework in working towards an
answer to Research Sub-question “a” which asks how the Internet’s influences
upon journalism might be categorised. Each of these key contextual domains has
been subject to the influence the Internet.
In the process of examining the data, 32 findings emerged addressing the
various categories and sub-categories which developed. Each of these feeds into
the first key result of the project, articulated here:
KEY RESULT 1: The context in which journalism is practised is itself being
influenced markedly by the advent of the Internet. This has profound
implications for the very raison d’être for journalism as a social institution
and raises serious questions about its future role and direction.
All this represents an attempt at mapping the influences of the Internet upon the
context of journalism. The next stage involves analysis of discussion about how
the Internet is influencing the very practice of journalism.
238
Chapter 6:
Influences of the Internet upon the
Practice of Journalism:
Results and Discussion
6.0 Influences of the Internet upon the practice of journalism: Introduction
and chapter outline
The analysis and discussion presented in Chapter 5 showed the Internet had
influenced in a range of ways the context in which journalism was practised. This
chapter addresses directly that practice to investigate how the Internet has
influenced journalism practice itself. In doing so, this chapter takes up the second
of the three Key Categories to emerge from the data and addresses the constituent
elements which were developed during the analysis process. It outlines the
development of the category which attempts to deal directly with the first research
question: “What do journalists’ and their educators’ electronic discussions tell us
about the influence of the Internet upon journalism?”. This chapter also seeks to
answer the two sub-questions detailed in Chapter 4:
a. How are the Internet’s influences upon journalism best
categorised?; and
b. What new tasks or practices have journalists adopted in their work
as a result of the use of the Internet?
Chapter 7 will build upon this and the previous chapters by addressing the
implications of the findings for journalism education, the substance of the second
key research question: “What are the implications of this for journalism
education?”.
This chapter addresses directly the key question by presenting and discussing
the results relating to the influences of the Internet upon the practice of
journalism. This Key Category of “Practice”, Key Category 2, emerged during the
selective coding process. To it were coded four sub-categories representing those
practices which had emerged earlier during the axial coding process, including:
the news values of journalists and the topics they selected to report upon; their
research methods; their writing; and the editing and publishing techniques used to
present their reportage.
242
As the conditional matrix displayed in Figure 6.1 illustrates, the advent of the
Internet has led to a range of influences upon this very practice of journalism.
Each will be addressed here in turn.
INTERNET INFLUENCES UPON THE
PRACTICE OF JOURNALISM
Context
INTERNET
JOURNALISM
PRACTICE
6.1 News values
andtopics
6.2 Research
6.3 Writing
6.4 Editing and
Publishing
INTERNET
INTERNET
INTERNET
Context
Figure 6.1: Conditional matrix showing the influences of the Internet upon the
practice of journalism.
6.1 Practice Influence 1: News values and topics
Indications of changes in journalists’ conceptions of the basic news values they
used to judge the newsworthiness of their stories or the kinds of topics they chose
to report upon would represent important insights. They would constitute partial
answers to the first major research question “What do journalists’ and their
educators’ electronic discussions tell us about the influence of the Internet upon
journalism?” and sub-question “b”: “What new tasks or practices have journalists
adopted in their work as a result of the use of the Internet?” The data showed the
Internet had influenced the criteria journalists used for evaluating and selecting
the topics upon which they reported. The news values used by journalists in
determining the newsworthiness of a topic and the topics themselves were being
243
influenced with the advent of the Internet, representing an important site of
influence upon journalism practice.
New topics of reportage were emerging, as were new approaches to reporting
previous topics. News was being repackaged to fit the needs of new audiences
(O972A0029). Specialist reporters were finding new resources available to them,
but at the same time were finding threats emerging to their existence as amateur
specialist Web sites emerged. Influences upon reporting topics are addressed at
6.1.2.
The categories which emerged during axial coding which identify the influences
of the Internet upon news values and topics are illustrated in the tree form
developed in the NUD.IST software in Figure 6.2.
6.1 News values and topics
6.1.1.1 Proximity
6.1.1 News values
6.1.2 News topics
6.1.1.2 Currency
6.1.1.3 Other values
Figure 6.2: Internet influences upon journalists’ news values and the topics they
report upon
6.1.1 News values
Journalists have traditionally covered certain topics in their work and have judged
the newsworthiness of events according to certain values or news ingredients
(Masterton, 1998). Such news values have included proximity, currency,
unusualness, conflict, consequence, prominence and human interest. The
introduction of the Internet with its capacity to deliver news further and faster
brings particularly the values of proximity and currency under review.
As predicted by Singer (1998), the data indicated that proximity as a news value
was being questioned as virtual communities brought distanced audiences
together, yet, like Singer (1998) envisaged, the Internet was being used locally as
a viable tool for news delivery and the revitalisation of community links.
244
Traditional media’s notions of currency were under review as the Net enabled
both live and packaged news to be delivered much faster, at times instantly,
leaving radio, newspapers and television reassessing their roles and functions.
6.1.1.1 Influences upon proximity as a news value
The introduction of a medium with international publishing capability into a news
environment with a strong emphasis on the local raised questions about the
continued relevance of proximity as a news value influencing journalists’ news
judgments. One discussant summed up the news value shift:
The ageographical aspect of it is a real wild card, to me at least, and I
agree ... that it may be one of the largest single forces of change. Some
things remain local — schools, roads, etc — but much does not …
(O973D0008)
Many examples of locally-oriented Web sites arose during the collection period.
One instance of such a site offering the Internet as a vehicle for information about
a specific locality, with material of interest to that locality, boasted “content of
special interest to the communities of Snohomish County, Washington, including
... links to other Web sites either in Snohomish County or of interest to people
here” (C972A0014). This implied the new medium might play a role in meeting
the news needs of a local audience, in much the same way as the local newspaper
did previously. However, beyond this it implied a dilemma for journalists
covering topics of interest to this audience. The influence upon journalism
practice exemplified here is that journalists preparing material for such a site
would be faced with a complication of the news value of proximity in generating
story ideas and angles for such a mixed local / international audience. On this,
Russian discussant Dmitry A. Ruschin suggested: “One major problem for
Internet readers is that the local press often assumes an understanding of the
story’s context, which may not exist outside the local region” (S973A0003). Such
a shortcoming would need to be addressed in writing techniques, by providing
more backgrounding to local issues for readers from abroad.
245
The influence of the Internet upon proximity as a news value is important to the
work of journalists. Their very news judgment is influenced by this important
news ingredient, as demonstrated by the work of Masterton (1998, pp. 94-95).
Particularly interesting is the interplay between the essentially international nature
of the Internet, and its value as a means of transmitting news, which has
traditionally been quite parochial in nature.
The extent to which this shifting sense of proximity would be reflected in
journalists’ news judgment would be influenced by a range of indicators showing
the local / international dichotomy. Such indicators include: how journalists and
their audiences sense their “place” in the Internet environment; the level of
international interest in formerly “local” stories; the readership of international
pages on local Web sites; and the level of seeking out of “local” news back home
from overseas locations. The latter was the concept behind the Nashville Banner’s
approach to Internet delivery of its news. It traded on the parochialism of its locals
travelling elsewhere by putting shortened versions of top local stories into a daily
digest that the newspaper e-mailed free of charge to anyone interested.
Our earliest subscriber was Jim Sasser, a Nashvillian who is now
serving as ambassador to China. He could get plenty of US and world
news in Beijing, but couldn’t keep up with Nashville news.
(C972B0023)
Playing up to the local news imperative in such a digest necessitated an adaptation
to the writing style, with longer stories abbreviated into an easily digested
electronic mail version.
It became clear from the data that journalists would need to reassess the notion
of proximity as a news value informing their news judgment. They would need to
grapple with these sorts of questions in their day-to-day reportage:
• If the Internet does bring people closer, does this mean it makes
them more interested in news concerning fellow world citizens, or
perhaps only news of a certain type or that concerning their particular
virtual communities?
246
• What impact might the Internet have upon the role of proximity as a
news value for their traditional media audiences?
• Would better audience research skills, such as those proposed at 5.6,
be needed to fine-tune values such as proximity to audience needs?
In summary, conditions where the Internet introduces new qualities, particularly
its international nature, into an environment or protocol of news judgment which
values the local/proximate in news decision making, prompt a re-evaluation of
proximity as a news ingredient.
FINDING 6.1: The importance of the news value of proximity is being reevaluated and adjusted in the online news environment as the format of news
products and their target audiences changes. Emphasis on the local in news
selection and writing is changing according to these dynamics.
6.1.1.2 Influences upon currency as a news value
Currency is a traditional news value (see Masterton (1998) and Gans (1980) ). The
Internet offers a new environment where the currency value of the traditional
media could well be recategorised as “immediacy”, given the fact that events can
be reported instantly, rather than just in a timely fashion. For example, sports
scores could be posted as the events unfolded or as compilations by the fixture’s
end, unrestricted by traditional media deadlines (C972A0014). Internet news
delivery could be faster than that offered by the traditional “instant media”, radio
and television (O972A0087). This phenomenon was noted by Shepard (1998, p.
80), who found the Internet was transforming the jobs of journalists by reducing
their news cycles down to as little as 10 minutes from daily or hourly. This new
currency was being used as a marketing tool for Internet versions of traditional
print products to give them a competitive edge over television (S972A0134).
At the same time the data showed the almost limitless storage and transmission
capacity of the Internet allowed for multi-channelling — important news events
being covered in real time (O972A0063). Web sites provided an easy means for
relaying news from unfolding events such as conferences (O972A0142).
247
Discussion lists were used to flash news events to new niche communities of
interest (S972A0113).
Nevertheless, that same capacity, along with the hypertext linkage facility,
offered the opposite of immediacy — perpetuity — through the vast potential for
archiving already discussed at 5.5.2.2. Archiving allowed for the storage of
resources on call for recurring events, such as a chronology of the details of major
airline disasters between 1920 and 1996 available on one site, on call for access
and use on the occasion of the next big incident (C972B0021). Certain news
events lend themselves to instant Internet transmission, either in a readily
packaged form or as live feeds from the events themselves. With big news events,
audiences were starting to turn to the Web for news before other media
(O973D0031).
However, there is a down side to this instantaneous quality. Search engines take
time to register such sites, sometimes taking a week to refresh. Thus, the
instantaneous nature of news depends on prior knowledge of an outlet’s coverage,
upon regular subscription to a news service, upon news search engines getting
faster (such as Newstracker twice daily) or upon the sheer luck of the user
(O972A0091; O972A0101). Further, sites are not necessarily updated frequently
by their owners, and users might not know how current they really are
(O972A0132). There is also the issue of inaccuracies occurring with instant
transmission of news. An indication of the need for quality control in such an
instant news environment was the practice of a reporter using the phrase: “Hold
for authentication” on a breaking story, indicating that the news was broken
before it had been verified, a seemingly dangerous practice (S972A0167). This
reinforced reservations expressed by Williams (1998, p. 33) who suggested
audiences had come to expect timeliness in the news media, often meaning
journalists were reporting raw and “pre-verified events”.
The above observations have profound implications for the actual practice of
journalism. Instant news, by its nature, requires a different skill base for those
preparing it. It requires new approaches to writing, formatting, and packaging,
given the new ingredient of time pressure. Newspapers, for example, had moved
248
away in recent decades from the role of breaking hard news. The inverted pyramid
format for news presentation had given way to a new style of “interpretative
reporting”, involving more analysis and narrative. The reportage on the Internet in
real time necessitates a revisiting of the old newspaper and wire service style of
writing and packaging, addressed in more detail below at 6.3. For the purposes of
this category, however, it requires a new visualisation of currency as a news value
or ingredient. The notion of currency in the estimation of a journalist working for
an Internet product might become immediacy, with a requirement that any news
which justifies an instalment or an update on a story is worth breaking. After all,
the recognition of the value of currency to the newsworthiness of a story occurs in
the minds of journalists and news executives.
It also impacts upon traditional media and their conception of what is “current”.
Pre-Internet, reporters from newspapers, television or radio were able to adopt
their own media-based approaches to currency, knowing the capabilities of their
competitors. Radio could cover stories instantly, but superficially. Television
could also cover the biggest stories live, but was limited by capacity and resources
and left most stories until its evening news bulletins. Cable television was able to
cover news around the clock, but again had production and priority constraints.
Newspapers normally had to leave their coverage until the next edition, usually
the next morning, with long production deadlines preventing any true sense of
immediacy but audiences relying on the medium for background and analysis, the
“full story”. The Internet, as a multi-media, high capacity, instantaneous medium,
was able to usurp some aspects of each of the traditional media, adding a wildcard
to the equilibrium of the news race. Of course, the Internet was not without its
own production constraints and demands, quite considerable for full multimedia
packaging of news events. However, these could be achieved incrementally, with
text used to break important news and other graphical, audio, video and
interactive features added if the topic warranted them. There is, of course, the
question of the point at which mere delivery of news over the Internet becomes
journalism proper. For example, video streaming a live news event involves little
or no journalism skill, whereas the reporting of that event, involving interpretation
and packaging, requires journalistic acumen. Is it then a case of: the more
249
journalism, the less current a story will be by definition or, conversely, the more
immediate, the less likely there is to be any significant journalism involved?
Clearly, the data demonstrate that the advent of the Internet has influenced a key
news value, currency, by providing a mechanism by which news could be
conveyed almost instantaneously.
This had the potential to influence journalism in a range of ways, including:
• Adding immediacy to traditional news distribution mechanisms.
• Running greater risks of inaccuracy and legal and ethical
transgressions given the greater pressures of time.
• Providing competition to traditional news providers in the form of
quick, economical news alert channels.
• Changing the news approach of traditional providers as audiences
turn to Internet services for instant information and traditional
providers for other purposes.
• Adding another medium to the portfolio of traditional providers so
they can offer audiences both immediacy and their traditional benefits.
In summary, under conditions of the introduction of a new medium with instant
publishing capability, the journalistic news value of currency will be reassessed,
with the potential to take on both more importance as journalists recapture their
roles as news breakers and less importance as they turn their journalism enterprise
to analysis, interpretation and multi-media packaging of certain kinds of stories.
FINDING 6.2: The notion of currency as a journalistic news value is being
influenced by the advent of Internet publishing. The notion of instant news
breaking is being added to the factors considered by some journalists in their
news judgment, with concomitant advantages and risks to the reporting
enterprise. The news value of the immediacy of Internet publishing also
stands to influence the strategies of traditional news providers.
250
6.1.1.3 Influences upon other news values
While there was sufficient evidence in the data about the news values of proximity
and currency upon which to theorise, there was little discussion pointing to
influences of the Internet upon other news values such as unusualness, conflict,
consequence, prominence and human interest. Some are addressed in a secondary
way in other sections of the analysis. For example, the news value of
“consequence” relates to what affects an audience, and the influences of the
Internet upon audiences have already been discussed at 5.6. Similarly, the news
value “human interest” relates to what interests people, and this is covered to
some extent immediately below when we consider how the Internet might be
influencing the kinds of topics journalists report upon.
6.1.2 News topics
The data showed the Internet was influencing the very nature of the topics
journalists reported upon and was also affecting journalists’ approaches to topics
they had traditionally reported upon. They were being prompted to think about
alternative approaches to the delivery of stories which might previously have been
delivered in prose, making use of multi-media capabilities of the medium. Whole
new topics had emerged, not least of which was the Internet itself as a topic of
reportage.
There was no doubt the medium was being used to report upon traditional local
news topics, including weather, politics, business, crime and so on. However,
some new topics took account of the capabilities of the medium, such as nightly
sports scores, photos and stories (C972A0014). Traffic flow information on the
Web provided a more comprehensive and convenient coverage than the traditional
instant medium, radio, could provide (O972A0027).
Some topics which might previously have warranted only a single story,
perhaps a newspaper feature story, were afforded substantial multi-media
coverage. For example, a marijuana buyer’s club in New York was the subject of
a Web site, featuring photos, quotes and real audio grabs of participants
251
(O972A0042). One discussant proposed topic areas which might succeed as
specialised electronic newsletter publications:
Push/Inbox Direct products on say, architecture, urban studies,
transportation, biology, abortion, the chemical industry, Russia, Islam,
R&D, elementary education, University of Michigan football,
railroads, entrepreneurship, state politics, etc., would probably be of
interest to many people world-wide (O973D0051).
There appeared to be a tendency to offer prominence to technology-related
stories, given the technology-literate profile of net-subscribers. An example was a
story circulated during the collection period on an electronic pet fad in Japan,
which was given extensive coverage (C972A0030). Internet and other high
technology topics were reported in newsletter form across the four discussion lists
studied (O972A0034) and were widespread elsewhere. For example, e-newsletters
like Tech Talk listed articles and URLs for various topics, while News on the Net
featured almost exclusively computer-related articles (O973D0051). Major
newspapers offered exclusive technology-related stories on their Web sites, such
as the New York Times’ Cybertimes (O973D0051).
The Internet itself had become a topic of reportage, with its own problems
attached, such as a difficulty with generalisations and misperceptions about the
medium (O972A0023; O972A0024). Discussants expressed particular frustration
at the coverage of the Internet in the mainstream press, where it was portrayed as
“...a bizarre and scary place infected with cyborgs” or as expectations not yet met;
while specialist publications’ and ezine coverage was superficial and promotional,
according to Richard Gauthier (O972A0037). One discussant complained:
Publications still portray the Net as a strange, foreign place where
tech-heads rule, hackers run rampant, and pornography flourishes,
rather than the mainstream phenomenon it has become. (O972A0036)
The attitudes were similar to those revealed by Reavy (1995, p. 192) in his Qmethod study of journalists’ and non-journalists’ perceptions of Internet reporting.
He found Usenet discussants on a media coverage list expressed displeasure with
sensational Internet coverage and undue criticism of the medium.
252
The Internet’s specialised discussion lists, interactive capabilities and storage
capacity suited it to specialist journalism opportunities. More specialist sources
were featuring Web sites, providing a handy reference tool for specialist reporters
(C972A0037). One example was the HMS Beagle Web site, devoted totally to
developments in biological science (S972A0048). Another was a site devoted to
paranormal phenomena (C972B0007). Some sites were set up as clearinghouses
for links on sites on particular topics, of great value to specialist reporters, such as
the Medical Resources site, sponsored by CaseWestern Reserve School of
Medicine (C972B0020). Others were set up as help sites for the layperson, such as
the Neurology Forum run by professionals from the Cleveland Clinic. This was an
excellent resource for specialist reporters, as it indicated to them the sorts of
questions the ordinary reader wanted answered, allowing them to tailor their
reportage accordingly (C972B0022).
Further, the Internet provided specialist reporters with the facility for producing
special Web sites devoted to their own work on their topic areas (S972A0062).
For example, religion page editors had their own site at <www.dallasnews.com>
(S973A0004).
The Net provided a forum for specialist reporters to make contact with each
other, sharing resources and debating important issues, when previously they
might have been isolated individuals in large traditional media outlets with little
opportunity for professional dialogue with others in their specialty areas
(O972A0116).
The Internet thus afforded specialist reporters access to broader markets for their
work and a more interactive and rewarding professional existence. There was a
danger, however, that specialists might lose their market niches through the
centralisation of information on specialist topics. Perhaps their livelihoods were
endangered as more specialist information and expertise came on line in
competition with them as analysts and interpreters. There was the possibility large
news organisations might pool their specialist reporters, limiting work
opportunities, just as mainstream conglomerates had done by sharing syndicated
columnists across their groups. There were also the dangers highlighted by Priest
(1998, p.28) in specialists writing in the scientific field relying on discussion list
253
data for their research when scientific research protocols discouraged the use of
such mechanisms for publicising research results and such sites might tend to
attract only those willing to be seen, the “visible scientists”, whose credibility
might be questionable. Certainly, journalists’ values were being challenged and
the positions of specialists like environmental reporters on mainstream traditional
news organisations were under threat as economic and political pressures were
brought to bear (O972A0116).
Thus, the Internet held the potential both to enhance the work of specialists in a
range of ways and also perhaps to minimise their value, with the outcome perhaps
dependent upon kind of topic specialty. The data revealed that under conditions of
the introduction of a new medium such as the Internet to an existing media
environment, the notion of specialisation would be reviewed as topics changed,
experts volunteered their specialist material, and existing specialists found new
ways of publishing and enhancing their work.
In summary, it became clear the Internet was influencing the kinds of topics
journalists reported upon and the ways in which they reported them. Their
reporting of the Internet itself made an interesting case study. With the
introduction of a new medium such as the Internet the news topics covered might
vary according to changed audience expectations and needs and according to the
new capabilities of the medium itself.
FINDING 6.3: The Internet has influenced the actual topics some journalists
report upon. Particularly influenced are specialist reporters whose fields lend
themselves to depth of specialist Internet coverage via discussion lists,
electronic mail newsletters and Web sites. Traditional media’s reporting
topics are also impacted upon, particularly their reporting of new
technologies such as the Internet.
The introduction of the Internet, a new medium with special features, has
prompted a re-evaluation of traditional approaches to news topics and values as
journalists and their audiences have adapted to those new features of the medium.
This has occurred within a range of contexts, including the traditional media, as
254
journalists, particularly specialists, used the Internet for their reporting; the new
media, as journalists took advantage of the new features available; and among
audiences, as they sought media best tailored to their needs.
Journalists have been prompted to re-assess their very judgment of what is news
for their audiences, particularly in terms of the news values of currency and
proximity. Under such conditions specialist reporters have also revisited their
reporting approaches and topics, while the very topics journalists reported upon
were up for negotiation, dependent upon employers’ and audiences’ requirements
and demands.
Notably, this analysis does not account for the mass of unchanged news values
and topics continuing in the traditional media. The scale of impact of these
phenomena upon journalism generally is yet to unfold and deserves to be the
subject of further research.
6.2 Practice Influence 2: Research
The research enterprise is central to the practice of journalism. Along with writing
and production, it is one of three core journalistic skills. Axial coding to this
category covered the influences of the Internet upon the ways journalists
approached the research task in their work. These included the actual research
techniques they used such as computer-aided reporting; the nature of the sources
available to them for their reporting; and a range of research problems which
confronted journalists such as the failure of new technology, time consumption,
privacy infringements, scams and costs.
The categories which emerged during the axial coding process explain the
influences of the Internet upon journalistic research and are illustrated in the tree
form developed in the NUD.IST software in Figure 6.3.
6.2 Research
6.2.1 Research techniques
6.2.2 Sources
6.2.3 Research problems
255
Figure 6.3: Internet influences upon journalistic research
6.2.1 Research techniques
Journalists have traditionally used a range of techniques in their research. Some
basic techniques include interviewing skills, note-taking, notebook management,
telephone techniques, filing and the development of contacts. To what extent had
the advent of the Internet influenced these techniques or added to the reporter’s
repertoire of research methods? Answers to this question would constitute partial
answers to the first major research question “What do journalists’ and their
educators’ electronic discussions tell us about the influence of the Internet upon
journalism?” and sub-question “b”: “What new tasks or practices have journalists
adopted in their work as a result of the use of the Internet?” In this section 6.2.1
we address these questions by examining what the data reveal about the use of the
Internet as a research mechanism, the influences of the Internet upon the
techniques of computer assisted research and reporting (CARR), and its influences
upon traditional journalism research techniques. The analysis provides a starting
point for examining the educational implications of such influences in the next
chapter.
The categories developed in the axial coding process to explain the influences of
the Internet upon research techniques used by journalists are illustrated in the tree
form developed in the NUD.IST software in Figure 6.4.
6.2.1 Research techniques
6.2.1.1 Internet as
research mechanism
6.2.1.2 Influences
upon CARR
6.2.1.3 Relevance of
past techniques
Figure 6.4: Internet influences upon research techniques used by journalists
6.2.1.1 The Internet as a research mechanism
Considerable evidence emerged from the data that the Internet had become a
useful research tool for journalists, who were using discussion lists to seek out
256
sources and leads for stories, accessing Web sites and using their databases to
seek information on stories. This supported the findings reported in Chapter 2 of
MediaSource (1995b and 1997) on reporters’ Internet usage. This presented a
range of challenges to journalists, including the acquisition of skills for such
navigation; difficulties of attribution; and ensuring currency of information.
Journalists were using the Internet as a vehicle for soliciting sources and leads
for stories (C972A0064; S972A0147); including contacts’ telephone numbers
(C972B0013). Lists were used to tip fellow journalists off about important stories
which were breaking, just as wire services had done in the past (S972A0167).
There was ample evidence World Wide Web search engines such as Lycos,
Excite and Yahoo! became key research tools for journalists, and navigating them
became an important journalistic skill (O972A0089; O972A0090), confirming the
findings of Garrison (1998, p. 1). Part of that skill was determining the currency
of the information gleaned via a search, with datedness of such search engines a
problem (O972A0111; O972A0113; O972A0114). Major newspapers such as the
Washington Post provided search engines on their own sites, a useful alternative
to the traditional method of accessing a hard copy file of newspaper clippings
(O972A0085). Many other sites offered data which would never otherwise have
been at the fingertips of the researching journalist, broadening immeasurably the
cast of the research net. For example, the Copyright Clearinghouse site
<www.copyright.com> offered clearance for 1.75 million documents, a handy
resource for journalists (S972A0024). The availability of new sources of
information and the ready availability of previous sources of information online in
an easily searchable form, lends itself to journalistic research.
A Web journalist discussant offered this insight into his own techniques for
navigating search engines on the Web:
Firstly, as I write on a number of subjects, I identified sites that
provide the largest number of links to other sources on those particular
subjects, as “jumping off” points for research purposes. My main
interests include politics, religion, philosophy, health, sexuality,
257
computing, the environment and sport. I’ve found good “jumping off”
points for all, and they’re usually my first port of call.
Secondly, I identified what I consider to be the best search engines on
the Net and use them for specific research. I use nine and they each
provide surprisingly different results that take you down many
interesting paths.
Finally, there are several sites that provide regular updates to new sites
on the Net and I visit those once a week to browse for anything that
may interest me. (S972A0045)
The journalist demonstrates clearly the Internet has influenced the techniques
journalists might use in their research, an issue revisited at 6.5.3.
The issue of attribution to a source becomes problematic in a virtual world with
the potential for mistaken, or even misleading, identities. Journalists needed to
develop strategies when conducting research for ensuring Internet sources were
legitimate and quotable. One discussant reporter requested sources for a story he
was researching on the Online-news list to give their titles and the publications
they represented as they may be quoted in his story (O972A0023).
The data suggested the Internet represented a significant influence upon
journalistic research methods, in providing a vehicle for soliciting leads and
stories; and sites for database searches on selected topics. It carried with it certain
pitfalls and challenges, including the need to educate journalists in the use of
search engines and the challenge of identifying sites with suitable links,
appropriate search engines; and the most up to date information. None of that is to
say the use of the Internet was widespread among journalists at the data collection
period. There was no indication of the extent of usage, which would surely be the
basis of a valuable follow-up study. This is especially important, given Quinn’s
(1998b, p. 241) finding of widespread variations in Internet take-up among
reporters on Australian metropolitan and regional daily newspapers. Yet it
appeared likely the Net would be used more frequently as a research tool as more
journalists gained access and more public institutions put information on line.
258
Journalists faced a range of challenges in developing expertise in the new
Internet-based research techniques. The data indicated they needed to identify the
best search engines and strategies for their purposes, use them to identify the most
useful discussion lists and Web sites, quantify the time they were spending on this
new research enterprise in comparison with the time spent previously on research,
and convince their peers and management on the value of the enterprise.
FINDING 6.4: The Internet is being used as a research tool by journalists, who
are using discussion lists to seek out sources and leads for stories, accessing
Web sites and using databases to gather information for stories. This presents
a range of challenges to journalists, including the acquisition of skills for such
navigation, attribution difficulties, and ensuring the information is current.
6.2.1.2 Influences upon the discipline of CARR (Computer-Assisted Research and
Reporting)
The techniques of computer-assisted research and reporting (CARR) [also known
as computer-aided research and reporting] were developed well before the popular
advent of the Internet. One of the earliest proponents was journalism academic
Philip Meyer (1991) who coined the expression “precision journalism” to describe
the application of social science research methods to reporting. Throughout the
1980s more government information became available in database form and the
techniques of precision journalism became known as CARR. (To give an
indication of the history of CARR, one discussant published a list of CARRgenerated stories dating back to 1967 (C972A0090).)
The fact that CARR pre-dated the massification of the Internet makes valid the
question of the influence of the Internet upon this field of reportage. The Internet
provided a vehicle for bringing a great deal of public information into a readily
accessible and updatable form, particularly through Web sites, representing a
potential boon to CARR reporters (J972A0003).
259
The data indicated that CARR practice had switched much more to the Net, with
government databases now available via Web sites, file transfer protocol (FTP)
and gopher. Garrison (1998, p. 1) had also detected this trend, noting newspapers
had moved away from special CARR desks towards universal Internet access for
reporters. He also noted the high usage of local and state government Web sites
for reporting purposes. For example, statistics needed for a story on road accident
trends were readily available from government departments via the Web
(C972B0001). Sites such as GuideStar <www.guidestar.org> were free,
searchable databases with information on them, in this case public information on
charities (C972A0079). Several good examples of useful US government
information available on the Web surfaced during the collection period. For
example, a reporter doing a story on the theft of laptop computers from airport
security stations was referred to the national fraud and law enforcement Web sites
(C972B0002); another discussant referred list users to a Web site featuring a
database of all documents being issued by the US Government Printing Office
(C972B0003); and another to the Department of Defence budget documents
(C972B0004).
The Internet was used to share data on CARR methods. A Web site was devoted
to links on CARR and the discussion list was used to advertise this service
(C972A0090). Other sites featured similar links, such as that at Ryerson
Polytechnic University (J972C0006) and the IRE Investigative Reporting and
Editing Web site (J972C0012). Sites like NICAR gave advice and offered support
to journalists on topics such as how to break down large amounts of government
data into meaningful, reportable pieces (C973B0007).
Discussion lists were used to debate CARR methods, such as best way of
ranking roads according to accident records, which generated substantial debate
during the collection period (C972A0112; C972A0115; C972A0117; C972A0118;
C972A0119; C972A0120; C972A0124). The lists were also used to debate the
merits of different CARR software (C972A0123) and allowed CARR reporters to
share search tips and pitfalls (O972A0089; O972A0113). For example, discussant
Paul Schaffer who directed CARR-L members to the database of all documents
260
issued by the US Government Printing Office gave an indication of the technical
traps awaiting journalists planning to access documents from the Web. He advised
those wanting to access the material to put the date in quotation marks, like so:
"02-06-97". Further, quote marks and capitals were mandatory, and the date was
punctuated with dashes, not slashes, and required a two-digit month
(C972B0003). It is clear such CARR-oriented journalists would need to develop
substantial competence in dealing with such coding issues.
While much of the information referred to above was US in origin, there was
evidence that more international sources were becoming available on the Web on
a diverse range of topics, and that journalists were starting to look for international
data to enrich their stories and to offer valuable comparisons. Much was material
journalists could not previously access readily. For example, a story on the feral
cat problem drew upon Australian sources, including a Web site and quotes from
Australian experts gleaned from a 30-minute Web search (S972A0070). The Web
provided ready access to journalists the world over to international sources such
as US Department of State’s reports on Human Rights Practices (C972A0005).
Discussion lists allowed for the sharing of data and comparison-making
internationally. An example was a story on herbicide spraying in New Zealand
modelled after a similar operation in Hawaii. The New Zealand discussant sought
and obtained data on the Hawaiian operation for a comparative story
(C972A0029). There was evidence international search engines were becoming
faster, allowing journalists speedier access and more opportunity for comparison
of research findings (O972A0136).
The ready access to international data over the Internet represented a significant
influence upon journalism practice since journalists would previously have found
difficulty accessing such information within normal deadlines. Journalists with
Internet access now faced the choice on whether to adjust their research practices
to take advantage of the availability of international data which might serve as the
basis of comparisons to enrich their stories. Despite this occurrence, the findings
of Kirkpatrick (1996, p. 54) should be borne in mind, that more journalists used
261
the Web to obtain information for national news coverage than for stories with
other geographic perspectives.
Another influence the Internet had upon CARR was a renewed interest in the
practice and demand for its practitioners. Philip E. Daoust mentioned a “boom in
job opportunities for cyber-savvy reporters” (O972A0075) and several position
advertisements requiring CARR skills were posted to the lists. Even a standard
advertisement for a community reporting position suggested “computer-assisted
reporting experience is a plus” (J972C0002). There was evidence that Internet
expertise could save a journalist and his or her news organisation money, with one
journalist willing to pay for an excerpt from the US President’s State of the Union
address, only to be told it was available free on the White House home page
(S973A0001 and S973A0002).
CARR was not just the domain of the specialist. For example, general
columnists were using lists to generate data to enrich their columns on a range of
subjects
(S972A0094).
Nevertheless,
the
demarcation
between
“online
journalism” and CARR arose, with the question of how much CARR skill a
reporter needed to be a successful online journalist indicating that computerassisted research and reporting was only part of the profile of the modern wired
journalist (O972A0039). Conversely, Web access alone did not make a reporter a
CARR practitioner, since that approach to reportage implied a much broader
concomitant understanding of social science research methods. Internet
proficiency simply added to a developed field of reporting based upon computer
access to public information.
Despite the fact that the Internet was obviously enhancing the utility of
CARR, it also presented problems. These included a US-centricity, inaccurate
sources, faulty data, and time consumption (C972B0005). There was a
preponderance of US and English language sources available compared with other
countries’ information and material in other languages (C972A0005). Further,
while there was a great deal of international information available for journalists’
use, there was a question of how much time and energy it took for journalists to
262
access it and whether they were willing to do so. The frustration of using the Web
to look for a recently published newspaper article for his research prompted a
reporter to ask the question: “Is the Web an easy research tool for journalists?”
(O972A0154). The consensus was that it might not be easy, but with the
appropriate research skills it might be better than traditional methods.
Nevertheless, journalists might be discouraged from using CARR on the Internet
because of time concerns. This was the finding of Kirkpatrick (1996, p. 75), who
suggested journalists might view the World Wide Web as a helpful tool for others,
but not for themselves, because they “struggle to make their time invested in the
World Wide Web pay off”. There was also a danger certain kinds of stories might
get priority simply because CARR information was available, when they might
not have been deemed as important otherwise. Another problem foreshadowed by
discussants was the concern a tendency towards conglomeration of Internet
commercial entities might limit search opportunities in the longer term by giving
certain groups proprietorship over information useful to journalists (O972A0136).
Successful CARR was obviously dependent upon public information being made
available electronically, and the discussion lists were used to generate lobby
power to keep information public for access. Discussants opposed the US federal
law making drivers’ records confidential, and SPJ-L recorded efforts to lobby
state legislatures to enact bills to counter such laws (S972A0114).
Other issues arose in analysis. Clearly, the extent to which the Internet might be
able to influence reporters’ use of CARR was dependent upon a range of factors,
including the availability of the technology; the reporters’ previous experience at
CARR; the attitudes of fellow journalists, executives and audiences to CARR; the
suitability of CARR methods to the medium involved; and the institutions’
commitment to training in CARR and updating that training with Internet
influenced techniques.
In summary, the data revealed the Internet appeared to have influenced the field
of CARR significantly. The data demonstrated that under conditions where
journalists were already using computers for their reporting, the introduction of a
new medium such as the Internet with its qualities of mass information storage
263
and access had influenced significantly the work of such journalists and may have
encouraged others into such practices. Computer-assisted research was formerly a
practice restricted to electronic access to government information via database and
public data providers such as Lexus-Nexus and to the practice of electronic
processing
of
such
data
using
programs
such
as
SPSS
and
other
spreadsheet/database software. The Internet had brought much of this information,
if not the skills in processing it, into the domain of the average reporter. The Net
allowed ready access to government information internationally, but particularly
in the US, through file transfer protocol (FTP), gopher and through Web site
access. Journalists used discussion lists on the Internet to share information
seeking skills and to promote courses teaching them. Web sites also addressed
these issues.
It appeared CARR would only benefit reporters significantly once large bodies
of public information were available on the Net. This appeared more likely to
happen in the US before other countries such as Australia in the short term, a
prospect suitably explained by Quinn (1997a).
FINDING 6.5: The pre-Internet techniques of computer-assisted research and
reporting (CARR) have been enhanced by the advent of the Internet. CARR
experts use the Internet to share and improve techniques. More public
information has become accessible via the Internet and CARR practitioners
are using this medium as a central tool. CARR expertise is sought after by
employers. Problems include the US-centricity of information, time
consumption, and difficulties with verification of Internet data.
6.2.1.3 Relevance of previous research techniques
If the Internet had influenced the techniques journalists used for researching their
stories, and in some circumstances added to their research repertoire, what
relevance did the former research techniques still hold? The data, while not
extremely illuminative on this count, provided some direction.
264
There was a clear indication that there was still a place for actually visiting a
real location, “by wearing out some shoe leather” to conduct journalistic research.
One discussant expressed frustration at not being able to find the text for a
particular film script on the Net. Anne Louise Bannon replied, apologising for her
suggestion being “dreadfully low-tech, but ...” had the journalist considered
actually walking into a store and buying the script? (C972A0046). It was a sober
reminder that a traditional method of gathering information, such as visiting a
location and asking for it, might still have its role in journalism.
Further, the research enterprise was still valued highly. One discussant
expressed a preference for reporters who could provide editors with information
over those who were just good writers, arguing it was not difficult for editors to
improve the writing itself, but: “It’s much more difficult for an editor to fill a
nicely written but hole-filled story with useful information” (O972A0104).
Nevertheless, some suggested throwing conventional practice to the wind. One
proposed the “reporter-free newsroom” where journalists would not only conduct
their research electronically, they would not even need to go to work.
Consider getting your reporters Notebooks and compatible software,
cellular phones, email etc. Free them up to “report” at the site of an
event. They can send in their stories electronically or come in and plug
them in. As a cost savings to offset the above, move to a new location
without offices for the reporters. No need for reporter offices. Let
them stay in cyberspace. If you can’t move rent the space to your
competitors’ reporters. (C972A0063)
Here, the traditional value of “going to work” at a physical location for eight
hours per day was under threat, but the discussant seemed to be advocating the
traditional value of actually going to the scene to report on an event.
On this theme, another warned journalists they risked getting trapped in a
“technical ghetto” if they did not defend the human side of the journalistic
enterprise:
265
Critical thinking, research skills, story-telling and a passion to keep
people informed are the most useful (and probably rare) qualifications
in either the new or old media. Don’t get trapped in the technical
ghetto. (O972A0057)
This notion of the “technical ghetto” is a sobering one, and is a telling in-vivo
phrase which encapsulates the mood of many discussants keen to preserve the
important traditional research techniques, particularly those which involve the
human interaction aspect of reporting, and not just use the Internet for its own
sake. The concern reflects the reservations of Christopher (1998, p. 134) who
lamented the prospect of journalists researching online rather than going out of the
office to cover important local stories.
FINDING 6.6: While the Internet has influenced journalistic research practices
and introduced new techniques to the journalist’s research repertoire, there
is a feeling that some traditional research techniques, particularly those with
a human element, are worth preserving.
In summary, it can be seen that the advent of the Internet has had substantial
influences upon the techniques journalists use in their research. The Internet itself
was being used productively as a research tool, prompting the need for journalists
to learn new skills, and it was enhancing the pre-existing field of computerassisted research and reporting. It was also calling into question traditional
research techniques, some of which were still highly valued while others were
seen as dispensable.
6.2.2 Influences of the Internet upon journalists’ sources
In conducting their research, journalists have a broad range of sources at their
disposal. These include documentary, human and, more recently, electronic
sources. Clearly, the integrity of journalists’ work and their capacity to complete it
266
within deadline is dependent upon the quality and reliability of such sources of
information. Axial coding revealed the Internet was influencing journalists’
sources in a range of ways, most notably in the four main areas categorised below.
These include the currency of the sources; their international nature; the advent of
resources available on the Web; and the degree of access public relations
practitioners were gaining as Internet-based sources.
No doubt the Internet might also have influenced journalists’ sources in a
range of other ways, some of which were hinted at in the data and mentioned in
other contexts in this document. However, these four influences generated
substantial enough evidence during axial coding to justify their constitution as
separate categories.
The categories which emerged during axial coding to explain the influences of
the Internet upon the sources used by journalists in their research are illustrated in
the tree form developed in the NUD.IST software in Figure 6.5.
6.2.2 Influences upon sources
6.2.2.1 Currency of ...
6.2.2.2 International
nature of ...
6.2.2.3 Web resources
used by journalists
6.2.2.4 PR access
to journalists
Figure 6.5: Internet influences upon sources used by journalists in their research.
6.2.2.1 Influences upon the currency of sources
News is a deadline business, and it is important that journalists do their utmost to
ensure the information they glean in their research is as up to date as possible.
This category was developed to encapsulate concepts to do with the currency of
journalists’ sources and how the use of the Internet might influence that currency,
both positively and negatively. It should be distinguished from the category
discussed at 6.1.1.2, “Influences upon currency as a news value”. There, the
primary focus was upon how the Internet had influenced the value journalists
placed upon currency as a news ingredient. Here we are concerned with the
influences of the Internet upon the up-to-datedness of their actual news sources.
267
As discussed above, the Internet, being a real-time, instant medium, presents
journalists with a new source in itself, but also provides a new avenue of access to
sources which might not have been as readily available previously. This has a
potential upside — instant textual information readily accessed, but also a
potential downside — unmaintained Web sites containing dated data. Thus, the
valuable potential for up-to-date information from the Internet, particularly the
Web, is dependent upon the source maintaining an updated Web site.
A good example of such a well maintained Web site was found during the data
collection period at <www.un.org/Depts/Landmine/Welcome> — the United
Nations Demining Database, a valuable resource for journalists researching this
important topic. The site traded on its currency, advertising “country reports, the
latest casualty data, and updates on how United Nations demining programmes
are going in the field” (C972A0002). A key question was the extent to which it
would live up to that promise over time. There was evidence that sites on all
topics were developed in the enthusiasm of embracing the new technology, but
were not maintained efficiently down the track. The speed of Internet transmission
meant information could be much more current, while tardiness in the
maintenance of Web sites meant it could be much more dated.
Discussants noted that it took significant time for Internet search engines to
register sites listed with them. For example, the Director of Excite’s City.Net,
Evan Rudowski, explained to the Online-News list that it could take more than a
week for the primary Excite search engine to register a new site so that searchers
would find it (O972A0101). Therefore, in their search for up-to-date information
for rapidly developing stories, reporters must already have bookmarked Web
addresses of changing sites or have accessed electronic mail lists or discussion list
registrations where they could obtain information on the latest developments in
another way. At the other extreme, various discussion lists, news groups and realtime IRCs (Internet relay chats) allowed for instant up-to-date information from
experts, but these, while current, could raise other issues and problems such as
inaccuracy and verification discussed below at 6.2.3 “Research Problems”.
268
While currency arises as an issue in the Internet context it should be noted it
was already an issue in pre-Internet journalism. Hard copy materials have also had
dating difficulties. The main difference is that the Internet might be perceived as a
high-tech, “now” medium and journalists might too readily accept information as
current when it might be more dated even than the hard copy literature available.
Properties related to currency of source material included whether there was a
date on the material and whether this was misleading. (For example, software
might automatically indicate a document had been changed at a certain time but
the information itself might not have been updated then, or at least not
comprehensively.)
Currency of source material can be a double-edged sword for researching
journalists. One consequence can be the opportunity to use extremely up to date
information, which can perhaps be used as a selling point for a media outlet or at
least a point by which to impress the audience of the integrity of the work. At the
other extreme a journalist might face embarrassing inaccuracies through using
outdated source material.
Clearly, journalists planning on using Internet sources needed to develop skills
in ascertaining the currency of information they accessed and in learning to access
up-to-date information at a time when news was breaking. These issues are taken
up as educational implications in Chapter 7.
This category prompts questions about the changing mix of currency and
journalism generally:
• Does the intervention of a journalist delay the telling of a story for
too long now that audiences now have other means of direct access to
the actual sources of the material?
• Is journalism more about currency of information or more about the
interpretation, repackaging and analysis of information?
269
• Does currency or up-to-datedness of journalism by definition mean
there must be less verification and more inaccuracy in reportage?
• Do audiences want currency or reliability, or at what point in the
continuum do they find reasonable expectation of both?
Such questions emerge through the analysis of a number of the categories in this
study, and represent important topics for further research.
In summary, it is clear that under conditions where journalists are using the
Internet for their research, the datedness or currency of the source material
becomes an important issue. Depending upon the strategies journalists might use
to cope with this issue, we may have examples of different levels of quality in
reportage: dated or current.
FINDING 6.7: Internet-sourced material is questionable as to its level of
currency and journalists need to develop strategies to ascertain the datedness
of Internet-sourced data.
6.2.2.2 Influences upon the international nature of sources
The geographical origin of source material can be significant in journalism. As
demonstrated at 6.1.1.1, a key news value is proximity and most media outlets
were set up to service specific geographical locations. Their audiences may expect
localised sources of information wherever relevant. The Internet is, by definition,
an international computing network, and sources might be expected to be
international in nature. Balancing this, however, is the fact that the Internet has
grown disproportionately in North America, leading in many quarters to a level of
US-centricity in both the nature of information and in the tenor of discussion, as
evidenced by the exploratory study of one discussion list featured at Appendix 1.
This is problematic for journalists. A journalist seeking data on his or her own
region — or even nation — may be disappointed to find that a Web search reveals
only US data on the issue or an American perspective. On the other hand,
international sources bring different perspectives to news stories journalists might
270
not otherwise have sought and to which audiences might not otherwise have
gained access.
This category was developed from the axial coding of data revealing both
perspectives on the Internet’s internationalisation of journalists’ sources: those
portraying it as an advantage because of the new-found geographical diversity of
source material for journalists and those perceiving the problem of an Internetdriven US-centricity of sources. The category needs to be distinguished from that
addressing proximity as a news value, at 6.1.1.1. Here, the influence identified is
the international nature of journalists’ source material.
The key point in this category is the level of journalists’ accessibility to
international sources post-Internet. Journalists could always use international
sources in their work. The trouble was finding out about them and accessing them
within deadline time. Now, using the Internet, international sources fell into
journalists’ laps, perhaps unsolicited. For example, a search by an Australian
journalist on the topic “pulp and paper” might deliver the Web site of the
Canadian
Pulp
and
Paper
Association
at
<www.open.doors.cppa.ca/>
(C972A0099). It then becomes a question of the value of this information to this
Australian journalist and his/her audience. Of course, too narrow a search by
journalists might rule out international information which might be of value. For
example, the same journalist mentioned above researching pulp and paper might
restrict the Web search to "Pulp and Paper and Australia", perhaps excluding the
useful Canadian information. Clearly, Internet search skills are an important
competency for journalists navigating these issues, a point revisited in Chapter 7.
At the international level, Internet research allows for international
comparisons of particular phenomena, as with the example cited at 6.1.1.1 of
police herbicide spraying in NZ and Hawaii (C972A0029) and the offering of
translation services to reporters wishing to take advantage of sites using languages
other than English (O972A0056). With the ready availability of international
sources via the Internet, journalists must deal with the issue of the relative
suitability of an international source early in the research process, the instant a
271
Web search reveals a foreign source of data or a query to a discussion list results
in a foreigner responding. They must decide how to get local information on the
topic if that is what is really required.
US-centric issues such as the O.J. Simpson trial (S972A0108) and the
scheduling of a regional US conference (S972A0138) showed how the medium
could be appropriated for parochial purposes, sometimes almost arrogantly
ignoring the interests of international members of the same lists. Purportedly
international topics might also have a US flavour. For example, the Web site
detailing international abuses of human rights had a US government Web site
address and was maintained by the US Department of State (C972A0005). The
examples demonstrated journalists needed to be alert to the location and
allegiances of their sources. The diversity of locations from which journalists
might glean material on the Internet is detailed below at 6.2.2.3 “Web resources
used by journalists”.
A range of outcomes might eventuate from journalists’ use of international
sources, including the reporting of a rich story built upon authoritative
international sources relevant to the particular audience; an inappropriate story
built upon unreliable international sources remote to an audience; and perhaps
even no story because a deadline has been missed because time has been wasted
trying to access or verify data received from a remote source.
The category prompted a range of questions left unanswered by the data field,
yet worthy of further research. They included:
• Can international sources work effectively for localised traditional
journalism, such as community newspapers or regional television?
• To what extent are they already being used by such outlets?
• How amenable are audiences to internationally sourced content?
272
• How tolerant are international contacts of using their time
corresponding or talking with foreign reporters when there may be no
direct benefit forthcoming for the expenditure of that time?
• Given the availability of international sources, are journalists now
less likely to seek out local sources on important issues?
• Is US-centricity of data/opinion really a problem or is it just that
information is being internationalised, albeit with a US flavour?
• Is this just a temporary phenomenon, problematic only while the rest
of the world catches up to the US in the provision of public
information on the Internet?
• How will the developing technology allow reporters to separate out
the trivial parochial foreign data from the valuable international source
material?
Clearly, the international nature of the Internet presents both opportunities and
pitfalls to journalists planning to use it as a means of accessing data and human
sources. Used in certain ways and in certain circumstances, international sources
can add value to a work of journalism. However, journalists will need to weigh up
this value against the time it takes to sift and access the international material and
the potential impact upon audiences of the use of international rather than local
sources. Early in their research process they will need to answer a fundamental
question: “Does the international data / perspective enrich the reportage or
distance it?”
FINDING 6.8: The advent of the Internet has made available to journalists a
wide range of international sources, impractical to access previously for
many reasons. This new accessibility necessitates new decisions in journalists’
research processes as they weigh the value of such sources to their enterprise.
6.2.2.3 Influences upon Web resources used by journalists
273
As already stated above, the advent of the World Wide Web has brought a vast
array of resources to the hands of journalists with Internet access. This category
assesses the value of Web resources compared with traditional resources, proposes
some classifications for such resources and gives some examples. At 6.2.1.1
journalists’ use of the Internet as a research mechanism was examined. This
category is distinguished from that in that it looks in more detail at the sources
themselves whereas the former considered this new mechanism for accessing
them.
The value of journalists’ information and their work practices in accessing that
information are central to the practice of journalism and to the Core Category.
Crucial to journalism is the quality and veracity of information journalists are
using in their reporting. The transition to online data has forced a re-evaluation of
journalists’ sources and their worth. Information is put up on the Web by public
and private organisations and individuals. The Web has become a new point of
access to information for journalists. Of course, they must find out about its
availability via such means as search engines, discussion lists, courses and print
advertising before they can use it.
New Web-based sources may prove more valuable or useful than traditional
sources such as hard copy literature, online information services, telephone calls
to individual contacts and face-to-face interviews. Nevertheless, there may be
inherent problems with the information or with journalists’ use of their reporting
resources in accessing these new sources.
The rate of transfer of information to the Internet and the rate of journalists’
uptake of this technology as a means of access are beyond the ambit of this study,
however, there was apparently a fast rate of input of data onto the Net, though it
was impossible to judge where this was positioned as a percentage of the world’s
total information bank. Clearly, its pace varied across nations and social sectors.
There was also a varied pace in journalists’ use of the Internet as a research tool,
again dependent upon their own motivation and employers’ provision of
resources. Journalists’ use of Web resources was also dependent upon their
specialist topic areas of reporting. Some, like technology, were well serviced with
274
data for Web research. Others, such as daily emergency services rounds, were
dependent upon interviews with officials and less conducive to Web research.
Journalists have a low ability to control whether information is uploaded onto
the Web. Once it is there, their ability to control their access to it may vary
according to access privileges and costs. The changing availability of Web
resources for journalists raises issues related to the quality of the resources
themselves and the transition of journalists to the use of them.
While the Internet offers a range of information access methods which can be
distinguished from the World Wide Web, such as file transfer protocol (ftp),
electronic mail, and internet relay chat (IRC), the Web navigation interface
available by the time of the study made most available through this new medium.
Web resources used by journalists can be classified as follows:
a. Raw data: access to databases with raw information ready for
journalists’ own processing. For example, the US Federal Aviation
Authority’s (FAA) listing of airline safety information and regulations
(S972A0153).
b. Data structured for some other purpose by some primary source for
their convenience or for some primary purpose other than publishing.
For example, the Department of State Country Reports on Human
Rights Practices (C972A0005).
c. Data structured for Web publication by a non-media body, perhaps
for promotional purposes, such as the National Church Life Survey
office
in
Sydney
(C972A0035)
and
the
Liberty
Link
for
Republicans/Libertarians (C972A0077).
d. Data structured for Web publication by a media / information
group. For example, the Britannica Guide to Black History
(C972A0043).
275
e. Navigational sites: those established as collections of hypertext
links to useful information in a particular field, with the site itself
being a referral point for these other resources, not unlike a printed
reference guide like APAIS, the Australian Public Affairs Information
Service. An example was Signposts to Asia and the Pacific, a specially
collated resource for journalists reporting on the region (C973B0003).
Another was the Medical Resources site (C972B0020).
f. Sites established specifically for journalistic use, such as Profnet
<www.profnet.com/>, a resource putting journalists in touch with
academic experts in a wide range of specialist fields.
Within these classifications, a litany of potential journalistic resources arose. Of
course, journalists might call upon the full range of resources for different
purposes. Along with the most obvious sources like databases of information in
their specialist reporting areas, even seemingly trivial topics like fishing reports
(C973B0011) arise, but are particularly suited to Net collaboration in their
compilation.
A range of intervening conditions impacts upon journalists’ use of Web
resources, including the availability of online data, the usefulness of that which is
available, their level of access to online equipment, the verifiability of online
information, audiences’ access to such information independent of journalists, and
the user-friendliness of Web software and set-up protocols. There appears to be a
range of potential outcomes of journalists’ use of Web resources, from the
positive — readily accessed useful information, through to the negative — a waste
of time and resources in digging up information with minimal value. Clearly,
future interactions will be dependent upon the value of this experience.
Perhaps just as relevant as the question of journalists’ use of Web resources
are questions about their traditional research methods and work practices. For
example:
• What non-Web sources are journalists still using?
276
• What place does the Web resource really play in the scheme of a
journalist’s work?
• How do they know when to access the Web and when to access preexisting resources?
• What is the process of journalists’ shift to the Web?
• What is the process of change for an individual reporter?
• What time and resources are journalists allocated in order to access
such data?
• What training are they given?
• How do they rate the relative usefulness of Web sites?
Each of these questions deserves the attention of future research but none were
addressed as part of this project.
FINDING 6.9: Six categories of Web resources used by journalists have
emerged: 1) Raw data requiring journalists’ processing; 2) Data already
structured by another body for their own purposes; 3) Data structured
specifically for Web publication by some other body; 4) Data structured for
Web publication by a media/information group; 5) Navigational sites acting
as signposts to information on a topic; and 6) Sites established specifically for
journalistic research.
6.2.2.4 Internet influences upon public relations access to journalists
The influence of public relations and commercial interests upon journalism has
long been of concern. Public relations practitioners have used a range of strategies
and mechanisms for getting access to journalists. These have included direct
approaches in person and by telephone, the mailing of press releases to target
publications and journalists, the purchasing of advertorial space, the offering of
“freebies” in return for editorial coverage, the staging of press conferences and the
sending of press releases and other literature by facsimile message and over
277
specially designated wire services. The advent of the Internet introduces a new
mechanism by which publicists and “spin-doctors” can access journalists and
attempt to influence them and manage their work. This was noted by Kliethermes
(1997) and reviewed in Chapter 2. Garrison (1998, p. 7) also noted journalists
complained about the public-relations orientation of many research sites.
Several examples of attempts by public relations practitioners to influence
journalists arose in the data collection period. At a subtle level, even genuine
worthy causes, such as the international demining database and Web site
(C972A0002), were pushing a particular line, of which journalists using the Web
for research needed to be wary. Others toed a particular political line, as might be
expected of the US Department of State Country Reports on Human Rights
Practices (C972A0005). Some nations featured their own Web sites. One was
billed as “the main gate to Colombia”, almost like an immigration checkpoint
(C972A0012). Journalists “entering” a country through such an official gate
should expect to get the official line on important issues.
Some were much more direct. For example, Wiley Computer Publishing
tempted journalists with some “easy copy” — that “... quick sidebar to fill out
your column” (C972B0019). Some were blatant propaganda sites, such as the
Canadian Pulp and Paper Association Website representing the interests of the
pulp and paper industry (C972A0099). Others were blatant advertisements such as
a book supply site promoted on the SPJ-L list (S972A0006).
Some discussants demonstrated they were wary of biased information on the
Web. For example, one reporter asked colleagues for “non-corporate sponsored
Web pages, Usenet newsgroups, (BBSs even) etc.” for a story on the financial
side of consumer product companies (C972A0070).
Journalists were sceptical about overly promotional sites. One asked: “When
is (a particular) site going to get some decent, non-promo content?”
(O972A0124). The level of cynicism about anything self-promotional was
indicated by one discussant who apologised for promoting his own interests by
plugging on list a product he had developed (O972A0103).
278
Other information was provided by sources which would have to be
investigated by journalists to ascertain their allegiances and reliability. For
example, how trusting should a journalist be of the National Church Life Office’s
surveys on religion in Australia? (C972A0035).
The data demonstrated that journalists needed to be able to verify information
on the Net and attribute it. Some sites, such as the Learning About Education
Through Statistics site provided the source of each statistic cited and a contact for
each study or program mentioned (C972A0006). Given this level of helpfulness,
the question arises: Does this make it too easy for the journalist to use such
information and get into the habit of using it without questioning it?
There were indications publicists were becoming more organised in their
attempts to use the Internet to influence journalists, a trend predicted by
Kliethermes (1997) in her ethnographic study. Certainly, the distribution of press
releases to journalists was becoming more organised, confirming the findings of
Quinn (1998b, p. 246) in his study of Internet usage by Australian journalists. For
example, the Internet News Bureau was an electronic clearinghouse for press
releases, boasting more than 1000 journalists were receiving its releases
(S973A0028). Web sites were being used to store and archive press releases for
reference and journalists could register to have press releases sent automatically to
their electronic mail addresses (S972A0107). While this was a voluntary request
for such promotional data, some publicists chose to “spam” lists with their
material, to the annoyance of discussants (O972A0175). Others listed journalists’
electronic mail addresses in digest form, as with the US All Media E-Mail
Directory (J972C0008). Journalists needed to be wary of their addresses being
listed in such directories if they wished to avoid junk mail. The problem of
onselling journalists’ electronic mail addresses was perceived to be chronic
enough for one organisation, the Reporters Network, to take the step of
guaranteeing the email addresses of its members would not be sold (C973B0001).
Some sites charged their clients a fee to offer them as quotable sources to the
media, such as the Guestfinder site (C972B0018). Others pushed their own clients
279
or personnel or collections of material as “fillers” for journalists, material they
could use to fill a hole in their news schedule (C972B0019).
It is clear the public relations presence on the Internet evidenced by the above
examples represents a significant influence of the Internet upon journalism
practice. The Net has been adopted by public relations operators as a useful
communication tool. Publicists and spin doctors were using this new technology
to influence reporters, in the most blatant and in more subtle ways.
It would be naive to view the Internet as simply a wonderful new resource
which stood to improve the quality of journalism. Equally, it would be unfair to
dismiss all public relations influence as negative and unwelcome. Taken to its
extreme, every source is pushing a particular agenda, so it may be good that such
sources are up front about their biases and that this informs the journalist’s work.
Journalists can and should use such material if it is deemed relevant to the story at
hand and if it has been properly authenticated. The trap for journalists lies in the
information being too readily available, and too easily cut and pasted into their
work in an unquestioning fashion.
Some journalistic strategies for dealing with publicity material were indicated
in the data. Some journalists were seeking out authentic material by using the
discussion lists to ask their colleagues about it. Others were using the lists to warn
their colleagues of dubious material or were voicing their concerns about the
abuse of the medium for such purposes. Clearly, journalists needed to develop
systematic authentication procedures when dealing with such information and
investigate workable means of balancing views in their stories.
The extent of the influence of public relations practitioners upon journalists
via the Internet might be affected by a range of factors, including employers’
attitudes to such influences; the time and resources available to journalists to
counter it; the level of access public relations practitioners might have to
journalists via the new medium; and the extent to which journalists might be
trained in strategies to deal with it.
280
FINDING 6.10: The Internet is being used as a tool of public relations by which
PR practitioners, individuals, corporations, organisations and even nations
seek to influence journalists. Some such approaches are quite subtle while
others are more direct. They also vary in their level of organisation, with
evidence of systematic attempts to gain direct electronic access to journalists.
6.2.3 Research problems
In addressing the influences of the Internet upon journalism research techniques
and journalists’ sources at 6.2.1 and 6.2.2 above, mention has been made in
passing of a number of problems discussants have identified as Internet-linked
impediments to the research enterprise. This aspect of the data was considered
important enough to warrant a separate category. While the Internet might bring
numerous identifiable benefits to journalists in their research endeavours — new
techniques of inquiry and a litany of new sources — such benefits need to be
weighed against the difficulties the technology also presents. Indications of
several such problems arose in the data, including the difficulty of technology
failure, time consumption, lack of authenticity and cost.
The categories which emerged during axial coding explain the problems arising
from the influences of the Internet upon journalists’ research and are illustrated in
the tree form developed in the NUD.IST software in Figure 6.6.
6.2.3 Research problems
6.2.3.1 Technology failure
6.2.3.2 Time consumption
6.2.3.3 Lack of authenticity
6.2.3.4 Cost
Figure 6.6: Problems resulting from the Internet’s influences upon journalists’
research
6.2.3.1 Technology failure as a research problem
With journalists using new equipment to perform old and new tasks, inevitable
technical breakdowns will influence their attitudes and performance. The data
281
indicated a range of technical shortcomings and failures of the Internet and its
associated software and hardware presenting problems for journalists. Discussants
reported difficulties with new versions of software, communication via electronic
mail, Internet terminology, hardware platform impediments, slowness of
transmission, traffic jams on Web sites and in discussion lists, information
overload caused by multiple postings, user ignorance leading to frustrations, virus
fears, year 2000 date change challenges, software incompatibility, data confusion
(such as name changes) on transmission, bouncing messages on servers,
shortcomings with search engines, immature technologies such as video
streaming, and software doing more than was required of it. Each is detailed
below with accompanying document references.
This substantial list of difficulties all occupied time and cost which might
normally have been spent on news gathering and processing, addressed below at
6.2.3.2 and 6.2.3.4. What is not evident in such a qualitative study is the amount
of resource — time and money — expended on such problems; nor any indication
of the comparative time saved or efficiencies gained through Internet use.
Difficulties with software appeared to be the most frequently reported and
among the most frustrating for journalists. They reported the problem of dealing
with the computer gobbledygock in electronic mail messages and discussed the
need for software to strip such unnecessary data out (C972A0019). They
complained about shortcomings with Internet search engines (O972A0089;
O972A0103; O972A0113), software incompatibility (C972A0103); difficulties
with
new
software
crashing
their
systems
(O972A0097;
O972A0102;
C972A0102); and software doing more than expected and blocking the
information inflow (O972A0135; O972A0153). Computer viruses (C972A0063)
and the Y2K problem (C972A0053) also featured as software concerns. Apple
users complained of a platform bias against Macs by major software companies
(O972A0102; O972A0125).
There was evidence of dissatisfaction with the bandwidth available for
Internet communication, particularly with messages cross-posted to numerous
discussion lists perceived as wasting telecommunication bandwidth (C972A0009).
282
Immature technologies such as video streaming were perceived as inefficient on
the current bandwidth (O972A0105; O972A0112; O972A0126). One large
Internet provider, AOL, suffered a system crash during the collection period,
creating havoc among users (S972A0153).
Internet addresses caused concern to discussants: some electronic mail
systems stripped off the sender lines of messages, leaving the senders anonymous
to recipients (C972A0010); names were mismatched on list messages as a result
of errors with the list management software (O972A0005); a shortage of domain
names (.com, .org etc) caused frustration (S972A0178); and Web addresses were
found to be lengthy and subject to user typographical errors, leading them
nowhere in their search for sources (O972D0002). Some discussants also
complained that the non-sequential posting of messages to discussion lists gave a
disjointed appearance to the discussion (C972A0032; O972A0059).
There was some evidence that user ignorance might be at the root of some of
the difficulties with the technology. Several discussants sent angry messages at
the frustration of being unable to remove themselves from the discussion lists
(C972A0021); while other users were found to be ignorant of the features of their
software (C972A0034). A Web journalist discussant summed up the user
ignorance issue:
I wonder just how many journalists understand how to use the Net
properly? Given some of the very basic questions I’ve seen asked here
... the answer would seem to be “not well at all”. (S972A0045)
On the other hand, there was evidence of support on the Web for technical
problems, including special software troubleshooting discussion lists such as one
devoted to Filemaker Pro, the FMPRO-L (C972B0011). The major problem here
was that ignorant users were either unaware of such support or not competent
enough to access it.
283
Clearly, the data indicated failures and shortcomings in the operation of the
Internet represented a potential negative influence upon journalism practice. It
could be that, on balance, the advent of the Internet is a positive development for
journalists and journalism, saving time for some functions and opening up new
research and publishing opportunities. However, the negative influence of
problems like the technical breakdowns listed above must be factored into the
equation. Such breakdowns might add considerable cost to the enterprise of
journalism, in time, resources and emotion. Unplanned interruptions caused
through technical shortcomings or user ignorance feature as impediments to the
core journalistic endeavour of meeting the required deadline. Such experiences
might influence the behaviour and work of those they impact upon, but also the
perceptions and behaviours of those who control their operations, such as
managers and editors.
Nevertheless, there may be some benefits to such technical breakdowns and
glitches. Perhaps they drive the development and refinement of software and
practices. Certainly the phenomenon is not new: all technology has had glitches
which have affected the work of journalists. Also, there is a chance it might even
inspire journalists to be more careful in their reporting and publishing, ensuring
they back up, verify and attribute appropriately and enhance prospects for support,
training and collaboration. Certainly, these are new journalistic strategies which
need to be developed, and form the basis of educational implications to be
addressed in Chapter 7.
FINDING 6.11: There is evidence of technical failure associated with the
Internet disrupting the journalistic research enterprise in several ways and
causing concern among journalists and journalism educators. Examples
include software glitches, bandwidth shortages and Internet protocol
difficulties. There is also evidence of user ignorance causing problems.
6.2.3.2 Time consumption as a research problem
284
Journalists spent considerable time on reading, responding to and processing their
electronic mail. At times this was wasted on junk mail and unsolicited discussion
list correspondence (C972A0021). A journalist might subscribe to a relevant list
in good faith, only to be preoccupied with off-topic discussions, a common cause
of complaint to the lists (C972A0071; C972A0096; S972A0021; S972A0158;
S972A0163). A specialist reporter might need to be a subscriber to a large number
of lists in the topic area, occupying substantial time reading and sorting
(C972A0033). There was evidence of unpredicted consequences of Internet
participation, such as trial subscriptions to discussion lists leading to a nightmare
of being unable to unsubscribe because of technical difficulties or user ignorance
(C972A0021). Participating in discussion lists occupied time which might have
been spent more fruitfully on other tasks. Freelancers, for example, had to decide
whether it was worth the time invested, with their livelihoods dependent upon a
suitable return (O972A0133).
Time is crucial to journalism, which is about bringing news to an audience
within a deadline. The data indicated that one problem the Internet presents is the
time consumption involved in many activities. While the technology might save
considerable time in many reporting and publishing tasks, it can also occupy a
great deal of journalistic time which might have been allocated to more routine,
predictable duties in the pre-Internet era. For example, a regional newspaper
reporter’s day might have involved a 30 minute call-around to local police stations
to seek out the overnight news on crime. This was timetabled as a routine task and
was likely to produce copy for the edition. A similar 30 minutes assigned to an
Internet search might not prove as fruitful. The danger is that the journalist’s day
might be invested in Internet research activities with little output to show for it.
The data showed the Internet consumed journalists’ time in a range of ways, with
a range of consequences. While this supported Garrison’s (1998, p. 5) and
Kirkpatrick’s (1996, p. 73) finding about journalists’ concern over the time they
spent on the Internet, it did not distinguish between usage at larger and smaller
newspapers as Kirkpatrick had done. Nevertheless, Kirkpatrick (1996, p. 74) did
note differences in the ways the Web was used by journalists at larger and smaller
newspapers, with those on smaller newspapers tending to use general search
facilities and those on larger newspapers using government specialist sites more
285
often. This perhaps reflected the degree of specialisation but also the larger
amount of time the large daily newspaper journalists had for more extensive
searching and the more powerful computing resources at their fingertips,
Kirkpatrick suggested (1996, p. 73).
Thus, time and resources are difficult to separate when looking at the work
patterns of journalists using the Internet.
Time consumption was also linked to information overload, with discussants
expressing difficulties coping with the large quantities of information available.
As Russian journalist Dmitry Ruschin noted: “Today’s journalist, whether in St
Petersburg or in New York, must sort through and make sense of an enormous
amount of information.” (S973A0003). Recent graduate Neil McIntosh
contributed: “Many of us suffer from cluttered (screen and physical) desktops, a
mass of unlabelled disks and countless printouts”, and asked about the added
mental skills required of a journalist to cope with such information overload
(O973D0019). Companies were designing software to help speed-read Web pages
at up to 8000wpm in an attempt to reduce the time involved in reading excess data
(C972A0074). Clearly, time management and information handling strategies
deserve to be addressed as an educational implication in Chapter 7.
Some discussants made some suggestions on this front, demonstrating once
again that discussion lists were a useful vehicle for professional development.
Journalists shared time-saving and file-storing methods, such as the approach
described by Stu Lowndes from Montreal Computer News where he downloaded
useful files from the Web and then reloaded them using Netscape as a viewer
(O973D0001). Others suggested downloading files into a relational database for
later reference (O973D0002). Chairman of the Internet Press Guild, Stephen J.
Vaughan-Nichols, highlighted the importance of subscribing to narrowly focused
mailing lists to “keep on top of your beats” and to sort mail with a “top mail
reader that automatically filters and files mail” (O973D0011).
Even the seeking of assistance can be time consuming, particularly if help is
sought in an inefficient way. For example, subscribers might seek software
286
information by posting a question about it to a discussion list, when there is an
obvious software support Web site operated by the software company
(C972A0111). The request to the discussion list unnecessarily occupies the time
of all list members reading it, and perhaps duplicates responses from those willing
to offer suggestions.
This inefficiency in information searching is a very important one, and strikes
at the heart of the journalistic task. Inefficient use of search engines (or perhaps
the engines’ own inadequacy for search tasks) was a common complaint. One
reporter sought out the list’s help in finding a newspaper article on a topic after
three hours of unsuccessfully searching various browser search engines, and
complained: “It just gets harder and harder to find things” (O972A0080). After
several suggestions of methods of accessing the document, it was finally found,
resulting in the reporter posting to the list:
Thanks to everyone for all the clues, and in particular to Michael
Whitney of the Washington Post for giving me the critical headline,
byline and date. A lot of hours went into this, mostly in the wee hours
of the morning, but the article had just the information I wanted.
Question: Is the Web an easy research tool for journalists?
(O972A0154)
While it might be possible to publish instantly to the Web, it can take more
than a week for the search engines to register the site and have it available to
searchers for searching. This might present problems for those wanting to seek out
the latest information for a breaking story, particularly if it has immediate news
value. Evan Rudowski warned: “… so the main search engine is surely not the
place to look for breaking news” (O972A0101).
As detailed at 6.2.3.1, technical breakdowns could cost valuable deadline time,
as could explaining problems to technical support staff (O972A0102). The
downloading of Web sites, particularly those featuring large graphics files or
video streaming, proved time consuming (O972D0004). Some government
information available online or on disk was so large it presented processing
287
problems for CARR reporters, as with the Environmental Protection Agency data
of 10 files, each of 2 million bytes (C973B0006). There was the suggestion this
might have been a conspiracy by government departments to perplex journalists
with too much information and perhaps indicative of a global conspiracy to keep
outdating computers to bring profits to large corporations (C973B0008).
Within the time-precious journalistic enterprise, minutes spent on any activity
need to be justifiable. It seems from the discussion that time was being expended
upon Internet activities which may not be justifiable in such terms. The crucial
factor was in setting about an assessment of the process and weighing up the
time:return equation for Internet research against other journalistic research
activities. It seemed little account was being paid to gauging the relative merits of
such activities. Discussion centred upon time wasted due to various difficulties,
and it is probably not fair to use this as a gauge since discussants might not be
motivated to correspond on time saved through Internet use unless prompted to do
so. There was ample evidence that, for example, a great deal of discussion list
content was off-topic discussion. This was material researching journalists had to
wade through before they could get the source material for their stories.
A larger worry is management’s perception of Internet use in time
management terms. News organisations rely upon routinised news gathering and
production processes. If Internet-based research and publishing activities are less
predictable, how will they be viewed? Whatever the attitude, there is evidence
here that time consumption is a definite influence of the Internet upon the practice
of journalism, and therefore central to the Core Category. There is a chance that
usage of the Internet might be viewed by the journalists or their superiors as a
waste of time. This might result in journalists needing to adopt any of a number of
strategies, including fine-tuning their practices; getting faster or more efficient
equipment; undergoing training in efficient Net navigation; reducing the amount
of time spent on the Net; restricting Net usage to certain tasks; ceasing Net usage
all together or perhaps changing workplaces to accommodate it.
288
The phenomenon of time consumption might vary according to the method of
the journalist’s entry into Internet use and their stage of use. For example, a
veteran reporter on a traditional round might find Internet time consumption
creeps up as familiarity and subscription grows. If this happened throughout a
news room, management might find story output overall was reduced. (Story
quality, variety and depth might increase, however, and this might be deemed to
be worth the investment.) However, a freelancer just embarking on the task might
need to assess the issue much sooner and more systematically as there could be
such an impact on output that freelance income might be reduced substantially.
Again, educational and training issues arise here, taken up in Chapter 7.
FINDING 6.12: There are several circumstances in which discussants perceive
the use of the Internet for research is time consuming for journalists. These
include the processing of electronic mail and other software, sorting reams of
information, seeking help with technical problems, and inefficiencies in
Internet searching and Web navigation.
6.2.3.3 Lack of authenticity as a research problem
The data revealed that there was concern that information on the Internet was
unverified and that journalists should be alert to this when using it for their
research. At an extreme level, it might be intentionally deceptive, with its creators
soliciting responses for some practical joke or perhaps a more sinister purpose. In
some respects this is no different from the pre-Internet experience, when
journalists would get (and continue to get) bogus phone calls and press releases
tipping them off to false stories, especially around April 1 each year. The concern
is that journalists occasionally fall victim to such scams and may continue to do so
under this new environment. Audiences might be duped by journalists’ resulting
work, prompting an erosion in credibility in the journalist, the outlet, and the
enterprise as a whole.
289
Evidence arose of scams or deceptions on the Internet. For example, one
discussant noted cautiously: “Because e-mail can be altered electronically, the
integrity of this communication cannot be guaranteed” (S972A0107).
In some cases the deception was for commercial gain. This occurred within
the context of a commercial international medium, with potential for financial
exchange and disguise of identity, in an environment of minimal legal clarity.
There were examples of the Internet being abused for telemarketing and pyramid
selling schemes, such as one promoting “the most powerful income generating
program in existence” (C972A0100; C972A0104). So-called “free services” were
being offered by Internet Service Providers (ISPs) and other corporations which
were really just trying to build a client base (O972A0058). Some used the threat
or fear of viruses and scams as a political tool in their battle against a corporate
enemy, in one case the ISP America Online, with a so-called “Valentine’s Day
Massacre” against the provider planned (S972A0172). Clearly, the impact of such
deceptions upon journalistic research will depend upon a range of factors,
including the experience and awareness of journalists involved; the effectiveness
of their verification strategies; the sophistication of the deception; the legal
environment in which it is conducted; and the continued ability of such
proponents to disguise their identities and transfer funds electronically.
Clearly, journalists need to access human and data sources in their work. Both
are available through the Internet. Accessing them this way might bring certain
advantages such as currency, expertise, variety, verifiability, and so on, but also
some converse pitfalls, such as datedness, unreliability, lack of expertise etc. At
its most subtle level, journalists in their research found biased, or partisan
information on the Web. One even posted a request for “non-corporate sponsored
Web pages” in a bid to obtain reliable material (C972A0070). Lack of authenticity
also took the form of outdatedness. The age of Web sites presented genuine
reliability problems. Of 30 million sites in March 1997, five million had not been
updated since early 1996, a discussant reported (C973B0013).
290
Journalists needed to be alert to scams and lesser forms of deceptions in their
research. There was clear evidence in the data that the integrity of their enterprise
was being threatened by a range of practices jeopardising the authenticity and
reliability of source material. While journalists might not have been able to
prevent the occurrence of such dubious materials, they could implement
verification procedures which could help identify suspect data in their research to
prevent its publication. This reinforced the findings of Priest (1998, p. 29) who,
after pointing out the pitfalls in relying upon discussion list data for journalistic
research, concluded journalists needed to be aware of where information came
from, whose interests it served, what its history had been and the extent to which
it could be relied upon. Again, such strategies will be explored in the study of
educational implications in Chapter 7.
Of course, journalists might also like to turn the scam phenomenon on its head
by reporting upon such deceptions to the Internet and wider audiences.
FINDING 6.13: A lack of authenticity in source materials is a research problem
facing journalists using the Internet. Examples range from dubious
marketing strategies through to actual scams and deceptions for sinister
purposes. Journalists need to develop effective verification strategies to
ensure the authenticity of research material.
6.2.3.4 Cost as a research problem
Any research method has some costs attached to it. The Internet is no exception.
Start-up costs include purchasing hardware, software, telecommunications access
and training, while ongoing costs include repairs and servicing, hardware and
software upgrades, connection and service costs along with training updates. Time
consumption, addressed above at 6.2.3.2, also has labour costs attached as
journalistic resources spent on the Net clearly affect the bottom line. All are
dependent upon the size of the news operation and the extent of Internet usage.
291
There was not substantial discussion of Internet cost as an issue during the
data collection period. However, a few messages raised cost as an issue worth
exploratory discussion here and certainly justifying further research.
The issue of connection costs for Internet users arose during the collection
period in the form of a US proposal for time call charges for Internet use
(O972A0147). This prompted an angry response, given Internet access was
available in that country on an unlimited basis for the cost of a local call to the
service provider. Undoubtedly such a move would impact greatly on net usage by
journalists, their organisations, and their audiences. Again, the discussion list was
used as a rallying point for opposition against another proposal seen as a threat to
the Internet community (O972A0147).
Another cost issue arose in the field of computer-assisted reporting, with
evidence of government organisations making data available to journalists and the
broader public “on disk”, but the software required to access the data being
prohibitively expensive (S974A0001). This led to the suggestion that all public
information should be available free of charge on the Net, but given the
unlikelihood of such a prospect, served to flag an ongoing cost line for media
organisations pursuing computer research. In the case of the Shelbyville News in
Indiana, its access to data provided by its local authority cost six hours of
programming time at $90 per hour, a total of $540 for raw material for a story
(S974A0002).
One discussant linked the issue with the ongoing cost of upgrading software
each time the major software corporations released a new version, arguing that
government organisations might be headed the same way if they began to profit
from the sale of their own programming services to access public data:
Then you’ll be expected to buy an upgrade for the software they sold
you, if you still want access to that government database. We’ve all
played the same game with off-the-shelf software. It’s a bullshit
marketing ploy with which we’re all too familiar. (S974A0005)
292
Clearly, much of this discussion constituted speculation, indicating that cost of
Internet access was not perceived as being a major problem at the time of the data
collection, but had the potential to become so.
FINDING 6.14: Cost concerns are associated with the use of the Internet for
journalistic research, particularly to do with the prospective costs of Internet
access and the costs of accessing government data. However, most are seen as
potential cost issues rather than existing ones.
In concluding the analysis of the category of Internet influences upon
journalistic research, it is evident that journalists were finding the medium to be a
useful new tool for journalistic research, with it adding valuable new techniques in
its own right as a research resource, enhancing the discipline of computer-assisted
research, and forcing a re-evaluation of traditional research approaches. It
influenced the sources journalists used in their research, affecting their currency
and their geographical origin, and brought new sources of a range of types into
their domain, at the same time allowing new channels of access to journalists by
public relations operatives. While the Internet offered numerous research benefits
to journalists, it also presented a range of problems, including technology failure,
time wasting, lack of authenticity and cost.
6.3 Practice Influence 3: Writing
Having established the Internet has influenced journalists’ conceptions of news
values and topics and their research techniques, the next logical point of inquiry is
the influence upon the actual writing journalists produce as part of their reportage.
This category, developed in the axial coding process, addresses that issue,
considering new approaches which have been spawned by the advent of the new
technology and the influences of the technology upon existing approaches to news
writing. It should be noted that some aspects of writing; notably, the language
293
journalists use in their communication, were addressed under the heading
“Influences upon journalists’ use of language” at 5.2.1 above.
The data indicated the Internet had influenced journalism writing in two
important ways: by replacing some techniques with new approaches and by
reinforcing the value of other traditional techniques. The categories developed
during axial coding explain the influences of the Internet upon journalists’ writing
are illustrated in the tree form developed in the NUD.IST software in Figure 6.7.
6.3 Writing
6.3.1 New or revised techniques
6.3.2 Existing techniques reinforced
Figure 6.7: Internet influences upon journalists’ writing
6.3.1 New or revised writing techniques
The data showed that the inverted pyramid (the traditional news writing structure
consisting of a summary introduction and ensuing sentences in descending order
of importance) was being questioned as the standard news writing form. One
correspondent described it as “useless” (C972A0071). So too was the grammatical
form of the paragraph being reconsidered in the light of the advent of free-flow
forms such as discussion lists and electronic mail (C972A0068). These writing
forms had already been under review before the advent of the Internet. The same
news writing formats had been the standard for several decades, but were being
revisited as other media such as radio and television performed the news breaking
role and newspapers were relied upon for analysis and interpretation. However,
discussants drew upon new media qualities as reasons for a review of writing
techniques.
Readers’ tolerance of reading longer stories in the new medium was being
questioned and targeted. Modern readers had “attention spans that make the
Minute Waltz seem like an eternity” in the view of one correspondent, requiring
writing forms which attracted and held their attention (C972A0075). Such
comments were made in defence of the inverted pyramid as a news writing
structure even in a new media environment, with some feeling it was the best
294
structure to “pique the curiosity of readers enough to make them want to go on,
besides containing the essential information” (C972A0087). One discussant
explained that much depended upon the execution of the writing approach:
The inverted pyramid is like any other writing technique. Done well, it
comes close to poetry. Done poorly, it is fit only for lining the ol’
birdcage. (C972A0087)
Another, Lee Hickling, put the argument that while many espoused the inverted
pyramid, few actually used it in its pure form:
Whatever you call it, it’s a natural and effective way to write for a
newspaper. Tell ‘em what it’s about, the nuts of the story, and then go
into more detail for the people who care, while the rest are free to turn
to the comics page. (C972A0127)
Discussants observed new media qualities which were impacting upon the actual
writing techniques of journalists. This reinforced the view of the Los Angeles
Times’ Leah Gentry who proposed a model for “nonlinear storytelling”, involving
the reporter providing a smorgasbord of hypertextual viewing options for
audiences, sometimes breaking stories into their component parts and other times
telling the same story from several points of view, reported by Harper (1998, p.
48).
The Internet offered the opportunity to journalists to disregard length, albeit at
some potential cost to readership. However, writing to appropriate length was of
concern to journalists, evidenced in their discussions. Lee Hickling commented:
Online publications can be much less concerned with space, or time,
or whatever you call it when you’re dealing with electrons. It’s one of
the attractions of the new medium, for writers. I’m not sure about
readers. (S973A0030)
Novel writing forms adopted in electronic mail and discussion list
correspondence showed the potential to transcend these limited writing outlets and
find their way into other media. Electronic mail writing forms such as
abbreviations and the use of brackets <, emphases * and smilies :-) indicated a
295
more expressive medium, the editor in chief of The American Reporter, Joe Shea,
contended (S973A0023):
I keep asking myself how long I can hold off printing stuff bracketed
by >, emphasized by * and _, and closed with :). That’s just
orthography, but the growing universality of these forms and of the
more expressive medium of email (as compared to writing for
newsprint) will ultimately change the way we read and write.
Some expressed concern there may be an erosion of grammar standards as
students were attracted more to icons than words (O972A0108).
Further, more lay people were writing more seriously through their participation
in discussion lists, leading Shea to suggest this might “drive some significant
changes in the way readers relate to their newspapers” (S973A0023). The more
practised they became at expressing themselves through writing, the higher the
standard of writing they might expect from their newspapers and Web sites.
The multi-media capabilities of the Internet also presented writing challenges as
journalists sought to build into their work the added features of the new medium.
Philip E. Daoust noted the “telling of a story can be greatly enhanced with Web
enabled audio, java scripts, video (in the works), links, image maps, etc”
(O972A0075). Sadly, the actual writing techniques required for such multi-media
reportage did not attract discussion during the data collection period. It would
have been enlightening to hear of more accounts of journalists’ approaches to
writing, such as the storyboarding approach detailed by Harper (1998, pp. 76-77).
Unforeseen problems also arose in writing for the new media. One example was
the failure of correspondents to turn off their electronic mail “signatures” (the
letterhead at the base of a message giving name, position and contact details)
when representing their own views as distinct from those of their organisations
(S972A0166).
The Internet was also presenting opportunities for journalists to discuss and
improve their writing, something which might previously have been restricted to
296
dialogue within their own newsrooms. Specially tailored listservs were available
to discuss writing techniques, such as the Writer-l list (C972A0073). Other
listservs and Web sites helped with writing, such as “word of the day”, at
<www.parlez.com/word-of-the-day/> consisting of a word definition and a quote
of the word in context (S972A0154), a useful vocabulary building facility. The
lists were already functioning as a watchdog on grammar, a vehicle for journalists
to pick up on their colleagues’ misuse of expressions. For example, a posting of
58 actual headlines that went wrong featured on the CARR-L list (C973B0021).
Writing is at the core of journalism practice. These few examples demonstrate
the Internet had impacted in a number of ways upon the way journalists
approached the writing task. Changes in journalistic writing are not clear-cut.
Change in writing techniques and their level of acceptability by audiences are
evolutionary. Already various computer techniques are appearing in graphic mode
across media. For example, point and click menus are used on television lifestyle
programs and in magazine features. Coloured hypertext-style glossaries have been
used in print newspaper features. The intertextuality of such phenomena seems to
influence the rate and scope of change. Influences upon writing happen within the
context of the use of the Internet by journalists and audiences, and in the context
of intertextuality, where the use of one medium impacts upon the use of another.
Of course, there will be some sectors immune from writing change, or at least
very slow to feel the effects, such as conservative, traditional media or those with
niche or particularly small markets or audiences. Small provincial newspapers
serving conservative rural communities, for example, might be slower to
incorporate writing changes than their metropolitan daily counterparts serving a
large, cosmopolitan, wired metropolis.
These findings indicate the potential for profound educational implications, as
journalism educators adapt their writing instruction to cope with such change and
the potential for such change. These will be addressed in Chapter 7.
FINDING 6.15: The introduction of the Internet has prompted a re-evaluation
of writing techniques used by traditional media and the development of new
techniques for new media. There are indications the Internet is being used by
297
journalists to improve their writing and that audiences are becoming more
discerning in their appreciation of journalism writing. Some new media
writing forms such as electronic mail short forms show the potential for
adaptation into traditional media.
6.3.2 Existing techniques reinforced
While the re-evaluation of some previous writing practices might have resulted in
calls for their abandonment or adaptation, in the opinions of some discussants the
advent of the Internet served to reinforce the value of traditional writing
techniques. There seemed to be a consensus among discussants that, despite the
attractions of new publishing and research forms the Web offered, the
distinguishing feature journalists had to offer in the new media environment was
their skill as wordsmiths. Of course, there may have been an element of the
Luddite “back to basics” declining standards lobby here, but nevertheless there
was a strong current of feeling that one of the real core skills of journalism was
the ability to write clearly and concisely. The challenge educators face is how to
instil this, an issue taken up in Chapter 7.
Grappling with the importance of traditional journalistic skills, particularly
writing, is central to the Core Category influences of the Internet upon journalism.
Two key issues arose from the data under this category:
1. There was the sense that the Internet represented another catalyst
for what were perceived to be declining language standards; and
2. Discussants were debating traditional journalism skills, particularly
writing, in the context of the new medium.
Writing remained on a pedestal as a crucial journalistic skill, even in new media.
A position vacant advertisement for TIME Online wanted the journalist to have
the “ability to make a sentence sing”. Specific skills required for the job included
being “a wordsmith who generates clean copy and gets the lede (sic) right 99% of
the time”; “fast and tight” writing; being able to write “a brief, nuanced report”;
298
and to “have style” (J972A0003). These are very traditional values, deemed at
least as important in the new environment.
Despite the new media being perceived as information-centred, one discussant
proposed that even working with data could have a literary dimension — “for
example, an analysis of market trends or, even, a parody of a market analysis that
defuses the reader’s fear of the market’s complexity” (O972A0017).
There was also a suggestion that while good writing might be a core skill for the
new millennium, it would not necessarily be the Associated Press style of writing
taught in journalism “trade schools’ (O972A0051). Journalism education’s
response to such challenges is addressed in Chapter 7.
Discussants put forward the view that good investigation and writing skills
would be needed more than technical skills such as the mastery of design
software, with Mitch Ratcliffe suggesting the “basic requirement that one be
succinct, entertaining or factual remains” (O972A0052). Another contended:
The most creative, evocative writer in the world could be working at a
newspaper, but if he or she consistently hands in copy that contains
bad grammar and is based on spotty reporting, they’re not going to
keep their job for long. (O972A0077)
Many linked the need for good writing skills to the preparation journalists
received in their tertiary preparatory courses. The “back to basics” debate
attracted a high level of participation on the Online-News list. Discussants
lamented students of today did not read or know grammar or history
(O972A0106). A perceived trend to poorer grammar was seen as “indicative of a
devolution that eventually will have us grunting and snorting and drawing stick
figures in the ashes”, one sceptic proposed (O972A0108). One attempted to add
some realism to the discussion by pointing out that grammar on the discussion list
itself was quite poor (O972A0120).
One discussant suggested students should be competent in grammar before
being admitted to college journalism courses (O972A0099). Another proposed
students learn about better writing by reading well written articles and guides on
299
grammar, such as Strunk and White’s Elements of Style (1918) (O972A0099).
Another felt journalism schools taught remedial grammar better than English
classes (O972A0106).
All this represented a concern at the loss of traditional values, particularly the
long-held techniques of writing which had been the standard for generations of
journalists. One discussant chose to distinguish between the skill of writing and
the skill of communication, which was proposed as the preferable one for
journalists (O972A0178). While some turned the tables on the argument and
suggested communication, rather than grammar, was the issue, none ventured to
suggest that reporting and writing were not requisite skills in the new media era.
Not all ascribed to the “back to writing basics” view. There was the suggestion
that information gathering was a more important skill than good writing, since
“It’s much more difficult for an editor to fill a nicely written but hole-filled story
with useful information” (O972A0104). Professor of Journalism at Bloomsburg
University, Walter M. Brasch, agreed: “If you can’t report well, you shouldn’t be
a writer. It’s that simple” (S972A0005).
Clearly, under conditions of the introduction of a new technology, old practices
were being revisited, perhaps in a reminiscent, sentimental sense.
FINDING 6.16: The introduction of the Internet has prompted a revisiting and,
to a large extent, a reinforcement of traditional journalistic writing
techniques and an appreciation of the relative importance of writing and
reporting to the journalism enterprise.
6.4 Practice Influence 4: Editing and publishing
The final category of influence of the Internet upon the practice of journalism to
emerge from the axial coding process is that which involves the editing of words
in readiness for their dissemination, including issues of quality control and the
production skills required for publishing in the new media era. Editing and
publishing, the final stage of the news production process, includes journalists’
300
editing of their own writing and takes in the act of publishing in all its traditional
and new media forms.
The categories which arose during axial coding to incorporate the influences of
the Internet upon journalists’ editing and publishing are illustrated in the tree form
developed in the NUD.IST software in Figure 6.8.
6.4.1 Editing and publishing
6.4.1 Journalism quality control
6.4.2 Web production skills
6.4.1.1 Accuracy and verification techniques
Figure 6.8: Internet influences upon journalists’ editing and publishing
6.4.1 Influences of the Internet upon journalism quality control
There was evidence the advent of the Internet had influenced the mechanisms and
procedures journalists used to control the quality of their work. This was
happening in a range of ways, with the most frequently mentioned being the
mechanisms used to verify the authenticity of material about to be published and
the procedures put in place to detect and correct inaccuracies before publication.
Quality control was also alluded to by discussants at a more general level,
such as with the establishment of an industry academy to review, rate and rank
television station Web sites (C972A0081). The Internet provided a ready means
for comparison of news products, both through distribution services like Excite’s
NewsTracker service (O972A0054) which placed news from a range of sources
side-by-side on the Internet allowing easy comparison, and through discussants
taking advantage of listservs to compare and contrast each others’ products,
functioning like a large-scale peer review and critique operation. During the
collection period this facet of quality appraisal hit a high point with discussion
comparing the coverage of the O.J. Simpson verdict across Internet news services
(S972A0148).
301
FINDING 6.17: The Internet has influenced a range of journalism quality
control mechanisms, including most importantly accuracy and its associated
verification procedures, but also at a general level with the establishment of
industry bodies and as a forum for the comparison of news products.
6.4.1.1 Influences upon accuracy and verification techniques
Accuracy is one of the hallmarks of journalism, a professional goal and skill
which serves to set journalism apart from the information gathered and reported
by lobbyists and hobbyists. The Internet’s range and diversity of information from
such a varying range of credibility of sources prompts the accuracy question. List
discussion showed journalists valued accuracy highly and were keen to preserve it
as journalism’s stock in trade, even in its new forms. This supported Garrison’s
(1998, p.1) finding that accuracy was the main criterion journalists looked for in
online information. Accuracy as an ideal was reflected in journalists’ words and
actions on the lists and in their comments about the need for accuracy in their
work. The Net was used to perpetuate this ideal of accuracy and responsibility in
journalism (S972A0080).
Discussants were at pains to correct inaccuracies through their contributions to
the lists (C972A0080; S972A0183). This supported Harper’s (1998, p. 75)
observation that the medium allowed the facility to correct errors easily once they
were identified.
Even the concern for correct spelling was defended as a principle, with Lee
Hickling commenting:
I’ll be damned if I’ll ignore misspellings. Somebody has to be a purist
pain in the butt, and I enjoy it. Letting go of copy with words like
rediculous in it is like wearing torn jeans and a dirty sweatshirt on an
assignment. (C972A0085)
Discussion lists were used to discuss precision journalism cause versus
association issues (such as the inappropriate association of fewer accidents at an
302
intersection with the installation of a stop light or the decline in crime with the
hiring of extra police) (C972A0119). There was further debate over precision in
the use of figures from transport departments on the safety of sections of highway
and the accuracy of a formula devised for comparing them (C972A0124).
Accuracy appeared to be in the eye of the beholder. The debate on the CARRL list over the year in which the new millennium would start drew a line between
the accurate and the pedantic in a humorous way: “I don’t care what the experts
say. For me the millennium starts when I start writing "2000" on my checks”
(C972A0051. Also C972A0052; C972A0054; C972A0060; C972A0065).
Verification is an important process journalists use to ensure the veracity of
information they have been given. It is a crucial part of both the reporting and
editing processes. Newhagen and Levy (1998, p. 17) suggested this was one
important aspect of the journalist’s role which was threatened in the new
distributed communication architecture of the Internet, with the burden of
verification seemingly falling back to audiences themselves.
For coding purposes, verification procedures could easily have been classified
as part of reporting at 6.2 Research above. However, it was decided to include
them here at 6.4 as part of the discussion of editing and publishing since it is a
responsibility which falls back to a copy editor if a reporter has failed to perform
it effectively and at times it falls directly to the responsibility of the editor, as is
the case with letters to the editor. Verification procedures have been well
established in reporting and editing. For example, standard journalism practice is
to check with the originator of a press release to ensure they have actually issued
the material, and then to check the authenticity of key facts within it. What does
the phenomenon of instant, broad electronic publishing do to the verification
process? Does it enhance it, or does it increase the temptation to publish without
checking the accuracy of facts or the bona fides of sources? Verification is such a
central journalism procedure it is vital to assess whether it is impeded or enhanced
with the advent of the Net. Certainly, some had contended the Internet presented
actual verification problems, such as Harper (1998, pp. 86-87) who detailed
verification problems with Internet reporting on the TWA 800 and Clinton303
Lewinsky stories. Quinn’s (1998b, p. 245) observation that the Internet was being
used by regional daily newspapers in Australia for the solicitation of contributed
material reinforces the need for adequate verification protocols. Garrison (1998, p.
7) found journalists rated verification as the biggest problem facing Web site
reporting.
The data revealed the introduction of the Internet had prompted an adjustment
of verification strategies by journalists, with some Internet features enhancing the
verification procedure and others presenting challenges to it.
The potential for anonymity or deception in Internet communication presented
verification issues. For example, electronic mail correspondence could be
anonymous, raising questions about the bona fides of senders. This prompted one
discussant to ask that electronic mail addresses be listed in correspondence to the
list (C972A0010). Sometimes the wrong names were attached to electronic mail
correspondence, highlighting the fact that journalists needed to verify the
authenticity of each message before acting upon it (O972A0005). The observation
takes on added importance, given Quinn’s (1998b, p. 245) finding that regional
daily newspapers in Australia were using the Internet to collect raw material for
publication, such as letters to the editor and contributors’ copy.
Information other than that related to identity could also require verification.
The new millennium starting date was an example of a perpetuated piece of
misinformation needing verification. It showed how the Internet could be a
vehicle for the quick dissemination of inaccuracies (C972A0044; C972A0051;
C972A0052). Press releases and messages were retransmitted on lists, perhaps in
an edited form. There was the risk accuracy could be lost along the way
(S972A0172).
However, the positive side of this seemed to be that discussion lists helped
journalists talk through such disputes over facts in their search for truth, operating
as a kind of clearing house or quality control station for dubious information
(C972A0044; C972A0051; C972A0052). Internet discussion lists and electronic
304
mail networks helped uncover scams and urban myths which might have worked
their way through traditional journalism news rooms undetected (C972A0100;
S972A0001; S972A0028). For example, one discussant on SPJ-L shared with the
group a story lead about a racket where people were being abducted and later
waking to find their kidney had been stolen as part of an international anatomy
theft ring. A Swedish journalist put the reporter straight with this message:
Yes, it is an urban legend. It appeared on another list just a few weeks
ago and one of the replies quoted sources from 1600 and 1700. It
appeared in Danish newspaper on January 15 1990. The kidney was
stolen in South Brazil, in 1992 the story appeared in Stockholm with
the loss in Bangkok, in 1990 it was Australia with kidney thieves in
Los Angeles. … The dates I have quoted all come from a book written
by Bengt af Klintberg, Sweden. He is an ethnologist and has published
a couple of books on urban legends. The one I quoted from is called,
yes you guessed it: The Stolen Kidney. (S972A0028)
Clearly, the discussion list had performed an important service here by preventing
the urban myth being circulated even further.
The Internet’s facility for instant wide dissemination of material mitigates for
effective verification procedures. In an interesting reversal of the example, one
journalist explained his distrust of telephone sources and the need for verification
by comparing them with electronic mail sources: “Ultimately, speaking on the
phone with someone you don’t know is as journalistically reliable as taking an
email at face value”, he suggested (C973B0002). In a bid to promote verification,
some messages between journalists on discussion lists carried the words “hold for
authentication”, a commonly used line in wire agency stories, alerting clients to a
breaking story but advising that verification is needed before publication
(S972A0167). Computer servers could be programmed with the words “hold for
authentication” in the body of such messages, one discussant noted (S972A0170).
Perhaps the Internet, through list discussions and easier verification options,
has the potential to actually enhance accuracy. For example, rather than journalists
305
just using their own morgue clippings or a single outdated encyclopaedia for
reference, perhaps they will be more likely to verify with two different sources on
the Net.
A further accuracy issue arises in the organisational context. What
organisational structures and processes are put in place to ensure accuracy in the
new media environment? One discussant raised the important issue of the extent
to which all employees should take on the role of quality control officer / editor,
adopting a sense of ownership over the product they help produce. He
recommended free Internet access for all employees as a quality control
mechanism:
I see it as free quality control-monitoring… I can’t count the times
someone from the copy desk would see something in the paper, either
on the way out the door or even in the after-hours bar (before the beers
worked their magic, of course) and call replate to alert them.
(O972A0028)
Again here we see an attempt to incorporate a traditional media practice into the
new media environment, on this occasion on the pretext that it would be
justifiable for verification purposes.
The litany of material available on the Internet prompts the question of
whether established journalistic verification procedures are outdated and
irrelevant in a medium abuzz with unconfirmed rumour and innuendo. Is
everything reportable on the rumour mill? Or perhaps verification is one
procedure which sets journalism apart as a more credible practice than much of
the other material appearing on the Net.
Certainly, the advent of a new technology with the qualities of the Internet —
speed and breadth of transmission — prompts questions as to whether traditional
verification procedures are workable in this new environment. An increase or
decrease in verification procedures has consequences for the credibility of
reportage and publishing. Certainly, the complexity of the quality control process
306
in the new media environment confronted by journalists, purportedly experts in
such procedures, offers little hope that audiences themselves could take on
verification responsibilities, as mooted by Newhagen and Levy (1998, p. 17). To
the contrary, the difficulty of the task seems to support the view that journalists
(or perhaps other “information specialists” as Newhagen and Levy (1998, p. 19)
prefer to call them), will need to play a role in gauging the credibility of Internet
information for its audiences. Ketterer’s (1998) work with University of Missouri
journalism students in developing protocols for evaluating online resources
represents an encouraging start.
Under conditions of the introduction of a new research and publishing medium
such as the Internet, we find the issue of accuracy being raised as journalists and
publishers come to terms with verification and truth-seeking procedures in the
new environment.
FINDING 6.18: Accuracy and its quality control mechanism of verification are
being both challenged and enhanced with the advent of the Internet. The
instantaneous and widespread delivery of unverified information via the Net
presents substantial challenges to journalism practice, while discussion lists
represent a useful vehicle for verifying dubious material.
307
6.4.2 Influences of the Internet upon Web production skills
There was evidence that World Wide Web and multimedia production skills were
becoming part of the Internet journalist’s job description. Not all journalists
required such skills, of course, but more were acquiring them which represented a
shift in the definition of what it meant to be a journalist in this new environment.
The actual tasks and practices spawned by the influence of the Internet and related
to this area are addressed at 6.5.3 below.
There was agreement that the telling of a news or feature story could be
enhanced by audio grabs, java scripts, video footage, hypertext links, image maps
and so on, “if used properly and intelligently” (O972A0075). Given the requisite
production skills, it was possible for a journalist to construct interactive interviews
in multimedia form on Web sites (S972A0009).
There were work opportunities for journalists who had multi-media and Web
production
skills
(O972A0075).
Some
were
retraining
to
get
these
“online/telecom” skills and one reported “turning down an average of a job a
month” as a result (O972A0094). Newly graduated student from San Francisco
State University Phillip E. Daoust expressed concern that such opportunities
might be time-limited:
I’m excited by the so-called “new media”, especially because it has
caused a boom in job opportunities for cyber-savvy reporters. The
question is for how long? (O972A0075)
While the data offered no insight into the expected duration of such a boom, there
was ample evidence visual skills and knowledge of particular programs were
becoming hiring requirements, particularly for entry-level editing and visual
positions (O972A0092). John Russial detected a shift in hiring expectations of
newspapers towards the production and visual end of the scale:
Two decades ago, you could get a newspaper job if you did not know
how to type with more than 3 fingers. Today, reporting, writing,
308
editing and visual skills are more important in both the short and long
run. (O972A0092)
Such skills may not be offered in tertiary journalism courses, however, and the
advice of one discussant to students was to “pick them up on your own”
(O972A0092), an attitude which might strike alarm among journalism educators
and which will be addressed in Chapter 7.
Clearly, any change in skill requirements for journalists is an influence upon
their practice. What they do or how they do it must, by definition, be different if
new skills are being demanded by employers. Therefore, a requirement that some
journalists have skills in Web production is an important influence of the Internet
upon their craft.
A range of conditions have the potential to influence the demand for Web
production skills, including the industrial climate of the workplace; the
willingness of journalists to get involved in such tasks; various production
considerations and the need for designated roles within those processes; whether it
is a totally new product or a Web/multimedia version of an existing product; and
budgetary considerations. The topic is rich in prospects for worthwhile further
research into the field.
Nevertheless, the data examined showed that, under conditions of the
introduction of the Internet as a new form of publishing with its own set of
qualities, multi-media in function and computing in origin, where someone has to
perform the task of preparing news material for publication, journalists were being
called upon to execute such tasks, representing a significant shift in their job
definition, supporting the conclusions of Harper (1998, p. 75) that the role of the
editor had become more complex in the new medium.
FINDING 6.19: Some journalists are being called upon to perform new
production related tasks to prepare news for Internet publication,
representing an important shift in the definition of what it means to be a
309
“journalist” and presenting challenges to journalism educators who might be
expected to prepare graduates for such tasks.
6.5 Issues arising from this chapter and relationship to Chapter 7
This chapter set out to examine the influences of the Internet upon the practice of
journalism. It presented the results and discussion related directly to the first
research question seeking out the actual direct influences of the Internet upon the
very practice of journalism; taking into account the news topics they choose to
report upon, their methods of research, their writing procedures and their editing
and publishing practices. In the process, the categorisation that has happened
through the axial and selective coding processes and reported in chapters 5 and 6
constitutes an answer to research sub-question “a” which seeks out a means of
categorising the Internet’s influence upon journalism. This chapter also covered,
by implication, the sub-question “b”, in that it identified and discussed new tasks
and practices journalists have adopted in their work as a result of Internet use.
Here we bring together the findings from the chapter and link them to the
research questions.
6.5.1 Discussion of Research Question 1
The first research question asked: “What do journalists’ and their educators’
electronic discussions tell us about the influence of the Internet upon
journalism?”.
The 19 findings reported in this chapter together constitute an answer to that
question. Despite being drawn only from a window upon discussions in a single
nine week period, they combine to demonstrate that the Internet has had profound
influences upon the practice of journalism. Such influences have affected the
news values journalists subscribed to, the topics upon which they reported, their
research techniques, their writing and their approaches to editing and publishing.
310
The data showed the importance of the news values of proximity and currency
were being re-evaluated and adjusted by journalists as the format of news
products and their target audiences changed. Emphasis on the “local” in news
selection and writing was changing according to these dynamics. The notion of
instant news breaking was being added to the factors considered by journalists in
their news judgment, with concomitant advantages and risks to the reporting
enterprise. The news value of the immediacy of Internet publishing also stood to
influence the strategies of traditional news providers.
The actual topics journalists reported upon were being influenced, particularly
those selected by specialist reporters whose fields lent themselves to depth of
specialist Internet coverage via discussion lists, electronic mail newsletters and
Web sites. Traditional media’s reporting topics were also impacted upon,
particularly their reporting of new technologies such as the Internet.
The Internet was being used as a research tool by journalists, who were using
discussion lists to seek out sources and leads for stories, accessing Web sites and
using databases to gather information for stories. This presented a range of
challenges to journalists, including the acquisition of skills for such navigation,
attribution difficulties, and responsibility for ensuring information was current.
The techniques of computer-assisted research and reporting (CARR), in
existence before the Internet, had been enhanced by its advent. CARR experts
used the Internet to share and improve techniques. More public information had
become accessible via the Internet and CARR practitioners were using this
medium as a central weapon in their professional arsenal. CARR expertise was
sought after by employers. However, Internet-linked problems for CARR
reporters included the US-centricity of information, time consumption, and
difficulties with verification of Internet data. Further, Internet-sourced material
was questionable as to its level of currency and journalists needed to develop
strategies to ascertain the datedness of Internet-sourced data.
While the Internet had influenced journalistic research practices and introduced
new techniques to the journalist’s research repertoire, there was a feeling that
311
some traditional research techniques, particularly those with a human element,
were worth preserving.
The Internet had made available to journalists a wide range of international
sources, impractical to access previously for many reasons. This new accessibility
necessitated new decisions in journalists’ research processes as they weighed up
the value of such sources to their enterprise.
Journalists were using a range of Web resources, divided into six categories: 1)
Raw data requiring journalists’ processing; 2) Data already structured by another
body for their own purposes; 3) Data structured specifically for Web publication
by some other body; 4) Data structured for Web publication by a specialist
media/information group; 5) Navigational sites acting as signposts to information
on a topic; and 6) Sites established specifically for journalistic research.
The Internet presented some research challenges for journalists. It was being
used as a tool of public relations by which PR practitioners, individuals,
corporations, organisations and even nations sought to influence journalists. Some
such approaches were quite subtle while others were more direct. They also varied
in their level of organisation, with evidence of systematic attempts to gain direct
electronic access to journalists. There was evidence of technical failure associated
with the Internet disrupting the journalistic research enterprise in several ways and
causing concern among journalists and journalism educators. These included
software glitches, bandwidth shortages and Internet protocol difficulties. There
was also evidence of user ignorance causing Internet usage problems. In several
circumtances discussants perceived the use of the Internet for research was time
consuming for journalists. These included the processing of electronic mail and
other software, sorting reams of information, seeking help with technical
problems, and inefficiencies in Internet searching and Web navigation. Further, a
lack of authenticity in source materials was reported as a research problem facing
journalists using the Internet. It included dubious marketing strategies through to
actual scams and deceptions for sinister purposes. Journalists needed to develop
effective verification strategies to ensure the authenticity of research material.
There were also concerns over costs associated with the use of the Internet for
312
journalistic research, particularly to do with the prospective costs of Internet
access and the costs of accessing government data.
The advent of the Internet appeared to have prompted a re-evaluation of writing
techniques used by traditional media and the development of new techniques for
new media. There were indications the Internet was being used by journalists to
improve their writing and that audiences were becoming more discerning in their
appreciation of journalism writing. Some new media writing forms such as
electronic mail short forms showed the potential for adaptation into traditional
media. It had also prompted a revisiting and, to a large extent, a reinforcement of
traditional journalistic writing techniques and an appreciation of the relative
importance of writing and reporting to the journalism enterprise.
In the area of editing and publishing, there were examples of influences of the
Internet upon a range of journalism quality control mechanisms, including most
importantly accuracy and its associated verification procedures, but also at a
general level with the establishment of industry bodies and as a forum for the
comparison of news products. Accuracy and verification were being both
challenged and enhanced with the advent of the Internet. The instantaneous and
widespread delivery of unverified information via the Net presented substantial
challenges to journalism, while discussion lists represented a useful vehicle for
verifying dubious material. Journalists were being called upon to perform new
production related tasks to prepare news for Internet publication, representing an
important shift in the definition of what it meant to be a “journalist” and
presenting challenges to journalism educators who might be expected to prepare
graduates for such tasks.
In short, the influences of the Internet upon the practice of journalism were
many and various, encompassing the broad landscape of journalism and
prompting fundamental reassessments of the roles and functions of journalists and
the journalistic enterprise. These influences lead to the second Key Result of the
project, articulated here:
KEY RESULT 2: The very practice of journalism has been transformed in
numerous identifiable ways through the use of the Internet. While the
313
quantification of these influences is beyond the realms of this study, its
manifestations have been documented here. They span the depth and breadth
of journalism practice, with monumental implications for the way journalists
go about their work.
6.5.2 Discussion of Research Sub-Question “a”.
This chapter also sought to answer the first sub-question of the study: “How are
the Internet’s influences upon journalism best categorised?”
The question as worded implies some comparison of categorisation methods,
which of course has not been conducted here. However, the methodology adopted
has allowed the development of categories via the selective and axial coding
procedures, with a process of constant comparison of their contents and attributes,
leading to the map of influences featured in Figure 6.1 above and featured in each
of the figures under the four headings in this chapter.
Thus, rather than boast this is the “best” mechanism for categorising the
Internet’s influences upon journalism, the researcher would prefer to suggest this
is certainly an effective method of categorisation, with the four key categories in
the chapter being news values and topics; research; writing; and editing and
publishing, and their sub-elements as illustrated in Figure 6.1 and the sectional
charts featured throughout the chapter. The categories emerged during the
constant comparison method of analysis inherent to the grounded theory
methodology explained in Chapter 3 and documented in Chapter 4.
It is important to stress here that the findings in Chapter 5 are highly relevant to
the chosen method of categorisation. Clearly, it is unwise to divorce the Internet’s
direct influences upon journalism from the contextual influences which emerged
in the Chapter 5 analysis. Therefore, a superior categorisation of such influences
accommodates both the contextual influences and the direct influences in the
schema, as has been attempted in the structuring of this study.
314
This combined view of the categorisation is illustrated in the list of 110
categories featured in Appendix 3. It is featured in diagrammatic form in the
conditional matrix presented as Figure 7.1 near the beginning of the next chapter.
6.5.3 Discussion of Research Sub-Question “b”.
Research sub-question “b” was: “What new tasks or practices have journalists
adopted in their work as a result of the use of the Internet?” Throughout Chapters
5 and 6 numerous tasks and practices have emerged from the data, linked to
journalists’ use of the Internet. Here they have been extracted from the associated
discussion and itemised to constitute an answer to that sub-question.
The data provided evidence journalists had adopted at least 169 new tasks or
practices in their work as a result of the influence of the Internet. Of course, not all
journalists will have adopted all new tasks and practices as part of their work.
Some are restricted to small sections of the media. Some traditional journalists
may have adopted none of these new tasks or practices as yet. However, the point
is that the data have provided evidence that such tasks and practices are a reality
for at least some journalists. The new tasks and practices are presented in table
form below, with each grouped to correspond with the analysis section in which
they first arose. (This explains why there appear to be relatively few such tasks
and practices in the later categories: they have already arisen in earlier
discussions.) The tasks and practices, in turn, inform the discussion in Chapter 7
on the educational implications of these influences.
315
5.1 Cultural tasks and practices
5.1.1 Community/camaraderie
Collaborate with colleagues and sometimes former
competitors in online work.
Establish contacts via the Internet.
5.1.2 Perceptions / attitudes
Maintain communication and relationships with non-wired
colleagues and management.
Convince management of the value of the Internet enterprise.
Keep alert to “low-tech” solutions to journalism problems.
5.1.3 Mission of journalism
Create interactive devices on Web sites.
Update news incrementally.
Be innovative, versatile, adventurous, experimental.
Perform dual roles as writer and designer.
Perform function of investigator / crime fighter.
Table 6.1 New tasks and practices related to 5.1 Journalists’ culture
Ten new journalistic tasks and practices arose in the discussion of the cultural
influences of the Internet upon the context of journalism practice at 5.1, presented
in table form in Table 6.1. These included tasks and practices related to the new
sense of community/camaraderie among online journalists; their management of
their own perceptions and attitudes of the Internet enterprise as well as those of
their colleagues and supervisors; and those emanating from the discussion of the
mission of journalism; all of which addressed new social functions of journalists
in the new media environment.
316
5.2 Communication tasks and practices
5.2 Communication
Use Internet to share research techniques, contacts, sources
and story ideas.
Use Internet to share technical knowledge, help paths and
possibilities.
Use Internet to share industrial relations information and job
opportunities.
Join and participate in discussion lists.
Communicate via electronic mail.
5.2.1 Language
Learn technical language, including high-tech acronyms.
Monitor and adapt writing to take account of the level of
acceptance among audiences of technical language and hightech words.
Decide whether work needs translation to other languages
for Web publication.
Table 6.2 New tasks and practices related to 5.2 Journalists’ communication
Eight new journalistic tasks and practices arose in the discussion of the
communicative influences of the Internet upon the context of journalism practice
at 5.2, presented in table form in Table 6.2. These included tasks and practices
related to both the general issue of communication among journalists and the
specific issue of the language they used in their work. The tasks and practices
identified indicate new communication and linguistic protocols were being
initiated and followed by some journalists.
5.3 Work environment tasks and practices
5.3.1 Industrial issues
Ascertain and adjust the ergonomics of the computer work
station.
Negotiate contracts for online republication of work,
especially freelancers.
Freelancers use the Internet to check the bona fides of
publishers and to chase those owing.
5.3.2 Technological know-how
Sort and strip electronic mail messages.
Keep pace with new versions of software.
5.3.3 Newsroom resources
Develop “sharing” culture with the introduction of an
intranet for the sharing of newsroom resources.
5.3 Work environment tasks and practices (continued)
317
5.3.4 Opportunities
Sell their work via discussion lists and personal Web sites.
Use multi-media features to better communicate stories.
Be alert to online scams.
Work effectively from home when telecommuting.
Programming and software development.
Edit digitally.
Co-ordinate multi-media projects.
Develop Web sites.
Write and edit hypertext markup language (HTML).
Package news material for Internet audience.
Learn new production skills in online headline writing, page
design, photo cropping and story placement.
Think creatively about how to interact with readers.
Understand the limitations of the Web as a publishing
medium.
Learn second language for Web publication.
Use design tools such as Photoshop and Freehand.
Work across dual platforms (Mac and PC).
Understand CGI and Perl.
Be a “new media evangelist”.
Table 6.3 New tasks and practices related to 5.3 Journalists’ work environment
Twenty four new journalistic tasks and practices arose in the discussion of the
influences of the Internet upon journalists’ work environments at 5.3, presented in
table form in Table 6.3. These included tasks and practices related to industrial
issues; those addressing journalists’ technological understanding; those related to
newsroom resource allocation; and those emanating from the new opportunities
opening up for journalists. Some of these tasks and practices related only to
special types of journalists such as freelancers, while others had more general
application.
5.4 Legal and ethical tasks and practices
5.4.1 Legal
Decide what might be offensive or in poor taste for Internet
318
audiences
Decide whether to publish material on the Internet before in
other media to avoid prior restraint restrictions.
Check intellectual property rights and obligations before
publication.
Assert copyright on work and include copyright symbol ©.
Attribute appropriately within copyright laws.
Obtain permission before hyperlinking to other sites.
Check ownership of data such as sports scores before use.
Check trademark usage is appropriate.
Ensure no claims have been made in an online story which
contravene trade practices legislation.
Appraise for defamation for all jurisdictions where
published.
Ensure Internet research does not invade the privacy of
others.
5.4.2 Ethical
Reveal journalistic identity when researching online.
Disclose any commercial influences on the journalism.
Decide whether to post message to a discussion list as a
whole or to an individual discussant.
Develop mechanisms for ensuring electronic sources are
legitimate.
Keep abreast of ethical regulators on the Net and their
requirements.
Table 6.4 New tasks and practices related to 5.4 Legal and ethical issues
Sixteen new journalistic tasks and practices arose in the discussion of the legal
and ethical influences of the Internet upon the context of journalism practice at
5.4, presented in table form in Table 6.4. Most of these were precautionary
measures which might be taken by journalists to avoid legal pitfalls discussed at
5.4.1, while some related to ethical issues such as commercial influences
discussed at 5.4.2 which already confronted journalists before the advent of the
Internet but which had taken on new meaning and presented new challenges in the
new
media
5.5 Media tasks and practices
5.5.1 Media type
Provide direct reports from events.
319
context.
Digest main newspaper stories for electronic mail distribution.
Identify, obtain and edit audio and video grabs to
accompany stories.
Review practice of refusing to credit a competitor.
Build search engines into pages
Determine audience’s real, unstated goals.
Decide whether to “push” product on audiences, or “pull” them.
Host online forums and chat rooms with audiences.
Develop and respond to electronic mail letters to the editor.
Develop systems for breaking news as it happens.
Flag follow-up stories from Web sites in print editions.
Monitor emphasis on “bells and whistles’ of online versions over
genuine reader needs.
Determine whether to feature external links. If so, build them.
Add text and grouping and navigation facilities to radio packages.
Adapt television program scripts to Web use.
Incorporate and respond to interactive television viewer dialogue.
Identify opportunities for live video feeds from events over Web.
Decide whether priority should be live feed or packaging story.
Develop digital videocam skills for Web reporting.
Tailor agency news to needs of new mass audiences.
5.5.2 Media qualities
Reassess whether material could be tailored to niche audiences.
Consider implications of archival life beyond news moment.
Track news services for latest news while working on other tasks.
Decide when to offer advice from specialised experts.
Ensure commercial imperative not affecting news judgment.
Develop ways of making Internet ventures more profitable.
Develop visual literacy.
Decide upon hypertext opportunities in stories.
Determine hyperlink limits within design constraints.
Determine style best suited to product.
Decide most appropriate placing of advertisements on Web sites.
Decide arrangement of elements: text, graphics and sub-headings.
Decide upon depth of coverage of an issue in Web format.
Determine best method to cover Web-based news story.
Consider whether “push” or “pull” approach in reporting.
Tailor news product to an array of different distribution channels.
Maintain and catalogue back-up files of work.
5.5 Media tasks and practices (continued)
Determine best multi-media package of text, graphics, animated
graphics, sound and vision is appropriate for particular story.
Decide production infrastructure for hard breaking news vs.
320
timeless features.
Creating opportunities and vehicles for audiences’ responses.
Table 6.5 New tasks and practices related to 5.5 Media
Forty new journalistic tasks and practices arose in the discussion of the media
influences of the Internet upon the context of journalism practice at 5.5, presented
in table form in Table 6.5. These included a substantial number of tasks and
practices related to the types of media in which journalists work, spanning both
traditional and new media. The balance involved tasks and practices emanating
from journalists taking advantage of the numerous qualities of the new media.
5.6 Audiences tasks and practices
Calling for audiences to determine news agenda.
Assess audiences’ news and information needs.
Offer audiences a variety of news formats and tracking.
Determine audience’s level of understanding of topic /
region.
Adjust content to meet changing needs of audience.
Table 6.6 New tasks and practices related to 5.6 Audiences
Five new journalistic tasks and practices arose in the discussion of the contextual
influences of the Internet upon the audiences for journalism work discussed at 5.6,
presented in table form in Table 6.6. These included tasks and practices related to
the assessment of audiences’ natures, allegiances and requirements as they are
repositioned in the new media environment.
321
6.1 News values and topics tasks and practices
Repackage news to fit the needs of new audiences.
6.1.1 News values
Reassess the value of the “localness’ of news.
Decide whether to release an instalment or update of a
breaking news story via Internet.
6.1.2 News topics
Develop multi-media approaches to news delivery.
Report upon new topics enabled by instantaneus multimedia
features such as sports updates and traffic flow.
Decide which topics to deem worthy of multimedia delivery.
Tailor news coverage to Internet-oriented demographic such
as greater technology focus.
Develop special Web sites on specialist topic areas.
Share resources among specialist reporters.
Table 6.7 New tasks and practices related to 6.1 News values and topics
Nine new journalistic tasks and practices arose in the discussion of the influences
of the Internet upon the news values of journalists and the topics they select for
their reportage, discussed at 6.1, and presented in table form in Table 6.7. These
included tasks and practices related to journalists’ values on what makes stories
newsworthy and those that involve journalists re-examining the nature of the
media and their audiences in determining the topics they should report upon.
6.2 Research tasks and practices
6.2.1 Techniques
Use Net to solicit sources and story leads.
Use Net to obtain contacts’ telephone numbers.
Use Net to advise colleagues of breaking stories.
Use Web search engines.
Determine currency of Web material.
Search online databases of newspaper files over Web.
Develop logs of most useful Web links.
Update Web offerings by regular browsing.
Check authenticity of Net sources.
Access government databases over Web.
Break down large amounts of data into meaningful pieces.
Determine merits of CARR software.
Navigate idiosyncrataic technical traps and coding issues of
particular sites.
6.2 Research tasks and practices (continued)
Seek out international data to enrich stories.
322
Use listservs to seek help.
Use lists to generate data to enrich columns.
Monitor and budget time spent on Internet activities.
Assess merit of information available online versus offline.
Ensure the human element is adequately covered in technical
stories.
6.2.2 CARR influences
Gauge value and relevance of international data to local audiences.
Discern the locations and allegiances and biases of Web sources.
Cost the verification process.
Determine legal, cultural and ethical ramifications of using
international sources.
Categorise the type of Web source available and use this as a
guide to the usefulness and as an indication of bias.
Decide on email address being featured on PR mailing lists.
Check authenticity of material by mailing colleagues or lists.
6.2.3 Relevance of past techniques
Assess suitability of software and hardware.
Prevent, detect and combat computer viruses.
Solve software incompatibility problems.
Overcome shortcomings with search engines.
Check bona fids of electronic mail correspondents.
Learn where to seek help online.
Learn domain names (.com, .org), Web addresses and relevance.
Develop strategies for accessing current information before it has
been registered on search engines.
Prioritise and manage time spent on Net tasks.
Tidy cluttered desktops, both screen and physical.
Label disks.
File printouts.
Use relational databases.
Negotiate and deal with technical support staff.
Develop reading and sorting strategies for dealing with bulk
electronic mail.
Ascertain the age of Web sites and the date of information.
Assess costs of Internet usage.
Assess costs of government material available online.
Assess whether new versions of software justify expenditure.
Table 6.8 New tasks and practices related to 6.2 Research
By far the largest list of new tasks and practices appears in Table 6.8, where 44
new journalistic functions arise in the discussion of the influences of the Internet
upon journalists’ research techniques at 6.2. These covered the techniques
themselves; those related to the specialised area of computer-assisted research and
323
reporting (CARR); and those stemming from a discussion of the relevance of past
techniques in the new environment. Interesting is the extent to which basic
administrative tasks such as checking, costing and filing constitute a significant
proportion of the new functions identified.
6.3 Writing tasks and practices
6.3.1 New/revised techniques
Assess the most suitable story structure for new media outlet.
Decide on suitability of inverted pyramid as a structure.
Assess grammatical news form in the light of free-form
electronic mail structure.
Review the length of stories in light of readers’ attention
spans and the media form being used.
Assess suitability of writing forms such as abbreviations,
brackets and smilies as these become part of language for
certain audiences.
Decide on the usefulness of audio, java scripts, video, links,
image maps and so on for a multi-media story.
Distinguish own views from those of employers by
switching off electronic mail signatures when appropriate.
Improve writing by accessing specially designated Internet
resources such as the Writer-L listserv.
Assess the suitability of new media features such as click
and point for older media such as television and newspapers.
Table 6.9 New tasks and practices related to 6.3 Writing
Nine new journalistic tasks and practices arose in the discussion of the influences
of the Internet upon journalistic writing, discussed at 6.3 and presented in table
form in Table 6.9. All related to new or revised writing techniques journalists
were adopting in the new media context. One might expect this list to be longer,
however several writing-related tasks and practices featured in earlier discussion
and tables, such as those related to journalists’ use of language and audiences.
6.4 Editing and publishing tasks and practices
6.4.1 Quality control
Post the warning message “Hold for authentication” on
unverified correspondence between journalists.
Review verification priorities in light of new media.
324
6.4.2 Web production skills
Assess suitability of story for interactive interviews.
Develop / hone Web production skills.
Table 6.10 New tasks and practices related to 6.4 Editing and publishing
Four new journalistic tasks and practices arose in the discussion of the influences
of the Internet upon the editing and publishing function of journalists at 6.4,
presented in table form in Table 6.10. These included tasks and practices related
to the control of the quality of the published product and the actual skills of Web
production. Again, one might have expected this list to feature more items, but
several such editing and publishing tasks had already been listed in previous
tables and discussed at previous points of analysis, such as specific functions
related to media type discussed at 5.5.1 and itemised in Table 6.5.
These new tasks and practices journalists have adopted in their work as a result
of the advent of the Internet indicate the span of influences this new medium has
had upon the journalistic enterprise. Each has been addressed in discussion at the
referenced point in the work to date. While some relate very specifically to a
particular kind of journalist in a certain occupational role, it is deeply significant
that such a large number of new journalistic functions should arise from the nine
week data set. Clearly, the evidence calls for a much larger study focussed
specifically on identifying such new tasks and practices taken up in the
exploration of further research opportunities in Chapter 8. Those identified here
lay the foundation for an examination in Chapter 7 of the educational implications
of the Internet’s influences upon journalism, since one might expect each new task
or practice to have some educational implication. They recur in the Conclusion as
part of a study of the broader ramifications of the data analysis.
This chapter has chronicled an attempt at mapping the influences of the Internet
upon the actual practice of journalism. The next stage of the project involves
discussion of the implications of these findings for journalism education in an
attempt to answer Research Question 2: “What are the implications of this for
journalism education?”
325
Chapter 7:
Educational implications of the
influences of the Internet upon
journalism
7.0 Educational implications of the influences of the Internet upon
journalism: Introduction and chapter outline
The analysis and discussion presented in Chapters 5 and 6 raised issues which had
profound implications for journalism education. If the context in which journalism
was practised and the very practice of journalism itself had been subject to so
many and varied influences, what were the implications for journalism education?
This chapter draws upon the analysis of the journalists’ and educators’
discussions of the educational implications of the Internet influences, and also
brings educational implications to bear upon the findings of the earlier chapters.
All this represents an attempt to answer the study’s second key research question:
“What are the implications of this for journalism education?”.
It is argued that Internet influences upon the context and the practice of
journalism prompt a review of the approaches to the education of journalists. The
chapter reports upon the journalists’ and educators’ own discussions about such
implications and also presents and discusses a number of important educational
issues that arise from the previous analysis which have not been addressed by
discussants in the data. Journalism education can itself be seen as an outcome of
journalism practice, in that as a professional educational field it is focussed upon
preparing graduates to become competent journalism practitioners. The topic has
not escaped the attention of other researchers. At the time of data collection it was
being explored as part of major research projects at the University of ColoradoBoulder in the US and the University of Salford in the UK (J972C0004).
This chapter takes up resource, pedagogical, curricular and outcome issues in
an endeavour to map potential measures journalism educators might adopt to
recognise in their own work the influences of the Internet upon journalism
practice.
Discussion and analysis is divided into four categories:
330
7.1 Resources: Implications of the influences identified in Chapters 5 and 6 for
the resourcing of journalism education, including the availability and suitability of
necessary equipment, staff and textbooks.
7.2 Methods: Implications of the influences identified in Chapters 5 and 6 for the
methods relevant to teaching journalism, and the relevance of traditional
approaches in a new environment, particularly focussing upon opportunities
presented for delivering such courses over the Internet.
7.3 Curriculum: Implications of the influences identified in Chapters 5 and 6 for
the content of journalism education, including the effects upon the actual course
work covered and the relevance of traditional curricula and topics in a new
environment. This section addresses directly the tasks and practices identified in
Chapter 6 and discusses curricular measures for imbuing journalists with the skills
and understandings to carry them out.
7.4 Outcomes: Implications for the anticipated or desired outcomes of the
educational process, including professional outcomes like the level of educational
discourse, scholarly outcomes such as the sharing of research, terminal outcomes
like career suitability and placement, and market outcomes like the emergence of
a new forum for competition between courses .
It is important to distinguish here between the implications of this study’s
findings for journalism education and the broader implications of the Internet for
journalism education. This chapter concentrates on the former. A study of the
wider implications of the Internet for education, beyond the issues generated in
this project, including journalism education, would represent an enormous task,
necessitating a full review and exploration of the interface between the Internet
and education as a whole. There will, however, be times where discussants have
focussed on these broader implications in their comments in the data and, where
relevant, they will form the basis of discussion under the appropriate category.
It is important to stress the educational influences identified here cannot be
separated from their own contexts. Such influences upon educational resources,
methods, curricula and outcomes occur in the multi-dimensional context of
journalism education, journalism, technological change, resource availability,
331
entrenched interests, organisational attitudes, societal pressures and so on.
Equally, they do not always fit neatly into the four categories which emerged
during the axial coding process. Resource, pedagogy, curriculum and outcomes
overlap considerably and in many ways inform each other. Such categorisation
can only serve to channel the focus of discussion in a particular area, but is
certainly not intended to portray the four areas as mutually exclusive.
IMPLICATIONS OF INTERNET INFLUENCES
FOR JOURNALISM EDUCATION
Context
INTERNET
INTERNET
JOURNALISM
EDUCATION
7.1 Resources
7.2 Methods
7.3 Curriculum
7.4 Outcomes
JOURNALISM
PRACTICE
New tasks and
practices
INTERNET
INTERNET
Context
Figure 7.1: Conditional matrix showing the implications for journalism education
of the influences of the Internet upon the context and practice of journalism.
Further, as the conditional matrix outlined in Figure 7.1 illustrates, the
journalism practice and education cannot be seen as mutually exclusive entities
either. They are inter-dependent. One feeds upon and informs the other, and
Internet influences upon each can be expected to have implications for the other.
7.1 Resources
Prior to the advent of widespread use of the Internet, communication about the
resources available to journalism educators was restricted mainly to conferences
and publications. The data revealed the Internet had broadened the opportunity for
such exchange of information and access to resources themselves.
332
The data and ensuing analysis highlighted a range of resource-related
implications for journalism education stemming from the influences of the
Internet upon journalism practice. These included the need for certain equipment,
staff and textbooks to be available if educators were to access necessary
equipment. The Net was being used as a site for the publishing, promotion,
critiquing, sharing, and navigation of journalism education resources, both by
journalism educators and their students as well as by journalists themselves.
Resources which might have been restricted to the domain of individual
institutions or small geographic regions were now available internationally. They
were also accessible immediately, whereas previously it might have been months
or years before they were distributed in book or brochure form. Some would never
have been distributed at all, either because they were so insignificant that it would
have been too much trouble to compile and publish them or because they were
Net-oriented exercises especially created for distribution on this medium.
Whereas the World Wide Web (WWW) was the dominant vehicle for their
publication, discussion lists provided the forum for their promotion and critique.
The categories which emerged during axial coding which explain the
implications of the Internet influences upon the resource aspects of journalism
education are illustrated in the tree form developed in the NUD.IST software in
Figure 7.2.
7.1 Resources
Sharing
Sourcing
Commentary
New resources
Web sites
Textbooks
Figure 7.2: Implications of Internet influences for the resource aspects of
journalism education.
The data showed the Net was being used for sharing resources. For example, a
computer-assisted reporting “scavenger hunt” exercise was promoted by one
academic to his colleagues (C972A0072), while bibliographies of CARR stories
333
were offered to the discussion list community by another (C972A0090). Further,
that discussant asked for additions and corrections to his published resource to
improve it, demonstrating at once the interactivity of the medium and the spirit of
camaraderie identified in Chapter 5 being carried over into the journalism
education domain. Both instances were examples of the Internet being used to
publish the existence of resources which might not otherwise have been shared, or
at least not as extensively.
Discussants used the lists to seek out both teaching and research resources
(J972A0015), confirming the findings of Panici (1998, p. 57). Researchers used
the Net to find subjects for studies — a very human use of the resource. An
example was a call for interviewees for a study of news writing conventions
(C972A0023). The request was followed by several notes from prospective
volunteers (C972A0027). Students also used the lists to conduct surveys for their
research projects, as with a group of advertising students who used them to
conduct a survey as a preliminary step in the development of a campaign for Pizza
Hut (J972C0001).
There was evidence of a healthy interface between teachers and practitioners,
with educators launching designated sites of resources on special topics for
journalists, such as the Signposts to Asia and the Pacific site developed by the
Australian Centre for Independent Journalism at the University of Technology
Sydney (C973B0003), and detailed by Knight (1995).
There was also evidence of an ongoing commentary on discussion lists about
the pros and cons of resources as they were advertised. For example, a speed
reading program was debated (C972A0106) and software versions compared
(C972A0107). Discussion lists also became a forum for helpful tips on the ways
such resources could be navigated and used (C972A0108). Teaching resources,
such as digital audio editing for radio journalism, were compared and debated on
discussion lists (J972C0003). At times the help recommended was virtual, in the
form of Web sites offering resource support, such as Microsoft’s help line
(C972A0111). This represented a useful development which had previously only
334
been available in person or by publication, mail, telephone, manual or CD-rom.
Discussion and advice was not restricted to resources available online. There was
also advice from those who had been through the experience of acquiring
hardware, such as the equipping of a lab (C972A0110). Such “live” discussion
took such advice beyond the space-constrained textbook and journal article form
of equipment advice contained in the likes of Reddick and King (1997) and
Gunaratne and Lee (1996).
Web sites were being used as standard resource material within the traditional
curriculum. For example, in an editorial writing class, one course featured “a URL
to the Members of the Chicago Tribune editorial board introducing themselves
and describing how they work” (J972A0025). Thus, while the editorial writing
curriculum might perhaps have remained the same, new Internet-sourced teaching
materials had become more widely available. This confirmed the findings of
Panici (1998, p. 57) who had noted mass communication instructors had begun to
establish designated Web sites for their subjects, such as those described by
Gunaratne and Lee (1996).
While the Internet provided new channels for the provision and discussion of
resources, it was not without its problems in this regard. Time consumption
surfaced as a difficulty with access to Web resources, partly slowed by search
engine protocols (O972A0091). Outcomes of greater access to resources should
be better quality, more up to date facilities for students, giving them a richer
journalism education experience. However, other outcomes such as the added
expense and the waste of educators’ time seeking and assessing such resources
and diverted class time in fruitless pursuits using such resources should be
factored into an assessment of their usefulness. The findings supported those of
Tapsall and Granato (1997, p.19) who encountered difficulties with student
electronic mail access and reported that the unreliability of equipment tarnished
the success of a journalism information systems subject. Gunaratne and Lee
(1996, p. 33) had warned of the time involved in establishing and maintaining
Web sites for courses, while Somera (1997, p. 86) had suggested time e-mailing
students might be seen as “additional uncompensated office hours”.
335
Nevertheless, the improved resourcing of journalism education had an indirect
influence on journalism practice in that it stood to enhance the educational
experience of prospective journalists and those receiving in-service education.
Clearly, the Internet’s influence upon the resources available for journalism
education and the tools it provides for their promotion, critiquing, sharing and
navigation is central to a consideration of the implications of the Internet for
journalism education.
Whole new sets of resources, some specifically targeted to the Net, had
become available, along with opportunities for their promotion, publication,
critique, and navigation through this new medium, offering the prospect of
positive educational outcomes. While the availability of educational resources is
important and the sharing of them is welcome, the real question relates to how
many such resources are needed by journalism educators within the curriculum
possibilities available to them. In other words, does saturation of resources arrive
quickly and is the tendency more to look for central resource locations such as
clearinghouses for ideas on particular topic areas, for instance? The issue of
journalism educators’ use of the resources identified is worthy of further research
beyond the findings of Panici (1998). Worthy of particular research focus are the
comments of Somera (1997, p. 85) and Quinn (1997b, p. 139) which suggest
potential inequities in resource access for students in developing countries and for
those studying in distance education programs.
The influence of the Internet upon educational resources has a range of
educational implications, including educators’ access to a greater range of quality
resources; the opportunity for them to share ideas with colleagues; the chance for
them to set up communication channels with colleagues which might be used for a
range of other purposes; the prospect of better quality, or at least more up to date,
educational environments for their students; and a broader spread of quality
resources throughout the educational industry via the Internet. Some of these
implications have the potential to impact further on the routine of journalism
educators. For example, now that it is demonstrated that more resources are
available via the Internet, educators need to develop systems for accessing and
336
assessing such resources. The added resources also have pedagogical and
curricular consequences, such as the need to update classes on certain topics.
Clearly, the usefulness and significance of added Internet-sourced resources
will be dependent upon a range of intervening conditions, including the
enthusiasm and computer literacy of educators; the resources available to
educators and their students; the sustainability of necessary technology access
within educational institutions’ budgets; and the intellectual property rights and
costs incurred in accessing the resources. Such intervening conditions, while not
all arising directly in the data, are just a few of a litany of possible considerations
worthy of further research attention.
It is clear that under conditions of the availability of a new medium such as the
Internet with its identifiably different qualities, we will find educators devising,
publishing, sharing, and critiquing a whole new range of resources, some of which
have been designed especially for Internet delivery.
The data also showed the Internet was being used as a forum to debate and
critique a particular resource — textbooks — and as a vehicle to replace them by
collating materials at a Web site for online delivery. Textbooks make an
interesting resource case study. The new medium, allowing ready communication
and an alternative form of publishing, prompted a reassessment of the qualities of
textbooks and even their necessity in some circumstances.
Discussion lists were used to suggest, discuss and critique texts (J972A0017;
J972A0022; J972A0025). Yet, while texts were devoted to computer-aided
reporting (detailed in Chapter 2), discussants noted there was not yet a textbook
covering Internet publishing from the journalistic viewpoint (J972A0001). The
point was made that the online offering of a course might not require a hard copy
textbook, as was the case with the course in editorial writing offered at
<www.niu.edu/acad/comm/najjar1.html> (J972A0025). Discussant Orayb A.
Najjar commented:
337
We definitely need better books than those now on the market, but
now that I’ve gone online, I do not miss having a book. (J972A0025)
The question was also raised by Dan Akers whether journalism courses should
ever need texts, Internet or not, when the “best text is the real world”
(J972A0028). Such comments reinforced those of Leonhirth (1998, pp. 92-93)
who, when reviewing a new handbook on the Internet for journalists commented:
As the authors of The Internet Handbook suggest, online resources
have become useful tools for writers, researchers and journalists, but
those who write books about the usefulness of the Internet face the
immediate realisation that the strengths of the Internet, particularly the
World Wide Web, are among the weaknesses of printed books.
Clearly, the availability and suitability of textbooks is important to journalism
education. It appeared from the data that the Net was offering a forum for
discussion of the qualities of such texts and that the online structuring of courses
may in some cases even usurp the textbook. Of course it would be a mistake to
bury the textbook too quickly. While some online offerings of courses might not
need a text, perhaps this is compensated considerably in the textbook market by
the added sales and discussion of texts through their Internet promotion.
Two clear educational implications arose from the discussion related to
textbooks:
• The Internet offered the opportunity for dialogue among educators
about textbooks and their relative merits and necessity; and
• Educators were exploring textbook-free course structures drawing
upon other materials, using Internet-based materials as an alternative.
These implications might lead to a range of responses from educators, including
the reassessment of the value of a textbook to a particular course; the seeking out
of advice on discussion lists on the merits of texts for particular courses; the
exploration of text-free offerings for particular courses given the wealth of
338
Internet information available; and the development of sections of texts and whole
new texts taking into account the relevance of the Internet as a resource.
Gunaratne and Lee (1996, p. 27) also suggested educators could develop sets of
Web-based resources which could complement the offerings in textbooks. Of
course, such actions would be dependent upon a range of intervening conditions,
including the suitability of the existing texts; the extent to which the topic is
affected by the Net; availability of both textbooks and the Internet as resources;
and the adaptability of both colleagues and the curriculum to such alternatives.
Thus, under the conditions of the introduction of a new medium such as the
Internet, the qualities of resources such as textbooks (a pre-existing educational
medium) are being renegotiated and critiqued and perhaps their roles are changing
in the light of the advantages offered by the new medium and the degree of its
acceptance. Clearly, the Internet’s influence upon the resources required for
journalism education is an important implication of the influence of the Internet
upon journalism. Curricular implications of this are explored further below at 7.3.
FINDING 7.1: The Internet has a range of implications for the resources being
used in journalism education, including the degree of access to them;
increased dialogue about their usefulness; sharing of them among educators;
and the development of exclusively Internet-based resources. Textbooks are
being reassessed as to their value in the light of Internet-based alternatives,
while others are in need of updating to account for the advent of the Internet.
7.2 Methods
The influences of the Intenet upon both the context and practice of journalism
identified in Chapters 5 and 6 were found to have important implications for the
pedagogies used in educating journalists. They brought into question the relevance
of traditional approaches in the new environment, and presented opportunities for
making greater use of the new medium in the delivery of journalism courses. This
category considers how the advent of the Internet in journalism has prompted a
reappraisal of journalism teaching methods. It is based upon both the postings of
339
discussants to the lists during the collection period and upon implications which
arise from the analysis in the preceding two chapters.
The categories which emerged during axial coding explain the implications of
the Internet influences upon the methods used in journalism education, illustrated
in the tree form developed in the NUD.IST software in Figure 7.3.
7.2 Methods
Sharing
Revision of
methods
Industry / educator
collaboration
Change or
reaffirmation
Internet-based
instruction
Recruit selection
Figure 7.3: Implications of Internet influences for the methods used in journalism
education.
As with so many facets already explored, a key implication of the Internet’s
influences upon journalism education methods was the capacity to share, in this
case to share the techniques of teaching with other educators. The use of
discussion lists by educators to share teaching ideas was noted by Gunaratne and
Lee (1996, p. 34). Just as they did with resource issues, the data showed educators
used discussion lists to share their methods of teaching (J972A0014; J972A0017).
For example, one educator shared the observation that journalists improved their
writing by reading and re-reading their published stories and rewriting them in
their minds (C972A0026).
The advent of the Internet also prompted a revision of previous approaches to
journalism teaching. For example, journalism educators had used the traditional
“inverted pyramid” structure as the basic model for their news writing instruction,
but this was subjected to vigorous debate on the CARR-L list (C972A0026;
C972A0071; C972A0085; C972A0087; C972A0094; C972A0114).
While traditional methods were sometimes challenged, there was also
evidence of educators harking back to ancient techniques of instruction, with
discussant J.R. Wilson reminiscent of the good old days of the “hard-bitten, scary
old editor” teaching news writing (C972A0045). This mirrored similar attitudes
340
displayed by journalists among the data and reported at 5.1.2.2. The attitude was
not dissimilar to that expressed by Lule (1998, p. 7) and Wilkins (1997, p. 72)
who feared important skills such as critical thinking and understanding the human
face of journalism were being squeezed out of the curriculum by new online
requirements. It prompts a questioning of pedagogies which reinforce traditional
values in an unquestioning way and an assessment of the extent to which such
courses are out of sync with current industry attitudes and practices. There is the
danger that some courses simply teach certain traditional approaches, as
discussant John Walston put it, “because that’s the way we’ve always done it”
(O972A0129). This attitude supports Arant’s (1996) findings that while online
resources were used in 88% of 133 programs surveyed, only 60% had changed
substantially how they were taught. One explanation might be the technophobia or
anxiety about computers reported by Novek (1996) and described by Elasmar and
Carter, (1996, p. 49) as a “technical-based phobia”. Educational strategies need
investigation at both pre-service and in-service level to counter such tendencies
and break such habits. Educators need to develop ways to help working journalists
to reassess traditional practices and beliefs and redefine their foundation and
value. At a tertiary level, courses could be audited to identify unquestioned values
and practices which might be discussed and re-evaluated. Of course, students need
to be taught the traditional values and practices that are followed in newsrooms so
they are alert to them on the job, but alternatives need to be explored and
explanations formulated as to why traditional approaches are the best suited.
Academic and professional journals can certainly play a role in such questioning
and reassessment. Above all, strategies might be developed which equip students
with the skills to question such values and practices and make their own
judgments on their worth.
The majority of discussion in the method category related to new Internetbased pedagogies. The advent of the Internet allowed for new ways of
approaching the teaching of journalism and a new vehicle for its delivery. For
instance, professional education at the in-service level was gained by working
journalists sending questions to the list and their colleagues suggesting answers to
them (C972A0117). Discussant Mitch Ratcliffe expressed concern that a focus on
software in courses would usurp the journalistic requirement that one be
341
“succinct, entertaining or factual” (O972A0052). Yet it was recognised that
modern-day courses could teach students fundamental skills and knowledge such
as critical thinking and theory while still giving them practical software skills
(O972A0081), a concern expressed by Wilkins (1997, p. 72). The method of
teaching multi-media techniques should expose students to the technology, but use
it as a “vehicle for training them in critical thinking, researching, storytelling and
informing”, one discussant proposed (O972A0081). Fundamental to this was the
development of pedagogical strategies prompting students to address the qualities
of new media in terms of journalism practice, approaches particularly well suited
to workshops and special projects. The methods and experiences mirrored those
explored by Friedland and Webb (1996) and detailed in Chapter 2.
New courses were emerging targeted at multi-media or Internet-based
journalism, and some of these were being offered online like those reported by
Holt et al. (1998, p. 43) and Arant (1996). Even the notion of “electronic field
trips” for an online journalism class was explained (C972B0014). Several
journalism schools had begun to offer multi-media courses, with a list provided at
<www.newslink.org/journ360> (O972A0082). Some presented their syllabi in an
online form (J972A0025), just as Gunaratne and Lee (1996, p. 29) had reported,
and some chose to offer their exercises online which, in some cases, were shared
with the list membership (C973B0017). Such Web courses defied national
boundaries. For example, digital journalist training was offered at the Mass Media
Centre of the School of Journalism at St Petersburg State University in Russia, via
summer school mode (S973A0003). It seemed many had adopted the kinds of
strategies recommended by Elasmar and Carter (1996, p. 52-53) and explained in
Chapter 2 as mechanisms for getting students using their electronic mail accounts
for academic purposes.
Nevertheless, the legitimacy of new media programs was questioned by some,
with the claim that what they were teaching could be learned on the job or in a
journalist’s spare time (O972A0076). Further, there was little indication that
programs had changed fundamentally the way classes were taught despite the
provision of online resources, supporting Arant’s (1996) findings in this regard.
342
The method of selection of recruits to journalism was also under question.
Where journalists had traditionally been drawn from literary backgrounds, online
journalists could well have photography backgrounds given the visual orientation
of the multi-media discipline and it was suggested entry to Web courses should
take account of this (O972A0145). Further, account was given to the fact that the
packaging together of material for multi-media news presentations was something
different again, not requiring just information technology know-how. It was “Web
science” rather than “computer science”, the discussant contended (O972A0158).
In this way, Web courses became the subject of debate on the relative
contributions to the new journalism of design, photography, audio, video and
words (O972A0178).
The lists featured attempts to bring practitioners and journalism instructors
together in one-day hands-on seminars to explore the best ways to teach
tomorrow’s online journalists, with aims to discuss content, design, storytelling
and teambuilding, culminating in the production of a prototype Web site on
teaching online publishing (O972D0050; O972D0057). There was the suggestion
such a seminar should have a “usability” segment, with users commenting on
online writing and giving reactions to it (O972D0056).
The viewing of journalism education through the new filter of multi-media
impacts upon the methods of teaching it. This is central to the approaches and
perspectives of future journalists to their work. Changes in the journalistic role as
a result of the influences of the Internet have led to new approaches to preparing
for the career and the medium itself provides an alternative mechanism for
journalism course delivery. These new approaches — to the overall career entry
procedure and to the course delivery method — occur within the context of
change and re-evaluation of the journalism enterprise and the delivery of
journalism education.
However, the method of teaching courses about the Web and via the Web may
well prove to be a passing trend. Just as students failed to embrace en masse Open
Learning-style tertiary offerings in journalism in Australia, they may ultimately
343
reject Internet-delivered education. This deserves to be monitored and reported
upon in future research projects.
The educational implications of these Internet influences are quite substantial,
at the levels of both the approaches to the teaching of the courses (both preexisting and multi-media) and the alternative modes of delivery the Internet
provides. The above discussion prompts important questions on the positioning
and delivery of tertiary journalism courses. For example, should journalism still
be taught as an independent career preparation discipline or is it better positioned
in a more general multi-media structure? And is Web-based delivery of existing
courses a worthwhile option? Such questions, beyond the realm of this study, are
likely to arise in the minds of administrators as courses come up for review.
Like all of the above categories, certain conditions bear upon this one. Such
intervening conditions include the existing approaches to journalism education;
the structures currently in place and their effectiveness; the costs and resources
available to assist with any change in method; amenability to change; the potential
markets for multi-media and journalism courses; the markets for Web-based
courses; and the perceptions of industry, academe and students about the above.
Thus, under conditions of the advent of the Internet and in recognition of its
influences upon journalism practice, there has proven to be resulting
experimentation with the methods used in journalism education. Methods of
instruction and methods of course packaging are being re-evaluated in its light,
particularly since the medium itself offers new options in teaching. In turn,
influences upon pedagogies can be expected to have impacts on the practice itself
once students graduate into the workforce. This was made abundantly clear by
Allen and Miller (1997) whose argument that the Internet mitigates for a reflective
practice approach to journalism education was detailed in Chapter 2. Theirs was
unique in the research literature in its attempt to link the advent of the Internet
with a holistic pedagogical approach. The idea of a systematic regime of continual
reflection in the educational laboratory and later in the professional workplace as
developed by Schön (1987) and applied to journalism by Allen and Miller (1997)
seems to lend itself to the rapidly changing technological context of journalism
344
and deserves exploration. Its importance is underscored by the fact that the panel
of newspaper industry experts interviewed by Massey (1996) in her Delphi study
identified the need “to keep learning and changing what they do and how they do
it” as the prime skill required by the new generation of journalists.
Clearly, the Internet’s influences upon the pedagogy of journalism courses is
an important implication of the influence of the Internet upon journalism practice.
This is explored further in section 7.3 below, where it is often difficult to separate
issues of pedagogy from those of curriculum as strategies are explored for
preparing journalists for the new tasks and practices required of them.
FINDING 7.2: The Internet has a range of implications for the methods used in
journalism education. The development prompts a sharing of teaching
methods, a reassessment of methods used previously and an experimentation
with new pedagogies and modes of delivery, most notably with the trial of a
variety of Internet-based delivery of courses.
7.3 Curriculum
This section deals with the implications of the influences identified in Chapters 5
and 6 for the actual content of journalism education, including the effects upon the
actual course work covered and the relevance of traditional curricula and topics in
a new environment. Importantly, this section addresses the educational
implications of the 169 new journalistic tasks and practices which were identified
as emerging as an influence of the Internet in answer to Research Sub-question b.
and discussed at 6.5.3. Tables are used to suggest curricular measures for dealing
with the tasks and practices identified there.
The data revealed the Internet had raised a large number of curriculum issues
for journalism education, representing a substantial influence on the way
journalism education was perceived and approached. These were not simply
Internet-related issues. In articulating curriculum concerns prompted by the
Internet, journalists and educators proved to be revisiting matters which went to
345
the heart of the practice and teaching of journalism: creativity versus technical
skill; grammatical correctness versus literary flair and so on. Internet-related
issues also arose of course, such as discussants’ opinions on the ideal curricula for
Web courses, and ways of using Web resources within traditional curricula.
The categories which emerged during axial coding explain the implications of
the Internet influences upon the curriculum of journalism education and are
illustrated in the tree form developed in the NUD.IST software in Figure 7.4.
7.3 Curriculum
Forum for
debate
Sharing
Incorporation
of Internet
Web publishing
Technical
components
Information
overload
Multi-media
Figure 7.4: Implications of Internet influences for the curriculum in journalism
education.
7.3.1 Curricular implications arising from the data
Firstly, discussion lists were again used to debate and share ideas, in this situation
about curriculum issues. The Internet was a site for a renegotiation of what should
be in the journalism curriculum (O972A0099). Not all curriculum discussions
were Internet related. Some harked back to traditional values, as reported in
Chapter 6 with the discussions about journalism practice. There were repeated
calls for more basic grammar instruction, particularly from working journalists
(O972A0035). This prompted fierce debate on whether grammar should be
positioned in the tertiary journalism curriculum or elsewhere (O972A0120;
O972A0121; O972A0148; O972A0160; O972A0099; O972A0167). It was
associated with the call by Christian A. Hendricks for core skills as part of the
curriculum:
If you don’t know how to bake a cake, the best icing in the world
won’t help you (the cake is journalist skills). (O972A0040)
346
Course syllabi were presented in an online form (J972A0025) and shared with
other educators as a result of discussion list requests (J972C0012), a trend noted
by Gunaratne and Lee (1996, p. 32) and Tapsall and Granato (1997, p.20).
The Internet was being accommodated into the curriculum with the
development of Web publishing classes, including projects requiring students to
design sites for local charities. In one instance a local newspaper hosted
journalism students’ charity sites on its server (J972A0009). The question was
prompted whether the mere development of such sites constituted “journalism”
and deserved a place in a journalism curriculum. One discussant asked how far
journalism students needed to travel down the information technology road as part
of their studies. Did they need to learn all the technical skills required to launch a
Web site onto the Net, for instance, including communication software,
compatibility, and programming languages like UNIX ( J972A0011)?
Another Internet-driven curriculum issue was discussant Neil McIntosh’s
perceived need to teach students how to cope with information overload, “how to
manage that information once we get it” (O973D0019). This reinforces the
findings in Chapter 6 identifying information overload as an issue of concern.
The traditional curriculum was being influenced by the Internet in very
practical ways. Multi-media topics were being built into courses, in much the
same way as reported by Williams (1997, p. 69) and outlined in Chapter 2.
Discussant Bill Wilt observed that the Internet allowed educators to incorporate
“all the mediums of info-transmission” into their curricula, along with their tools:
... print, audio, video, Perl and CGI and SGML and HTML — all the
tools of all the mediums. I think the journalist has to be responsible for
his/her tools. I don’t think you see photographers trusting the state of
their gear to “someone else”, just as journalists don’t (or shouldn’t)
trust the state of their facts to “someone else”. (O972A0045)
347
The argument echoed that surrounding the introduction of video display
terminals to newsrooms in Australia in the 1970s and 1980s, chronicled by Lloyd
(1985, pp. 275-282). Others disagreed that journalists needed these technical
skills. They argued that the curriculum should show journalism students how
technical aspects worked, but “critical thinking, research skills, story-telling and a
passion to keep people informed” were the key skills that should dominate even
the post-Internet curriculum (O972A0057; O972A0071). Some suggested
integrated programs offering new-tech skills combined with such traditional
features (O972A0081), in line with the views of Wilkins (1997, p. 72) and
Thompson (1995) reported in Chapter 2. Students were in two minds as to
whether to study traditional techniques or learn new software programs like
Illustrator, and posted messages to the lists seeking advice informing such
decisions (O972A0030; O972A0039; O972A0051; O972A0077; O972A0078).
The knowledge of specific software was certainly becoming a hiring
requirement (O972A0092), as noted by Williams (1997, p. 67). But some believed
design and multi-media skills should be learned on the job rather than added to the
tertiary curriculum (O972A0078). Curricular inclusions needed to be more than
just add-ons to existing courses, contended a new media student at Evergreen
State College who added: “Online editors need to be more than reporters who
know HTML” (O972A0145). Further, it was suggested that multimedia was a
creative enterprise, and it was questioned whether a structured education program
could teach the required level of creativity (O972A0046). Some took the
opportunity to suggest that traditional visual and audio skills acquired in broadcast
journalism courses were crucial to understanding online journalism, given its
capabilities in these areas (O972A0167). This view reinforced the opinions of
Friedland and Webb (1996) who had success with a laboratory-based curriculum
marrying the traditional disciplines, outlined in Chapter 2.
One solution to emerge from the data was to address course design at a macro
institutional level by marrying computer courses with journalism courses into new
hybrid offerings, allowing each to preserve its identity yet offering students the
combination, as with the journalism major minoring in computer science
348
(O972A0032). This was not dissimilar to the Journalism Information Systems
subject devised by Tapsall and Granato (1997, p. 21) and described in Chapter 2,
but different from the integration approach described by Gunaratne and Lee
(1996, p.29). The question of whether to integrate such skills into the overall
curriculum, the approach also favoured by Thompson (1995) and Williams (1997,
p. 69) or to teach them as an end-on elective as suggested by Quinn (1997b, p.
139) deserves attention. Reports on their relative success would enhance the
literature on the topic and provide guidance to those contemplating change.
Many of the implications raised above resurface in the discussion below, but
are given added form and structure by linking them with the influences upon the
context and practice of journalism discussed in Chapters 5 and 6.
7.3.2 Curricular implications arising from Chapter 5 and 6 analysis
Clearly, the Internet’s influences upon the curricula of journalism courses is an
important implication of the influence of the Internet upon journalism practice.
Such influences arise at a secondary level, in that only after the influences on
journalism practice are assessed and take hold do curriculum issues for journalism
education move to the forefront. A continuous process of revisiting and perhaps
reshaping the journalism curriculum might be expected to occur in the light of the
developing awareness of the attributes of the Internet and educators’ recognition
of their influences upon journalism practice. It should also be recognised that this
flow of know-how is not just one-way traffic from journalism to journalism
education. Journalists also need to keep abreast of developments in journalism
education, since they are at times ahead of industry and occasionally out of synch
with it, as Pearson (1993, p. 134) noted in relation to education’s leadership with
desktop publishing in the 1980s and Quinn (1997a, p. 88) suggested was the
situation developing with computer-assisted reporting in Australia. These issues
are now explored further by considering the actual influences upon journalism’s
context and its practice identified in Chapters 5 and 6 and grouped in chart form at
349
6.5.3 as new journalistic tasks and practices to emerge. Potential curriculum
implications evolved from that analysis and are considered here.
The 169 new tasks and practices identified at 6.5.3 in answer to Research Subquestion b. return here as a list of possible additions to the curriculum of
journalism courses, since the mission of such courses is to prepare students for
this changing career. The tables utilised in Chapter 6 to introduce these new tasks
and practices have been expanded to incorporate suggested educational measures
for building such content into the tertiary journalism curriculum. Again, each is
grouped into the analysis section in which it first arose.
Educational implications of the influences upon the culture of journalists (See 5.1)
Section
Task or practice
Curricular measure
5.1.1 Community/camaraderie
Collaborate with colleagues and
sometimes former competitors
in online work.
Accommodate
collaboration in units
formerly focusing on
competitive “scoops”.
Ensure Internet research
skills have place in
curriculum.
Develop interpersonal and
organisational
communication units
covering relationships.
Ensure lobbying /
persuasion skills built into
programs.
Ensure traditional
approaches still part of
“toolkit” in curriculum.
Build multi-media
components into
curriculum.
Accommodate as a new
approach in reporting
classes.
Incorporate examples of
the reward accruing to
such qualities and develop
activities encouraging
this.
Establish contacts via the
Internet.
5.1.2 Perceptions / attitudes
Maintain communication and
relationships with non-wired
colleagues and management.
Convince management of the
value of the Internet enterprise.
5.1.3 Mission of journalism
Keep alert to “low-tech”
solutions to journalism
problems.
Create interactive devices on
Web sites.
Update news incrementally.
Be innovative, versatile,
adventurous, experimental.
350
Perform dual roles as writer and
designer.
Perform function of
investigator / crime fighter.
Integrate such units to
encourage duality.
Build Internet activities
into investigative units.
Table 7.1: Curricular measures related to 5.1 Journalists’ culture
The discussion of an emerging sense of community and camaraderie at 5.1.1,
with the associated practices of collaboration among journalists and establishing
networks of contacts among them prompts the suggestion of curricular
modifications to accommodate it. The traditional focus on competitive “scoops” in
the news environment might be complemented by special attention to online
collaboration among journalists. Research units can be expanded to include
instruction on how journalists might make contact with their colleagues and other
sources over the Net.
The tasks and practices to emerge from the discussion of journalists’ changing
perceptions and attitudes at 5.1.2 prompt a range of curricular solutions, including
the development of interpersonal and organisational communication units
covering such relationships; the building of lobbying and persuasion skills into
curricula; and ensuring courses do not ignore traditional approaches in their rush
to the novel, thus alienating newsroom traditionalists.
Discussion of the mission of journalism at 5.1.3 spawned discussion of shifts
in the employment market and the new social roles of journalists. If educators are
in the business of preparing journalists for their careers, how are they taking
account of these new roles journalists might be expected to fulfil? Some
indications are given in Table 6.1 above, including the accommodation in the
curriculum of multi-media components, incremental news updating, innovation,
duality of writing and designing and investigation. But this is an area deserving of
further research since it strikes at the very rationale for journalism education. Inservice training needs include the equipping of journalists and their managers to
assess changed journalistic roles and to re-evaluate individuals’ suitability for
those roles and adapting journalistic routines and practices to deal with such roles.
At a tertiary pre-service level, the changes call for reassessment of the curricula to
determine the extent to which courses do, or should, cater for such roles. It is
likely both curricular and pedagogical changes would need to be made to
351
accommodate such new roles and prepare students to identify and exploit them.
This might necessitate some level of curriculum review to accommodate this,
including changes in course requirements, subject offerings, subject content and
perhaps modes of offering.
Educational implications of influences upon journalists’ communication (See 5.2)
Section
Task or practice
Curricular measure
5.2 Communication
Use Internet to share research
Build such Internet-based
techniques, contacts, sources
sharing strategies into
and story ideas.
reporting curriculum.
Use Internet to share technical
Develop units
knowledge, help paths and
demonstrating this, then
possibilities.
encouraging students to
establish such networks.
Use Internet to share industrial
As above.
relations information and job
opportunities.
Join and participate in
Start such membership at
discussion lists.
college as part of relevant
unit.
Communicate via electronic
Make electronic mail
mail.
contact standard.
5.2.1 Language
Learn technical language,
Build linguistic
including high-tech acronyms.
component into Internet
units.
Monitor and adapt writing to
Develop units in audience
take account of the level of
analysis and language
acceptance among audiences of adaptation.
technical language and hightech words.
Internet units should
Decide whether work needs
incorporate multi-lingual
translation to other languages
potentialities.
for Web publication.
Table 7.2: Curricular measures related to 5.2 Journalists’ communication.
352
The communicative and linguistic tasks and practices emanating from the
analysis at section 5.2 prompt a number of curricular measures. Improved
communication among journalists can be enhanced by curricular concessions to
the need to build sharing strategies into reporting classes; developing units on
sharing technical know-how and help protocols; developing others facilitating the
sharing of industrial relations information and job opportunities; and instigating
students’ active membership of discussion lists as a component of their journalism
subjects.
As outlined at 5.2.1, the Internet had influenced the very language used by
journalists, adding to their vocabularies and equipping them with new ways to
describe themselves and their practices. This raised curricular issues not explored
in the data. Educators faced the challenge of familiarising themselves with such
linguistic developments and, in turn, passing this knowledge on to their students.
This prompted curricular adaptations equipping journalism students to be aware of
the technical language they were using and the audience’s level of understanding
of it. It called for curricular recognition of the need for precision in such language,
consistency in style in the use of acronymns, and the assessment of the
appropriateness of new technology colloquialisms. At times it might even require
assessment of the suitability of English for a task and the exploration of the need
for translation services, particularly when dealing with an international audience
in an international medium. This required curricular accommodation of audience
analysis tools to help identify linguistic needs. Students needed to be made aware
of the Internet-based language development tools such as those available for
vocabulary enhancement.
Educational implications of influences upon journalists’ work environment (See 5.3)
Section
Task or practice
Curricular measure
5.3.1 Industrial issues
Ascertain and adjust the
Include ergonomics as
ergonomics of the computer
standard curriculum item.
work station.
Negotiate contracts for online
Develop units on contract
republication of work,
negotiation for
especially freelancers.
freelancers.
Develop units in business
Freelancers use the Internet to
acumen and consumer
check the bona fides of
protection for freelance
publishers and to chase those
journalists.
owing.
5.3.2 Technological know-how
Sort and strip electronic mail
Ensure introductory units
353
5.3.3 Newsroom resources
5.3.4 Opportunities
messages.
Keep pace with new versions of
software.
feature this component.
Develop units in software
appraisal for ongoing use.
Develop a “sharing” culture in
newsroom with the introduction
of an intranet for the sharing of
newsroom resources.
Sell their work via discussion
lists and personal Web sites.
Construct such intranet
and protocols in college
newsroom.
Use multi-media features to
better communicate stories.
Be alert to online scams.
Work effectively from home
when telecommuting.
Programming and software
development.
Freelance units should
include Internet sales
component.
Multi-media units should
be developed as part of
reporting curriculum.
Units can feature
examples and strategies.
Independent work can be
built into curriculum as
project.
Build / encourage IT units
as extension to
curriculum.
Educational implications of influences upon journalists’ work environment (continued)
Section
Task or practice
Curricular measure
Edit digitally.
Include in editing
curriculum.
Co-ordinate multi-media
Include in multi-media
projects.
and editing units.
Develop Web sites.
Include in multi-media
and editing units.
Write and edit hypertext
Include in multi-media
markup language (HTML).
and editing units.
Package news material for
Include in multi-media
Internet audience.
and editing units.
Learn new production skills in
Include in multi-media
online headline writing, page
and editing units.
design, photo cropping and
story placement.
Think creatively about how to
Include in multi-media,
interact with readers.
reporting and editing
units.
Understand the limitations of
Include in multi-media
the Web as a publishing
and editing units.
medium.
Learn second language for Web Encourage as extrapublication.
curricular extension.
Use design tools such as
Include in multi-media
Photoshop and Freehand.
and editing units.
Work across dual platforms
Allow for this with dual
(Mac and PC).
platform newsrooms and
internship placements.
Understand CGI and Perl.
Include in multi-media
and editing units.
Be a “new media evangelist”.
Include presentation /
persuasion in basic
curriculum.
Table 7.3: Curricular measures related to 5.3 Journalists’ work environment.
354
The tasks and practices emanating from the analysis of the influences upon
journalists’ work environment at 5.3 prompted many curricular measures.
On the industrial front, addressed at 5.3.1, the analysis prompted the
proposition that journalism students needed to be made aware of the industrial
context of the profession they were about to enter. They also might be made aware
of anticipated or actual changes to that context. This suggests curricular
accommodation of material covering such industrial matters, such as exercises
exploring a range of industrial implications arising from certain Internet
influences. Innovations might include the introduction of a unit on ergonomics as
a standard curriculum item; the development of units on contract negotiation for
freelancers faced with a potentially exploitative new commercial environment;
and, associated with this, units in business acumen and consumer protection,
given the trend towards contract work for information professionals. (This was
identified as the second most predicted change for the newspaper industry by
experts cited the Delphi study by Massey (1996), reported in Chapter 2.
Journalists’ ability to work from home or with minimal supervision was identified
as the fifth most important skill they would need in the new environment.)
Technological matters stemming from discussion at 5.3.2 prompted the need
for introductory instruction in sorting and stripping electronic mail messages and
units helping students keep pace with new versions of software by instituting
appraisal protocols. This raises questions as to the proportions of the curriculum
which should be spent on technological issues and knowledge, how much of this
knowledge is workplace-specific (particular versions of software etcetera) and
how much is to do with generic skills required of all journalists. It certainly
supports the findings of Friedland and Webb (1996, p. 62) who had to devote half
of their online journal laboratory course to computer literacy, including
developing competence in the kinds of multi-media skills listed above. It leads to
further questions about the role of internships or work placements in the
curriculum to help students acquire such skills and understandings if they are best
learned in the workplace. Journalists need to be equipped with the skills to enable
them to assess the level of technological know-how required of certain tasks and
355
to determine the scale of improvements to reporting which might result from
acquiring and updating that knowledge. For example, is such knowledge
“required” of journalists just because some development has occurred — just
because Microsoft releases version 4.5 of an item of software do we have to get
it? — and what is the cost attached to this? Does it serve a useful purpose in that it
makes safer, more informative, more entertaining, more thorough some item of
reportage? In other words, the in-service curriculum might include programs
giving journalists skills in the auditing of technology. Such skills might be
acquired at either pre-service or in-service levels.
Discussion of newsroom resources at 5.3.3 suggested the encouragement of a
“sharing” culture in the newsroom with the introduction of an “intranet” for the
sharing of resources. This might start at college level with the construction of such
an intranet and usage protocols for university newsroom use.
The discussion of actual new job types and opportunities at 5.3.4 led to the
identification of 18 new tasks and practices which have curricular ramifications.
Of course, driving curriculum modifications would be the question: “How are
students best prepared for careers in such new fields?” With such an array of new
job types being developed, educators might start by debating and deciding what
the professional nomenclature “journalist” now means in the post-Internet
environment. Curricular adaptations would need to take account of journalism job
types, both traditional and new. Educators would need to determine the value in
going to the extent of adjusting the curriculum to incorporate skills and
understandings required of such jobs. Part of such an assessment would be
determining whether they were entry-level or mid-career positions and how many
students would realistically expect to be working in them on graduation. If change
was considered worthwhile, then the content and staffing of campus productions
and publications might be adjusted to include such new media positions. In any
such curriculum changes, a key consideration must always be what, if anything,
has to be sacrificed from the traditional curriculum to accommodate material
targeting such new job types. Nevertheless, as can be observed from Table 7.3
356
above, it is suggested that course content covering many of the new tasks and
practices could be incorporated into multi-media or editing subjects.
357
Educational implications of the influences upon journalism law and ethics (See 5.4)
Section
Task or practice
Curricular measure
5.4.1 Legal
Decide what might be offensive Cover offensive materials
in legal curriculum with
or in poor taste for Internet
exercises and examples.
audiences.
Include prior restraint and
Decide whether to publish
case examples in legal
material on the Internet first to
curriculum.
avoid prior restraint snag.
Include intellectual
Check intellectual property
property units in legal
rights and obligations before
curriculum. Reinforce
publication.
with exercises.
Assert copyright on work and
Include intellectual
include copyright symbol ©.
property units in legal
curriculum. Reinforce
with exercises.
Attribute appropriately within
Include intellectual
copyright laws.
property units in legal
curriculum + exercises.
Obtain permission before
Include intellectual
hyperlinking to other sites.
property units in legal
curriculum + exercises.
Check ownership of data such
Include intellectual
as sports scores before use.
property units in legal
curriculum + exercises.
Check trademark usage is
Include intellectual
appropriate.
property units in legal
curriculum. Reinforce
with exercises.
Ensure no claims have been
Include trade practices
made in an online story which
units in legal curriculum.
contravene trade practices
Reinforce with exercises.
legislation.
Appraise for defamation for all
Extend defamation
jurisdictions where published.
curriculum to include
other jurisdictions.
Ensure Internet research does
Include privacy and
not invade the privacy of
regulation units in legal
others.
curriculum. Simulations.
5.4.2 Ethical
Reveal journalistic identity
Include in curriculum on
when researching online.
interviewing and ethics.
Disclose any commercial
Include in ethics
influences on the journalism.
curriculum.
Decide whether to post message Include netiquette unit in
to a discussion list as a whole or online journalism
to an individual discussant.
curriculum.
Develop mechanisms for
Include verification unit
ensuring electronic sources are
in reporting and online
legitimate.
classes.
Extend legal or online
Keep abreast of ethical
curriculum to include
regulators on the Net and their
Internet regulation.
requirements.
Table 7.4: Curricular measures related to 5.4 Legal and ethical issues.
358
Internet influences upon journalism’s legal context identified at 5.4.1 prompt
curricular adjustment. Tertiary courses are designed to prepare journalists for their
professional practice. They should offer understanding of the legal context in
which journalists work. The empirical evidence of a shift in the legal terrain of
journalism influenced by the Internet prompts the need for review of this part of
the journalism curriculum. Curricula need to be re-evaluated to determine how
they should be adapted to incorporate the redefinitions of laws relating to
publishing, distribution, jurisdiction, ownership and access identified at 5.4.1. Inservice training on these issues is probably necessary for working journalists. Just
as important as the topic areas themselves is the emphasis which should be placed
upon such topics in the new media environment. For example, laws related to
offensive materials might previously have had a low profile in media law subjects,
however, given the proliferation of such materials on the Internet, might now be
given a higher priority. Similarly, intellectual property takes on a more
problematic profile in the Internet context as information and ideas are traded,
borrowed and stolen at a remarkable rate. This reinforces the findings of the
Delphi study by Massey (1996), reported in Chapter 2, in which a panel of
industry leaders identified copyright as the third most important issue facing the
newspaper industry. Pedagogy might also be assessed for the suitability of
incorporating programs adopting Donald Schön’s (1987) reflective practice
approaches, given that online journalism classes might be strengthened by
students’ understanding of legal implications of actions and learning to adapt their
journalistic behaviours to compensate for legal changes as they arise. Further, the
very publications students produce as part of their journalism courses needed
reappraisal for their legal liability, particularly if they were being created in online
versions. As Senat (1996) noted, different regulatory mechanisms for online
publications might well leave tertiary institutions liable for the cyberspace
transgressions of their student journalists.
In a similar way, ethics, addressed at 5.4.2, is another component of most
journalism curricula, often bundled in with media law in a single subject offering.
Internet ethical implications need to be built into tertiary curricula and into
inservice courses for those becoming involved. Educational strategies for doing so
must pay heed to the needs of journalists as they go through the process of re359
evaluating their behaviours in the context of the new reporting and publishing
environment. Their professional bodies need to re-evaluate their codes of ethics in
consideration of this development, just as the Australian Journalists Association
recognised in its code the new ethical dilemma presented by the arrival of
technology allowing the digital manipulation of photographs (MEAA, 1996,
Clause 5). Journalists’ editors and supervisors need to re-assess their expectations
of their journalists in the light of such new issues. In this professional context, inservice training and seminars might play a role.
Textbooks on ethics need to take account of these developments, prompting a
resources question similar to those canvassed at 7.1. Green (1997) has identified
some of the legal and ethical risks attached to students conducting real-life
investigative reporting as part of an online journalism subject, outlined in Chapter
2. The issues of identity, commercial influence, netiquette, verification and
regulation identified in Table 7.4 above are key candidates for curricular and
textbook inclusion.
The method of inclusion of both legal and ethical cyberspace issues is open for
debate. As Smethers (1998, pp. 19-20) noted, journalism and mass
communication programs have adopted a range of approaches to inclusion, some
at the level of the formal law and ethics courses which already exist, some in new
technology reporting classes which are evolving, and some as reflection exercises
in practical online reporting and publishing workshops. Other options will
undoubtedly arise, but there seems little excuse for not addressing such issues,
unfortunately an option taken to date by 18% of the programs Smethers (1998, p.
19) had surveyed.
Educational implications of the influences upon media (See 5.5)
Section
Task or practice
5.5.1 Media type
Provide direct reports from
events.
Digest main newspaper stories
for electronic mail distribution.
Identify, obtain and edit audio
and video grabs to accompany
stories.
Curricular measure
Adjust reporting
curriculum to include live
and direct reporting.
Include digesting unit in
editing curriculum.
Include multi-media
reporting units covering
such skills.
Educational implications of the influences upon media (Continued)
360
Section
Task or practice
Review practice of refusing to
credit a competitor.
Build search engines into
pages.
Determine audience’s real,
unstated goals.
Decide whether to “push”
product on audiences, or “pull”
them to it.
Host online forums and chat
rooms with audiences.
Develop and respond to
electronic mail letters to the
editor.
Develop systems for breaking
news as it happens.
Flag follow-up stories from
Web sites in forthcoming print
editions.
Monitor emphasis on “bells and
whistles’ of online versions
over genuine reader needs.
Determine whether to feature
external links. If so, build them.
Add text and grouping and
navigation facilities to radio
packages.
Adapt television program
scripts to Web use.
Incorporate and respond to
interactive television viewer
dialogue.
Identify opportunities for live
video feeds from events over
Web.
Decide whether priority should
be live feed or packaging story.
361
Curricular measure
Build commercial /
competition element into
ethics curriculum.
Technical extension to
curriculum for those
interested.
Build audience analysis
units into editing /
publishing classes.
Build audience analysis
units into editing /
publishing classes.
Include such hosting in
multi-media reporting
classes.
Include units on letter
responses into editing
classes.
Include breaking news
elements in reporting and
editing courses.
Extend editing curriculum
to include such crossfertilisation.
Include online analysis in
editing or multi-media
units.
Include link analysis in
multi-media or editing
units.
Include Web component
in radio reporting and
production courses.
Include Web component
in television courses.
Include units on viewer
online responses into
television classes.
Include units on video
feeds into multi-media
units.
Include units on video
feeds and options into
multi-media units.
Educational implications of the influences upon media (Continued)
Section
Task or practice
Curricular measure
5.5.1 Media type (continued)
Develop digital videocam skills Decide whether this
for Web reporting.
should be extension to
multi-media class.
Tailor agency news to needs of
Include units on tailoring
new mass audiences.
agency news in editing
classes.
5.5.2 Media qualities
Reassess whether material
Build audience analysis
could be tailored to new niche
units into editing /
audiences.
publishing classes and
appropriate exercises.
Consider implications of
Build news reuse units
archival life beyond current
into editing curriculum.
news moment.
Track news services for latest
Build desktop
news while working on other
newstracking skills into
tasks.
reporting curriculum.
Decide when to offer advice to
Include this in editing
audiences from specialised
curriculum.
experts.
Ensure commercial imperative
Build commercial
not affecting news judgment.
influence unit into ethics
and online reporting
courses.
Develop ways of making
Consider separate online
Internet ventures more
editorial management
profitable.
course.
Develop visual literacy.
Build theme in online
courses.
Decide upon hypertext
Hypertext units in Web
opportunities in stories.
editing and publishing
subjects.
Determine hyperlink limits
Hypertext units in Web
within design constraints.
editing and publishing
subjects.
Determine style best suited to
Reporting courses to
product.
include unit on online
styles.
Decide most appropriate
Editing and advertising
placing of advertisements on
courses to take on Web
Web sites.
component.
Decide arrangement of
Include this in editing
elements: text, graphics and
curriculum.
sub-headings.
Decide upon depth of coverage Include this in editing and
of an issue in Web format.
reporting curriculum.
Determine best method to cover Include this in editing and
Web-based news story.
reporting curriculum.
Consider whether “push” or
Include this in reporting
“pull” approach in reporting.
curriculum.
Tailor news product to an array Special online news
subject can address this.
of different distribution
channels.
362
Educational implications of the influences upon media (Continued)
Section
Task or practice
Curricular measure
5.5.2 Media qualities
Maintain and catalogue back-up Include this in reporting
(continued)
files of work.
curriculum.
Determine best multi-media
Include units on
package of text, graphics,
packaging into multianimated graphics, sound and
media courses.
vision is appropriate for
particular story.
Adapt editing curriculum
Decide production
infrastructure for hard breaking to accommodate this.
news vs. timeless features.
Creating opportunities and
Include audience
vehicles for audiences’
involvement in editing
responses.
curriculum.
Table 7.5: Curricular measures related to 5.5 Media.
The contextual discussion of the influences of the Internet upon the various
media in which journalism is practised at 5.5.1 prompts its own series of
educational implications, most of which present arguments for curricular
adaptation. Much of the focus of journalism education has been on newspapers.
Typically, news writing has been taught from a print perspective and the bulk of
graduate placements have been with newspaper companies as the largest
employers of journalists. An influence of the Internet upon newspapers therefore
has considerable educational implications as educators need to adjust their
thinking and educational strategies to this shift in the professional paradigm. With
this in mind, educators might revisit the curriculum to assess the level of
newspaper “bias” in their approaches to news writing and consider the value of a
more multi-media approach. This relates directly to the earlier analysis of job
opportunities. The traditional major employment market for journalism graduates
has been newspapers, but opportunities in this medium have shrunk with the
decline of newspaper titles since the 1950s (Patching, 1997).
Decisions on the inclusion of more multi-media components in the curriculum
might be premised upon detailed analysis of graduate placement with newspapers
and the employment potential for graduates with multi-media skills. The
curriculum might also be influenced by educators’ decisions to experiment on the
research and development side of the interface between newspapers and the
Internet. Topics here might include live and direct reporting for Web publication,
the digesting of newspaper stories for Internet transmission, incorporation of
video and audio grabs in newspaper sites, building search engines into pages,
363
hosting online chats, adjusting letters to the editor responses to the new
environment, establishing systems for breaking news, encouraging crossfertilisation between Web and hard copies of newspapers, and selecting
opportunities for external hyperlinks. The lead has been set by the likes of
Friedland and Webb (1996, p. 62-63) who included a range of multi-media
competence requirements into their online journalism laboratory subject explained
in Chapter 2.
Certainly, tertiary courses have led newspapers in the implementation of
recent technologies, with the most prominent example being the use of desktop
pagination for their campus publications well in advance of industry. It is
important here to recall the Delphi study by Massey (1996), reported in Chapter 2,
in which newspaper industry leaders ranked computer expertise; a better
understanding of readers; computerised information gathering and data
manipulation; and multi-media competence among the top requirements of the
new generation of journalists, each of which also emerged from the data here.
Each of the other media raises its own questions for educators in deciding
upon curricular responses, but most also require similar curricular adaptations to
those already mentioned for newspapers. Radio courses have recently gone
through another important technological transition to the fully digitised radio
newsroom, with its own impacts upon the curriculum. Internet influences prompt
a consideration of the expansion of radio journalism training to include multimedia components: text, graphics and vision to accompany sound grabs. Real
Audio technology allows for the development of radio Web sites defying
traditional geographical restrictions, necessitating curricular inclusion of Web
page design and production techniques. It also prompts a reassessment of radio
news content, given the redefined audiences for such radio products.
Television is also coming to grips with the new age of fully digitised
newsrooms. While there seemed to be few immediate impacts of the Internet upon
the work of the television journalist, there were indications of potentially
substantial changes once the technology of video streaming had been developed.
364
This seems to call for an early reassessment of the television journalism
curriculum to allow for such developments, including more lateral thinking about
direct feeds from important events and speeches along with analysis of both the
reporting and production roles in such ventures. The advent of television station
Web sites also hints at a diversification of the television reporter’s role beyond
mere reporting to the hosting of chat sessions with viewers and the preparation of
written materials as support data for television stories. Perhaps at its extreme it
also calls for the development of production skills and Web page design skills for
those seeking careers in the television industry. Prospective alliances with
newspaper groups to add video to their offerings may herald the era of the multimedia journalist, requiring a mix of the skills needed for the traditional media. For
example, television journalists might end up working for other media groups just
as they have moved across to pay and corporate television (airlines inflight
services etcetera) in recent years. Curricular responses might include the
expansion of television journalism training to include multi-media skills; the
introduction of Web page design and production techniques; more emphasis on
the communication skills (including graphics and design) of journalism rather than
writing skills (O972A0178); translation of television scripts into Web format;
improving viewer dialogue online; seeking out live video feed opportunities;
offering videocam skills to reporters; and more cross-fertilisation across the
traditional boundaries of print and broadcast journalism to reflect the industry
trend towards multi-media Web journalism (O972A0167).
Magazines, too, have had substantial technological changes to accommodate
in recent years, such as the fully paginated magazine news room. Curricular
implications of the influence of the Internet upon magazines might include the
consideration of Web-based products — “e-zines” — as outlets for students’
magazine writing, along with the accompanying audience analysis and shifts in
writing styles this might imply. Further, magazine courses might consider the
interplay between the new features of the Internet (hypertextuality, graphic
manipulation, audio and video capability and so on) and the traditional crafting of
a magazine article. Multi-media and scriptwriting units seem to deserve some
recognition in the magazine writing curriculum.
365
With other niche industries such as newsletters, encyclopaedia and wire services,
it becomes a question of whether students can be prepared specifically for these
industries through journalism courses and the skills and knowledge they acquire in
them. Major curricular concessions to such industries would be unlikely unless
there were guaranteed employment prospects for students (which might in fact be
the case with the substantial US newsletter industry). Curricular inclusions might
be more likely to involve strategies to help students adapt their traditional
journalism work for republication in these niche or information-oriented markets.
Of course, publishers might look at affiliations with such operators as an adjunct
to their online products. (For example, by developing newsletter services to those
specially interested in a topic; by repackaging stories for wire service
transmission; by having journalists creating niche newsletters as part of specialist
work; through links to encyclopaedia entries as backgrounders to important news
events; and by creating archival compilations or special reports on CD-roms.)
Again, any of these initiatives would only take the form of rethinking the
curriculum with these affiliated media in mind and making minor concessions to
accommodate potential work placements for graduates in these industries.
As well as the media-based initiatives mentioned above, more general curricular
inclusions might be units in audience analysis and audience interaction to allow
for the more intimate dialogue afforded by the new medium and the resultant need
to better know media audiences. This might meet the hopes of Lule (1998, pp. 78), outlined in Chapter 2, that students might be taught to how to encourage and
participate in a “continuous dialogue between readers and writers”.
The qualities of new media explored at 5.5.2 have broad-ranging curricular
implications as journalism students need to be aware of such qualities and to
explore and practise strategies for creating journalism adapted to allow for such
qualities. Clearly, journalists need to understand such qualities if they are to target
their work effectively to new media audiences. Each is deserving of special topics
in the journalism curriculum as each quality has potential impact on the kind of
journalism produced: the international nature, currency, interactivity, accessibility
to new publishers, commercial potential, design attributes, mass and niche
366
markets, new communities, “push” versus “pull”, capacity, its ephemeral nature
and its multimedia attributes. Curricular measures might include the study of the
qualities of new technologies so students can learn how to evaluate such
technologies and assess their implications for journalism practice; and in-service
courses for working journalists addressing how new technologies impact upon
their work in the traditional media and preparing them for the transition to new
media. Specific measures are listed above in Table 7.5.
Educational implications of the influences upon journalism audiences (See 5.6)
Section
Task or practice
Curricular measure
5.6 Audiences
Calling for audiences to
Include audience
determine news agenda.
involvement in editing
curriculum.
Assess audiences’ news and
Build audience analysis
information needs.
units into editing /
publishing classes.
Offer audiences a variety of
Build audience response
news formats and tracking.
mechanisms into editing /
publishing classes.
Determine audience’s level of
Build audience analysis
understanding of topic / region. units into editing /
publishing classes.
Adjust content to meet
Build audience response
changing needs of audience.
mechanisms into editing /
publishing classes.
Table 7.6: Curricular measures related to 5.6 Audiences.
The final contextual influence identified, that of audience at 5.6, also has
curricular implications, detailed above in Table 7.6. The notion of audience has
long been central to communication-based journalism courses. Its importance was
underscored in the finding of Massey (1996) in her Delphi study reviewed in
Chapter 2 that newspaper industry leaders viewed journalists’ understanding of
their readership as the second most important skill for the new era. There is a
strong argument this should be reinforced in the curriculum at both pre-service
and in-service levels so journalism can be tailored to the special needs of these
new audiences. The special qualities of new audiences necessitates a continuous
process of reappraisal by journalists, with each journalistic decision made with
audience in mind, both at the reporting and production stages. Journalists need
skills enabling them to make regular reports on audience needs, soliciting
feedback to audience responses. They also need to appreciate the importance of
the regular reporting of market research and focus group studies of audiences’
needs and expectations. At a curricular level, this calls for the development of
367
audience assessment strategies in journalism courses; the implementation of
systems of audience response to improve journalist-audience dialogue; and inservice training on audiences and needs.
It is now time to move to the curricular measures developed in response to tasks
and practices emerging from the analysis of the influence of the Internet upon
journalism practice, covered in Chapter 6.
Educational implications of influences on news values / topics (See 6.1)
Section
Task or practice
Curricular measure
Repackage news to fit the needs Build audience
of new audiences.
considerations into
editing / publishing
classes.
6.1.1 News values
Reassess the value of the
Adjust reporting news
“localness’ of news.
values units to
accommodate shift.
Decide whether to release an
Include such decisioninstalment or update of a
making in editing
breaking news story via
curriculum.
Internet.
6.1.2 News topics
Develop multi-media
Options here: multi-media
approaches to news delivery.
or existing
editing/reporting classes.
Report upon new topics enabled Include in reporting
by instantaneous multimedia
curriculum.
features such as sports updates
and traffic flow.
Decide which topics to deem
Options here: multi-media
worthy of multimedia delivery.
or existing
editing/reporting classes.
368
Educational implications of influences on news values / topics (See 6.1)
Section
Task or practice
Curricular measure
6.1.2 News topics (continued)
Tailor news coverage to
Include in reporting
Internet-oriented demographic
curriculum as part of
such as greater technology
news topics unit.
focus.
Develop special Web sites on
Extension activity for
topic areas of specialist
those contemplating
reporting.
specialist reporting or
freelance classes.
Share resources among
Include in research unit.
specialist reporters.
Table 7.7: Curricular measures related to 6.1 News values and topics.
The teaching of approaches to news values and topics is fundamental to
journalism education. Curricular measures in this category are featured above in
Table 7.7. The findings at 6.1 that the news values of proximity and currency had
been influenced by the Internet prompted a reappraisal of their positioning in the
curriculum and approaches to their teaching. Proximity is a fundamental news
value which takes its place in the foundational education of journalism students
about news ingredients and judgment, or “news sense” as it is known. Journalists
needed to be taught to recognise the capabilities of the Internet in evaluating
newsworthiness of stories. They also needed to learn to explore possibilities of
new topics in their reportage and to develop new approaches to reporting specialty
fields. This required curricular adaptations to include topics on such areas.
Journalists need to be given skills to reassess the notion of proximity as a
news value informing their news judgment. Students need the opportunity in the
curriculum to work through these kinds of questions: If the Internet does bring
people closer, does this mean it makes them more interested in news concerning
fellow world citizens, or perhaps only news of a certain type or that concerning
their particular real or virtual communities? What impact might the Internet have
upon the role of proximity as a news value for traditional media audiences? Part of
such assessment is the acquisition of better audience research skills recommended
above in order to fine-tune values such as proximity to the needs of their particular
audiences.
369
Immediacy or currency as a news value implies speed in the journalism
process. This has educational implications for those needing to impart these skills
to students. It requires imaginative, perhaps multi-stage approaches to news
packaging, a different news environment from the single daily deadlines so
familiar to most journalists in the traditional media, particularly print and
television. It requires the balancing of other considerations within a tighter
timeline. The data suggest the curriculum needs to proffer students skills in
assessing news events in time terms: when to report them instantly and when to
imbue them with the benefits of longer term analysis and interpretation.
Workshops can be designed to address this. Further, the curriculum might take up
the time issues of whether “instant” information transmission is still journalism as
we know it, albeit without the interpretation and analysis normally assumed.
Perhaps students need to consider “immediacy” rather than “currency” in news
value theory given this attribute of the new media. Scenarios testing the value of
proximity and currency in the Internet environment could be worked into the
curriculum in the form of news exercises and follow-up discussion.
Related to the news values of journalists are the topics they choose to report
upon, addressed at 6.1.2. Certain topics will not have been catered for before the
advent of the Internet, such as technological reporting with an emphasis on this
new medium. Students need to be made aware of the interplay between
journalism, audiences and media to make appropriate judgments on whether
certain reporting topics are relevant to their audiences. To this end, journalists
need skills in assessing news coverage in consideration of the new medium, its
capabilities, and changing audience needs. The journalism curriculum could do
with measures to teach students to do the above. This might involve tracking the
coverage across media to ascertain which are better suited to the coverage of
particular story topics. The whole notion of specialist reporting should be explored
in curriculum reviews, with the Internet advent a useful focus for such
examination. Media, particularly new media outlets, might reassess the need for
specialist reporters in the new context. Those which decide to retain specialists
will need to train them in the identification and accessing of relevant Internet
features, such as specialist Web sites. The journalism curriculum can recognise
370
these resource needs, along with the facility for the examination of future markets
for specialists.
Educational implications of influences on journalism research (See 6.2)
Section
Task or practice
Curricular measure
6.2.1 Techniques
Use Net to solicit sources and
Include Internet research
story leads.
unit in reporting course or
separate computerassisted research and
reporting (CARR) course.
Use Net to obtain contacts’
Include Internet research
telephone numbers.
unit in reporting course or
separate CARR course.
Use Net to advise colleagues of Include Internet research
breaking stories.
unit in reporting course or
separate CARR course.
Use Web search engines.
Include Internet research
unit in reporting course or
separate CARR course.
Determine currency of Web
Include currency
material.
assessment unit in
research course.
Search online databases of
Include effective
newspaper files over Web.
searching unit in research
course.
Develop logs of most useful
Include bookmark
Web links.
management unit in
research course.
Update Web offerings by
Include Web updating
regular browsing.
unit in research course.
Check authenticity of Net
Include Net verification
sources.
unit in research course.
Access government databases
Include database access
over Web.
unit in CARR course.
Break down large amounts of
Include information
data into meaningful pieces.
management in reporting
course.
Determine merits of CARR
Include software
software.
assessment unit in CARR
course.
Navigate idiosyncratic technical Include technical help
traps and coding issues of
component in CARR
particular sites.
course.
Seek out international data to
Assess international
enrich stories.
sources in research /
reporting course.
Use listservs to seek help.
Include in reporting
course.
Use lists to generate data to
Include in reporting and
enrich columns.
feature writing course.
Monitor and budget time spent
Include time management
on Internet activities.
component in reporting
course.
371
Educational implications of influences on journalism research (See 6.2)
Section
Task or practice
Curricular measure
6.2.1 Techniques (continued)
Assess merit of information
Ensure both covered in
available online versus offline.
research units.
Ensure the human element is
Include human vs.
adequately covered in technical technical comparisons in
stories.
reporting course.
Include audience analysis
6.2.2 CARR influences
Gauge value and relevance of
and proximity exercises in
international data to local
reporting classes.
audiences.
Discern the locations and
Build verification
allegiances and biases of Web
strategies into research
sources.
and reporting classes.
Cost the verification process.
Include time and cost
analysis in reporting and
management courses.
Determine legal, cultural and
Include such analysis as
ethical ramifications of using
part of reporting and law /
international sources.
ethics courses.
Categorise the type of Web
Include such
source available and use this as categorisation procedures
a guide to the usefulness and as into reporting classes.
an indication of bias.
Decide on electronic mail
Include PR contact pros
address being featured on PR
and cons in reporting
mailing lists.
curriculum.
Check authenticity of material
Build verification
by mailing colleagues or lists.
strategies into research
and reporting classes.
6.2.3 Relevance past techniques Assess suitability of software
Build technical
and hardware.
assessment into CARR
and editing classes.
Prevent, detect and combat
Build virus protection into
computer viruses.
CARR and editing
classes.
Solve software incompatibility
Build technical
problems.
assessment into CARR
and editing classes.
Overcome shortcomings with
Build search tool
search engines.
strategies into CARR and
editing classes.
Check bona fides of electronic
Build verification
mail correspondents.
strategies into research
and reporting classes.
Learn where to seek help
Include help seeking in
online.
reporting and editing
curricula.
Learn domain names (.com,
Basic theory for CARR
.org etc), Web addresses and
classes.
their relevance.
Develop strategies for
Include in CARR
accessing current information
curriculum.
before it has registered on
search engines.
Educational implications of influences on journalism research (See 6.2)
372
Section
6.2.3 Relevance past techniques
(continued)
Task or practice
Prioritise and manage time
spent on Net tasks.
Tidy cluttered desktops, both
screen and physical.
Label disks.
File printouts.
Use relational databases.
Negotiate and deal with
technical support staff.
Develop reading and sorting
strategies for dealing with bulk
electronic mail.
Assess costs of Internet usage.
Assess costs of government
material available online.
Assess whether new versions of
software justify expenditure.
Curricular measure
Include time management
in reporting and CARR
classes.
Include time /office
management in reporting
classes.
Include time /office
management in reporting
classes.
Include time /office
management in reporting
classes.
Include database
navigation in reporting
and CARR classes.
Include interpersonal
management in reporting,
editing and CARR
classes.
Include information
management strategies in
CARR and reporting
classes.
Include time and cost
analysis in reporting and
management courses.
Include time and cost
analysis in reporting and
management courses.
Build technical
assessment/ costing into
CARR and editing
classes.
Table 7.8: Curricular measures related to 6.2 Research.
Curricular measures emanating from the discussion of the influences upon
journalism research at 6.2 are displayed in table form in Table 7.8 above.
Journalists and journalism students already learn research skills. The curricular
implications stem from broadening that set of research skills to include Internetbased research. This requires educators to identify what new skills are needed for
the Internet-based research enterprise and what skills are no longer needed as a
result of this shift. Tasks and practices related to journalists’ research techniques
are discussed at 6.2.1. Journalists need to be able to solicit sources and story leads;
obtain contact details; advise colleagues of breaking stories; identify the best
Internet searching strategies and the best search engines; decide upon the most
suitable discussion lists and sites for the research purpose; quantify and budget the
time spent on this enterprise in relation to time spent previously on research;
determine the currency and authenticity of material; develop information
373
management skills; and convince management and peers of value of the Internet
research enterprise. Educators need to revise their curricula to allow for all of the
above (and additional items listed in Table 7.8 above), positioning Internet
research as a standard component in the journalistic research toolkit, as suggested
by Granato in Quinn (1997a, p. 86). Again, Schön’s (1987) reflective practice
approach comes into play here, because this pedagogy can be combined with
curricular innovations to develop reflective skills in journalists which allow them
to use Internet research skills appropriately for a given purpose.
Computer-assisted research and reporting (CARR), addressed at 6.2.2, had
already been offered as a specialty in many courses. The advent of the Internet
now launches it into the repertoire of general reporters, necessitating specialist
and parallel instruction in CARR skills as part of research units, along the lines
developed by Tapsall and Granato (1997). Newspaper industry leaders
interviewed by Massey (1996) in her Delphi study identified such skills as the
third most important skills which would be needed by newspaper journalists in the
new media environment. In deciding upon the curricular accommodation of
CARR, educators must recognise that Web access alone is not computer-assisted
reporting, as noted by Quinn (1997a, p. 85). CARR implies computer-based
research and analysis well beyond that available on the Internet, including
familiarity with government information systems and database software.
Educators must recognise that the Internet simply adds to a developed field of
reporting based upon computer access to public information. Curricular
innovations can include the expansion of CARR training to a broader entry level
as more journalists use computers in their reporting; the development of CARR
exercises across the Net to train reporters in accessing public information; and the
development of in-service courses for journalists on CARR techniques. Others are
detailed at Table 7.8 above.
Verifying the currency of sources and gauging whether they are current
enough for use in reporting is a basic journalistic technique. It was established in
Chapter 6 that journalists planning to use Internet sources needed to develop skills
in ascertaining the currency of information they used and in accessing up-to-date
374
information at a time when news was breaking. A revised curriculum might
include units giving journalists strategies for identifying the currency of Internetsourced information, such as strategies on finding dates in material or for
identifying contact details to check the date of material with sources. This might
extend to actually citing the date of the source in the reportage and allowing the
reader to decide whether it is current enough for their purposes. Such units might
include examples of outdated work with explanations of the resulting problems
generated for audiences and reporters.
A research attribute of the Internet identified in Chapter 6 was the
internationalisation of the sources journalists have available to them in their
reporting. Curricular additions might be aimed at educating journalists and
students on the kinds of international sources which might be useful in their
stories. This would involve imbuing skills in seeking out international precedents
for important local stories and international points of comparison for local stories.
Unit topics might explore examples of such stories with the use of international
sources; exercises in navigating the Internet most efficiently in search of such
data; developing schema for weighing up the value of such data within the
available deadlines; assessing audience needs, demands, expectations and comfort
zones vis a vis remote sources and international comparisons; skills in restricting
searches and list participation to sources of an acceptable distance; gauging the
value of material gleaned in terms of its proximity and any bias resulting from the
international nature of the medium; and developing contact lists of acceptable and
reliable international sources.
The analysis of Web resources used by journalists at 6.2.2.3 prompted a range
of curricular implications for journalism educators. Units might be incorporated
into the curriculum on strategies for rating the relative usefulness of a Web site to
the journalist’s purpose; shortcuts to improve efficiency in Web-based research;
and auditing of time and resources required to access such data.
The section on public relations operators’ access to journalists via the Internet
demonstrated potential positive and negative outcomes. Curricula might
375
accommodate units making students aware of such influences and developing
strategies for assessing the value of such information and its inherent biases. For
example, students can be taught to use discussion lists to ask their colleagues
about dubious material sourced online, warn colleagues about such material and
voice their concerns about the abuse of the medium for such purposes. Clearly,
journalists need to be imbued with skills to develop systematic authentication
procedures when dealing with such information and to investigate means of
balancing views in their stories. At a pedagogical level, students might be given
exercises requiring them to assess the biases inherent in certain Net-based
material, endowing them with a healthy scepticism in their information gathering
procedures. This might involve the development of authentication checklists,
accompanied by attribution strategies to alert readers to background biases or
alliances of the sources used. They can also be taught how to find sources which
might add balance or different shades of view to their stories.
At 6.2.3.1, the problem of technology failure was raised as an issue
confronting journalists using the Internet. Students and journalists need to be
prepared to cope with such failure. At pre-service level, students need to be made
aware of potential technical breakdowns and need to be trained to address them
within software capabilities. They also need to be taught backup, verification and
attribution protocols to minimise risk. At inservice level, journalists need such
training, but focussed more particularly on their own work situations. The
curriculum can feature examples which show such difficulties, with the
opportunity for students to work through solutions.
Another problem, identified at 6.2.3.2, was that of the time consumed by
Internet use. Educators need to make the Internet/time link for students so Internet
tasks can be weighed up against other journalistic tasks. This involves a
systematic and pragmatic approach to Internet usage, not simply as a toy with
unlimited time constraints, but as a research and publication facility with its own
set of properties and negotiable place in the journalistic enterprise. This can be
addressed at preservice and inservice levels, with perhaps more focus on
particular work situations at inservice level. The curriculum might include an
376
audit of research and publishing needs for various journalistic roles and the
exploration of the potential for Internet use within that schedule. It might also
include an audit of time spent on tasks, such as sifting through topics on
discussion lists. Students would need to be taught how to conduct such audits
using time management protocols. They would also need to be taught systematic
approaches to computer-assisted research and reporting (CARR), exploring the
relative value of CARR against traditional interviewing and research techniques in
both journalistic and time consumption terms.
A further Internet-related problem, identified at 6.2.3.4, was the dubious
authenticity of much Internet-sourced material. Students and working journalists
need to learn about such dangers and authentication methods. A worthy exemplar
of such curricular inclusion was that centred upon assessing the credibility of an
Internet site included in Ketterer’s (1998, p. 12) account of the subject centred
upon the production of the Digital Missourian, detailed in Chapter 2. There, a
laboratory-based subject had concrete curricular requirements highlighting the
importance of evaluating online resources. The curriculum might include units
designed to develop appropriate verification and attribution strategies so such
scams are made evident. Further, students might be taught to report upon such
scams to increase public and Internet community awareness of them.
377
Educational implications of the influences upon writing (See 6.3)
Section
Task or practice
Curricular measure
6.3.1 New/revised techniques
Assess the most suitable story
Include structural
structure for new media outlet.
assessment in reporting
classes.
Decide on suitability of
Include structural
inverted pyramid as a structure. assessment in reporting
classes.
Assess grammatical news form
Include grammar /
in the light of free-form
audience expectation
electronic mail structure.
assessment in reporting
classes.
Review the length of stories in
Include audience analysis
light of readers’ attention spans assessment in reporting
and the media form being used. classes.
Assess suitability of writing
Include high tech
forms such as abbreviations,
language / audience
brackets and smilies as these
expectation assessment in
become part of language for
reporting classes.
certain audiences.
Decide on the usefulness of
Explore multi-media
audio, java scripts, video, links, reporting options in
image maps and so on for a
reporting and editing
multi-media story.
classes.
Distinguish own views from
Include in reporting and
those of employers by
ethics curricula.
switching off electronic mail
signatures when appropriate.
Improve writing by accessing
Develop as advanced
specially designated Internet
writing skills for ongoing
resources such as the Writer-L
improvement in exit-level
listserv.
units.
Assess the suitability of new
Develop reappraisal of
media features such as click and traditional techniques in
point for older media such as
editing classes.
television and newspapers.
Table 7.9: Curricular measures related to 6.3 Writing.
The influences of the Internet upon the writing of journalists covered at 6.3
also has curricular implications as journalism educators face the challenge of
adapting their writing programs to cope with the potential for, and the reality of,
such change. The curricular measures suggested are detailed above in Table 7.9.
The major curricular challenge is to devise writing techniques which are adaptable
to the medium being used and the audience being addressed. A difficulty is in
gauging adaptability of audiences to new techniques; that is, in maintaining an
audience base while implementing change.
378
Educators need to work through the following kinds of questions with their
students in curricular modifications: What are the special features of this medium?
What writing techniques suit them best? How are our audiences used to receiving
information? Will these new ways be suited to them? How gradual should their
introduction be? Such issues might form part of workshops and the substance of
textbook and lecture materials.
The willingness to communicate in a variety of media was identified by
newspaper industry leaders surveyed by Massey (1996) in her Delphi study as the
fourth most important skill for the new generation of journalists. Specific
curricular measures for addressing such issues might be the inclusion of story
structure appraisal units in reporting classes; developing protocols for assessing
audience expectations on language use and new-tech writing forms;
experimenting with multi-media reporting options in reporting and editing classes;
accessing ongoing writing development programs such as Writer-L listserv over
the Net; and generally reappraising the writing enterprise by considering the tasks
and practices already mentioned in earlier discussion.
Educational implications of influences on editing/publishing (See 6.4)
Section
Task or practice
Curricular measure
6.4.1 Quality control
Post the warning message
“Hold for authentication” on
unverified correspondence
between journalists.
Review verification priorities in
light of new media.
Assess suitability of story for
interactive interviews.
Develop / hone Web production
skills.
Include in basic reporting
and CARR curricula.
6.4.2 Web production skills
Include in basic reporting
and CARR curricula.
Include in basic reporting
and editing curricula.
Include in editing and
multi-media curricula.
Table 7.10: Curricular measures related to 6.4 Editing and Publishing.
The curricular implications of the influences of the Internet upon journalism
quality control, addressed at 6.4, are substantial. They are itemised in Table 7.10,
but this tabulation fails to do them justice because many have arisen in the earlier
tables and they therefore do not appear again. The findings question the
fundamental base upon which most courses teach their writing: should it be
formula or creative, for the old media or the new, should there be remedial
379
grammar or is it not the responsibility of journalism educators? Curricular
modifications must first address foundational questions about the role of
journalism courses. One approach is to actually teach students grammar as part of
their journalism education, leading to curricular inclusions such as the “Crash
Course in Grammar” handouts in class at one institution (O972A0171). Another
approach suggested was to cull the poor writers early on in a program:
Before the drop deadline for Editing 1, we ought to give a good
spelling and grammar test. Students who show insufficient signs of
improving after receiving general guidance for self-study should be
strongly encouraged to step back and enrol in a remedial English
course, practise for a semester on their own (with the instructor’s
guidance) or take some other steps before coming back to editing a
semester. (O972A0176)
The influences of the Internet upon accuracy and verification techniques used
by journalists (6.4.1.1) also has curricular implications. Educators need to assess
the suitability of traditional verification techniques to the new environment before
they move to imbuing editors and reporters with skills in identifying the key
verification points for their online research. Educators face challenges in
reinforcing the need for accuracy throughout the curriculum and, further,
considering it in the context of the new Internet environment. Part of the curricular
innovation might involve students in developing verification protocols to ensure
accuracy.
There are several curricular implications of the identified need of Web
production skills (6.4.2). Educators face a range of choices in deciding how to
equip graduates with such skills at either pre-service or in-service levels. They
also need to recognise that the rapidly changing medium creates the necessity for
frequent curriculum reviews and adaptations. An obvious step is to develop Web
production skills as part of the editing and publishing curriculum. This allows
scope to explore the differences from, and similarities to, traditional publishing
methods. However, such a simple curricular solution does not necessarily
encourage the cross-disciplinary curriculum which many deem necessary for Web
380
production, incorporating multi-media expertise from radio, television, graphic
arts and print backgrounds. Clearly, another curriculum choice would be to create
stand-alone courses in this area to accommodate such diversity.
A range of potential intervening conditions arise when considering any of these
curricular measures, some of which have been alluded to in the data. They include
the adherence to entrenched past structures in journalism education curricula;
industry acceptance of traditional curricula; industry expectations and demands
upon courses including the policing of accreditation procedures and requirements;
and the limitations of resources and costs.
The data revealed that under conditions of the introduction of a new
technology such as the Internet, with clear influences upon journalism practice,
there were flow-on effects for the curriculum of journalism education. Curricula
were being revisited in the light of such influences and were being adapted
accordingly.
Curricular implications of the Internet’s influences upon journalism practice
include the reassessment of the curriculum in the light of the advent of the
Internet; the study of changing journalism practices and assessment of suitable
curriculum responses; the study of the Internet and development of possibilities
for curriculum inclusion; and the adaptation of the curriculum accordingly.
FINDING 7.3: The Internet has a range of implications for the curriculum of
journalism education, including the provision of a forum for curricular
debate; the sharing of curricula online; the incorporation of the Internet into
the curriculum in the form of Web publishing classes and multimedia
strands; the inclusion of technology-related skills and know-how; and the
inclusion of units teaching students how to deal with information overload.
Curricular measures have been developed and listed.
381
7.4 Outcomes
The fourth and final educational category to emerge during axial coding related to
the implications of Internet influences for educational outcomes. These included
implications for the anticipated or desired outcomes of the educational process,
particularly upon the skills and understandings expected of journalism graduates
and their opportunities for employment in a changing industry. It became apparent
that the Internet had the potential to influence greatly the educational outcomes of
journalism education, including professional outcomes like the level of
educational discourse, scholarly outcomes such as the sharing of research,
terminal outcomes like career placement, and market outcomes like the emergence
of a new forum for competition between courses .
The categories which emerged during axial coding explain the implications of
the Internet influences upon the outcomes of journalism education and are
illustrated in the tree form developed in the NUD.IST software in Figure 7.5.
7.4 Outcomes
Professional
discourse
Research and
publishing
Graduate
opportunities
Competition
Cost
Figure 7.5: Implications of Internet influences for the outcomes of journalism
education.
The Internet provided an avenue for ongoing professional discourse on
educational issues among journalists, educators and students. A wide range of
Internet-based publications became available to working journalists, allowing
them to keep abreast of professional issues as part of their in-service education.
An example was FACTNews, a digest devoted to free speech and privacy on the
Net, available via electronic mail subscription (C972A0033). Educators and
journalists took part in a continuous dialogue through discussion list debates,
giving each other insights into their thinking on important issues. This resulted in
a negotiation of new approaches to journalistic tasks, such as that which
382
developed when journalists and educators debated methods of interpreting road
accident statistics, discussed above at 6.2.1.2 (C972A0112).
At times such discussions developed into a forum for criticising and
evaluating work practices, such as that surrounding the Darwinian approach to
assigning design duties on daily newspapers:
The typical new employee learns design, for example, by being told
some holiday night that the normal design editor has called in sick
and, well, sorry, there’s no one else, so congratulations, you’re
designing Page 1 tonight. What results is the current state of poor
design that’s rampant online and in print. Without the perspective of
understanding what this is all about — the conveying of information
— we become deluged in decorative, imitative design practiced by
people who might be good writers or editors but who have become
Peter Principled into design roles ... The only path to learning it is a
learn-it-just-like-I-did-by-toughing-it-out approach. Talk about a
system for perpetuating good-old-boy networking! Such learning
systems work for some, but certainly not all. The more alike you are to
your predecessors, the more likely you are to be one of their
successors. (O972A0082)
Such a frank exchange between educators and practitioners would rarely have had
an outlet before the arrival of the Internet. Yet perhaps a negative outcome might
be the fact that the facility served to increase cynicism as discussants used the
forum to bounce their barbs off one another (O972A0106; O972A0108). Students
also took advantage of the opportunity to participate in such exchanges, with a
clear outcome being the potential for them to obtain feedback on their projects,
particularly Web sites they had helped construct (O972A0031; O972A0060).
Another educational outcome of the Internet influence was the use of the
technology for the sharing of research and teaching data (C972A0063). Educators
used the Internet, particularly discussion lists, as an avenue of research, often
putting out requests for article citations and co-operation from participants in
383
surveys (C972A0007). The Internet was also used to publicise the fruits of the
research. Educators and other researchers used the Internet to publish research
reports, such as the Web publication of the Freedom Forum’s analysis of media
coverage of the 1996 US election (C972A0009).
An outcome of clear benefit to journalism students was the use of the Internet
for graduate placement, both through advertising student availability to traditional
media outlets and through the creation of job opportunities in the new media
(O972A0032; O972A0094; O972A0123). The Internet was also used to advertise
and fill industry internships for student journalists, particularly those requiring
online skills, such as the SPJ Ward Neff internship at Quill magazine, which
required familiarity with “Internet, online services and desktop publishing”
(J972C0002). The creation of multi-media courses noted at 7.3 above prompted
questions over what industry planned to do with the graduates of such courses as
distinct from graduates of traditional journalism courses. There was evidence of a
shift in the journalism job market, with hybrid jobs seeking graphic
design/typography/multimedia/Internet authoring (J972A0003) and computer
publishing/graphic design (J972A0027). Web courses clearly led to job
opportunities for students, with one University of Oregon graduate reporting job
offers at a frequency of once per month after graduating (O972A0094). By late
1998 there was confirmation of this trend in the statistics on graduate placement
published by the Association of Educators in Journalism and Mass
Communication. Becker and Kosicki (1998, p.7) reported in the AEJMC News
that journalism recruits into the Web and online publishing field earned the top
salaries, in fact US$4320 per year above the median salary earned by those
entering traditional journalism fields.
While more opportunities arose, so did competition between journalism
courses. This occurred at the student level by attracting more entrants in student
competitions (S972A088). But, more importantly, the Internet offered a vehicle
for the comparison and contrast of the attributes of journalism courses for all the
world to see, particularly the industry and potential students (O972A0104).
Certainly, it allowed for greater comparison of courses in a more competitive
384
context, as evidenced by a query to the Journet list about discussants’
recommendations on European photojournalism programs (J972C0011). It also
afforded course administrators the opportunity to show industry their courses were
relevant to industry needs (O972A0092).
Related to competition between courses was the issue of the comparative cost
of such courses and the further matter of the cost of courses delivered online. An
educational outcome appeared to be upon the price of journalism education as the
“Internet has rapidly hastened competitive forces”, declared discussant Rick
Andersen (O972A0009). However, the effect might not have been as obvious as
simply driving down costs. To the contrary, one discussant argued that the higher
the cost, the more the demand for such courses (O972A0010).
There is also the potential for an attitudinal outcome stemming from
journalists’, educators’ and students’ exposure to the Internet, foreshadowed at
5.1.2.1, and categorised by Singer et. al. (1996, p.36) under the labels “Champion
of Change”, “Pessimistic Prophet”, “Laid-back Liberal” and “Skeptical Optimist”.
While most discussants emerged from the data as holding positive, optimistic
outlooks about the implications of the Internet for journalism, placing them in
Singer’s “Champions of Change” category, others had reservations such as those
related to new media squeezing important topics out of the curriculum,
exemplified at 7.2 and 7.3 above. As Singer et. al. (1996, p. 44) suggested,
attitudes to technology will underpin any educational experiences relating to the
Internet, and positive experiences with technology in education might in turn
influence the calibre of the experience in the workplace. Positive attitudes to the
Internet and technology are likely to enhance learning, both in preparatory and inservice contexts. Educators need to lay the foundation for informed views on
technology by creating positive learning experiences which maximise the benefits
individuals might gain from their use of the particular technology.
Such educational outcomes can arise at any point on the scale of processes,
since such influences can be generated by simple changes at the end point or by
long-term repercussions of other influences, perhaps those taking place in
385
industry. The educational outcomes influenced by the Internet shape the future of
journalism education and indicate its potential influence upon the industry. They
also reflect the complexity of the Internet influence, which is not a linear
phenomenon, but which has manifestations across all levels of the journalism and
journalism education experience. Thus, educational outcomes range from the
strictly pragmatic — more grammar in the curriculum — through to the highly
fundamental and problematic: Is there a role for journalism education as we have
known it in an age of new media?
Further research opportunities abound in the area of educational outcomes
brought about by the influences of the Internet upon journalism practice. They
include studies tracking the frequency and nature of journalist/educator exchanges
on discussion lists, the quantification of Internet-based co-operative research
projects, the reality of the new job market and the effects of the Internet upon
course pricing. Each is raised in Chapter 8.
FINDING 7.4: A range of educational outcomes have been prompted by the
impact of the Internet upon journalism practice. These include an increase in
the variety and level of professional discourse among journalists, educators
and students; educators’ use of the Internet as a vehicle for research and
publishing; a shift in the graduate placement opportunities available in
journalism; and a perceived increase in competition between journalism
courses with implications for their pricing.
7.5 Issues arising from this chapter and relationship to Chapter 8
This chapter has surveyed the educational implications of the influence of the
Internet upon journalism. It has explored the resource, pedagogical, curricular and
educational outcome implications, using both the discussion list data itself and the
fruits of the analysis in Chapters 5 and 6. There is a symbiotic relationship
between the Internet’s influences upon the occupation of journalism and its
repercussions for journalism education. Clearly, one informs the other, since any
386
change in the context and practice of the occupation must have implications for
the education of its practitioners. Given that quite substantial implications for the
context and practice of journalism have been identified in earlier chapters, there
are numerous resultant implications for journalism education.
Despite the extent of discussion of such issues on the lists, there is no way of
gauging how widely such influences are occurring. The rate and extent of the
adoption of educational resources, methods, curricula and outcomes influenced by
the Internet is beyond the ambit of this study but is certainly worthy of further
research.
Nevertheless, the evidence here suggests the nature of such influences. Some
are cosmetic influences which might easily be addressed with “Bandaid”
modifications to journalism programs. But others go to the very heart of the
mission of journalism, rendering many of the current approaches to the education
of journalists anachronistic. This demands a comprehensive re-evaluation of the
aim, role and function of journalism education in this daunting new media
environment. This conclusion leads to an answer to this study’s second research
question: “What are the implications of this for journalism education?” The
answer to that question, informed by the above discussion, takes the following
form, and is presented as Key Result 3:
KEY RESULT 3: Influences of the Internet upon both the context of journalism
and its practice render many current educational approaches anachronistic
and demand a re-evaluation of the aim, role and function of journalism
education.
This result, considered alongside Key Results 1 and 2, raises fundamental
issues which go to the very heart of the journalism and journalism education
enterprises. They form the basis of the discussion in Chapter 8, the Conclusion.
387
Chapter 8:
Conclusion
The Newest Journalism —
‘Multi-Journalism’
8.0 Introduction and chapter outline
This concluding chapter attempts to synthesise the major findings of this
document in a final statement of its significance and outline some opportunities
for further research arising from the analysis.
This thesis set out to develop theories about the influences of the Internet upon
journalism and its implications for journalism education, working from a data set
consisting of journalists’ and educators’ own discussions about this phenomenon
on electronic discussion lists.
It set out to attempt to answer these two key research questions:
1. What do journalists’ and their educators’ electronic discussions tell
us about the influence of the Internet upon journalism?; and
2. What are the implications of this for journalism education?
Two sub-questions were also identified as being important. They were:
a. How are the Internet's influences upon journalism best
categorised? and
b. What new tasks or practices have journalists adopted in their work
as a result of the use of the Internet?
The work drew upon grounded theory methodology to facilitate the emergence
of categories of the Internet’s influences. The researcher first reviewed the
relevant literature and conducted an exploratory study on the nature of a
discussion list as a data set (reported in Appendix 1), then proceeded to develop a
descriptive categorisation (or taxonomy) of the Internet's influences upon the
context and practice of journalism and its implications for journalism education.
The larger project used data gathered over a nine week period from four electronic
discussion lists used by journalists and journalism educators: CARR-L (Computer
Aided Reporting and Research List), Online-News (a list for those publishing
electronic newspapers), SPJ-net (that sponsored by the Society of Professional
Journalists) and Journet (a discussion list for journalism educators).
390
This was undoubtedly an ambitious project, with all of the three domains
examined — journalism’s context, its practice and its education — representing
bountiful research fields in their own right. While many doctoral studies are
microcosmic in their focus, this was unashamedly a “big picture” study, premised
on the researcher’s belief that there was a dire need for an overview which
mapped the field and built theory upon phenomena which surfaced in the process.
However, a shortcoming of such a broad-spanning analysis will undoubtedly be
its inability to pay meticulous attention to each of the topics and issues which
surface as “locations” on the “map”. The best that can be achieved within the
limitations of such a study is that the prospects for future research might be
identified along the way, providing signposts for future researchers. Such
opportunities are presented later in this concluding chapter.
8.1 Review of research questions and summary of findings
The study shows the Internet has had major influences upon both the context and
practice of journalism which have important implications for journalism
education. The Internet's actual influences upon journalism are identifiable and
numerous and include 169 new journalistic tasks and practices which have been
listed. The influences are so profound in some respects that they force a reevaluation of journalism and its purpose and are so significant that they
necessitate a review of the aims and practices of journalism education. These
major implications are addressed in the following section. In this section the
findings which emanated from the discussion and analysis in Chapters 5-7 are
reviewed. These findings have addressed the two key research questions and the
two sub-questions listed above. Research Question 1 was:
What do journalists’ and their educators’ electronic discussions tell us
about the influence of the Internet upon journalism?
This question has driven the study, and its answer lies in the minor results,
emanating from Chapters 5 and 6 reviewed in this section and in the core findings
discussed in the following section of this Conclusion. Research Question 2 was:
391
What are the implications of this for journalism education?
This question was addressed predominantly within Chapter 7. Its answer lies in
the combination of the minor results which emanated from that chapter and in the
core findings addressed in the following section of this concluding chapter. Two
sub-questions were also identified as being important. The first was:
How are the Internet's influences upon journalism best categorised?
The answer to this question can be found in the structure of the document itself,
with each of three Key Categories, 14 sub-categories, and 92 subsidiary
categories, combining to constitute a map or taxonomy of the influences of the
Internet upon journalism, featured in the NUD.IST chart form as Appendix 3 to
this document.
Category 1, addressed in Chapter 5, dealt with the influences of the Internet
upon the context in which journalism is practised. It focused on the key contextual
domains which underpin journalism and which are themselves being influenced
by the Internet. To this category were coded six sub-categories representing
identifiable influences of the Internet upon the context in which journalism is
practised, including: journalists’ culture; communication between each other; their
work environment; legal and ethical issues impinging upon them; the media in
which they work; and the audiences they serve.
Category 2, addressed in Chapter 6, dealt with the influences of the Internet
upon the actual practice of journalism. To this category were coded four subcategories under which were identified numerous influences of the Internet upon
the actual work journalists do; from the news values they ascribe to events,
through to the topics they choose for reporting, their research and writing
practices and their editing and publishing techniques. It was here that the 169 new
tasks and practices journalists emanating from the Internet’s influences were
introduced and discussed.
Category 3, addressing the implications for journalism education stemming from
the Internet’s influences, was presented in Chapter 7. Coded to this category were
issues and phenomena identified by discussants which shed light on the
392
educational implications of these influences. Four sub-categories emerged,
dividing the category into implications for educational resources, methods,
curricula and outcomes. Curricular implications of the emergence of the 169 new
tasks and practices were also discussed.
The final research question was Research sub-question b., which asked:
What new tasks or practices have journalists adopted in their work as
a result of the use of the Internet?
The answer to this constitutes the 169 new tasks and practices identified as
emanating from the influences of the Internet, featured in Chapter 6 at 6.5.3. It is
suggested, therefore, that each of the research questions driving this study have
been addressed in the discussion and analysis chapters.
The remainder of this section, addressing the numerous results of the project,
adopts the writing style in which grounded theory research is normally reported:
the telling of the story of the theories in a narrative form (Glaser, 1992).
The influences of the Internet upon journalism cannot be separated from the
context in which that journalism has occurred. The context in which journalism is
practised is a complex one, but can be divided into the following categories:
cultural, communicative, environmental, legal and ethical, media-related and
audience-related. Each of these key contextual domains has been subject to the
influence of the Internet.
Journalists were building virtual communities and a sense of camaraderie
through their Internet contact, representing a cultural shift which was an important
contextual influence upon their practice. Discussion lists particularly were sites of
social interplay along the lines described by Rheingold (1992). The Internet was
influencing the way journalists viewed themselves and others, affecting their
actions and interactions, representing a cultural shift in their professional
communities. It provided a new means of communication for journalists,
representing an important development in the communicative context in which
journalism is practised. The Internet had influenced the linguistic context in which
393
journalists worked, by adding to their vocabulary and providing them with ways
to describe themselves and their practices. Given that language is central to the
journalistic endeavour, this is an extremely important contextual influence. It
prompted both a perpetuation and a re-evaluation of long-held journalistic beliefs,
with some traditional views and approaches being reinforced by the advent of the
new technology, some amended by the influences, and others being challenged
and, ultimately, discarded. The international nature of the Internet was prompting
a re-evaluation of the mission of journalism and a comparison of alternative press
systems, representing a potentially major shift in the context in which journalism
was practised in many countries.
The advent of the Internet had spawned new roles and functions for journalists,
with at least eight new roles of journalists identified, indicating an important shift
in the cultural context of journalism and resultant changes in its practice.
Numerous new work opportunities had arisen for journalists in the new media,
both in their existing positions and in prospective ones. From the data 26 new job
titles emerged. However, some may not be “journalism” positions as such, but
technical information processing roles which involve little creativity. Others may
be traditional journalism positions repackaged with a new title in a new context.
There were also major influences upon the industrial context in which journalists
went about their work. Journalists whose work practices and conditions had been
transformed by this new technology were being forced to negotiate new
conditions. Changing tools of trade, work places, methods of dissemination and
productivity were prompting a restructuring of industrial relationships and
agreements. The changing journalistic work environment was demanding a range
of new technological understandings of journalists as a result of Internet
influences. Such technological know-how may well determine the journalist’s
work practices and continued relevance. Five categories of newsroom resources
stood to affect the extent to which the Internet was able to influence journalistic
practice: hardware, software, configurations of both, technical support and
training. These constituted a vital contextual ingredient in the work environment.
Significant changes to the legal environment in which journalism was practised
had been prompted by Internet ramifications. It had forced a reinterpretation and
re-evaluation of existing laws as they applied to journalism by demonstrating that
394
certain laws were inappropriate in this new context. Crucial legal dilemmas arose
for journalists to do with definitions and applications of publishing, distribution,
jurisdiction, ownership and access.
The advent of the Internet also added to the complexity of journalism ethics by
positing a whole new range of scenarios where journalists’ honesty and integrity
could be challenged. Five ethical categories arose as being of special concern:
deceit, commercial exploitation, netiquette, inaccuracy and intrusion. Each
showed evidence it had been complicated by the influences of the Internet.
Education and regulation were the key general issues needing attention.
The Internet had implications for traditional media in which journalists worked.
It prompted a major re-evaluation of the oldest medium, the newspaper.
Journalists and their organisations were faced with the decision over whether or
not to develop online services and make important adjustments to their market
positioning, staffing, audience relationships, corporate alliances, organisational
structures, editorial policies and resource allocations. Radio, too, was affected.
While some radio networks had been innovative with their move to Internet
broadcast, the new medium did not appear to add as much value to the radio
product as it did to other media products. While affiliations were forming to
develop quite extensive suites of radio programs, there seemed to be more
likelihood of radio being an extension of other Web products rather than the
backbone of innovative new packages. That said, there seemed to be substantial
scope for radio journalism resources and techniques being adapted to add a sound
component to Internet news packages, such as the live streaming of the audio of
important announcements. In television, networks attempted to establish an
Internet presence, mainly through alliances with other media outlets. Technical
shortcomings in the provision of vision to the new medium presented the major
hurdle. Attempts to overcome it resulted in a range of enterprising applications of
television to the new medium which promised to influence the practice of
television journalists and new media journalists incorporating vision into their
productions. A range of niche media industries, including magazines, wire
agencies and newsletters, were finding opportunities on the Internet and were
being forced to experiment with their offerings and redefine their territory in
response to market shifts related to the advent of this new medium. Non395
traditional media had also entered the news provision market on the Internet,
competing on an equal footing with sites developed by newspaper, radio and
television companies. Some were other large corporations such as software
developer Microsoft, while others were small, specialised, niche providers who
traded on subscriptions in their specialty areas. Each represented new
opportunities for journalists, at the same time presenting potential threats to their
sovereignty over information provision. Meanwhile, there was a significant
contextual shift in new media ownership, as the Internet presented opportunities
for hobbyists and other small players to start up as news providers with a
minimum of infrastructure, whereas traditional media were the preserve of the rich
and powerful.
Qualities of the medium impacted significantly upon the contexts in which
journalists practised their work. Related to the growing corporatisation of the
sector, the boundaries between the provision of news and the provision of other
content and services had become blurred in the new media environment, an
important contextual shift which had potentially huge implications for journalists
and journalism. Other qualities were also important. The Internet had rendered
international the fundamental geographical orientation of news media and
journalists. Further, it had injected a new capacity for currency or immediacy into
news media reportage which was already being used as an attraction to audiences
seeking news on important events. Disadvantages related to users’ expectations of
currency being frustrated by technical glitches or poor site maintenance. The
Internet allowed for more interactivity between users and the medium and content
providers looked to interactivity as a point of difference to attract subscribers. The
Internet was ephemeral by its nature, “written on the wind”, a significant
contextual consideration for journalists whose work would be published into this
transitory medium. It prompted consideration of precautionary practices such as
keeping back-up files of work, but also stood to impact on the actual research and
reporting enterprise of journalists. It presented a contextual shift in the mission of
journalism, part of which in newspapers traditionally had been as a medium of
record, reporting events for posterity.
Multi-media attributes of the medium led to influences upon publication design.
Journalists might be expected to practise in a design environment paying greater
396
attention to visual literacy and accounting for other qualities of the medium such
as interactivity, sponsorship and hypertextuality. The developing multi-media
capabilities of the Internet represented a key contextual consideration for the
practice of journalism, which needed to take account of text, graphics, animated
graphics, sound and vision in the new environment. Technical improvements to
the provision of video stood to transform the environment further. The Internet
offered almost limitless capacity for “channels” of news and information, a
significant contextual shift from traditional media where many publishing
resources were severely restricted by the need for publishing infrastructure and
licences. However, this quality of the Internet offered a further challenge to
journalists and media outlets: how to sustain an output of quality packaged
journalism to such an array of distribution channels.
A contextual development with substantial potential impact upon journalism was
the quest for profitability in a new medium. Attempts at making the Internet a
commercially viable vehicle for publishing prompted experimentation with
revenue-raising measures which challenged traditional assumptions about the role
of information, news and journalism in the media mix. Commercial pressures
stood to influence the journalistic endeavour in ways not encountered previously.
Market dynamics arose as an important phenomenon, particularly with regard to
understanding the nature of new audiences. The Internet presented journalists with
a unique mix of mass and niche markets, requiring a sophisticated understanding
of the communication purpose journalism was meant to serve in the circumstance.
There was evidence of Rheingold’s (1994) virtual community throughout the
Internet among former journalistic audiences, prompting important contextual
questions about the role of journalists in such communities and the obligations
they might face beyond those of the traditional mass media. The phenomenon of
“push” and “pull” technology is not new, but it is unusual to find the two
operating simultaneously in the one medium. The fact that journalists’ work might
be requested by some users but thrust upon others is a contextual consideration
which might inform their approach and their overall mission.
A diversity of views indicated the complexity and sophistication of the new
media audience. The Internet audience, or audiences, needed to be researched and
397
treated differently from traditional media audiences. For journalists, this was a
central contextual implication, since a well directed sense of audience underscored
the approach to, and ultimate success of, the journalistic enterprise.
The actual practice of journalism was being influenced in a number of ways,
with the most fundamental being the very definitions of what constituted “news”.
The importance of the news value of proximity was being re-evaluated and
adjusted as the format of news products and their target audiences changed.
Emphasis on the local in news selection and writing was changing according to
these dynamics. The notion of currency as a journalistic news value had also been
influenced by the advent of Internet publishing. The notion of instant news
breaking was being added to the factors considered by journalists in their news
judgment, with concomitant advantages and risks to the reporting enterprise. The
news value of the immediacy of Internet publishing also stood to influence the
strategies of traditional news providers. The advent of the Internet had also
influenced the actual topics journalists reported upon. Particularly influenced were
specialist reporters whose fields lent themselves to depth of specialist Internet
coverage via discussion lists, electronic mail newsletters and Web sites.
Traditional media outlets’ reporting topics were also impacted upon, particularly
their reporting of new technologies such as the Internet.
The medium was being used as a research tool by journalists, who were using
discussion lists to seek out sources and leads for stories, accessing Web sites and
using databases to gather information for stories. This presented a range of
challenges to journalists, including the acquisition of skills for such navigation,
attribution difficulties, and the need to ensure information was current.
Pre-Internet techniques of computer-assisted research and reporting (CARR) had
been enhanced by the advent of the Internet. CARR experts used the Internet to
share and improve techniques. More public information had become accessible
via the Internet and CARR practitioners were using this medium as a central tool
in their professional kits. CARR expertise was sought by employers. However,
Internet-related problems included the US-centricity of information, time
consumption, and difficulties with verification of Internet data. Internet-sourced
398
material was questionable as to its level of currency. Journalists needed to develop
strategies to ascertain the datedness of Internet-sourced data.
While the medium had influenced journalistic research practices and introduced
new techniques to the journalist’s research repertoire, there was a feeling that
some traditional research techniques, particularly those with a human element,
were worth preserving.
The Internet had made available to journalists a wide range of international
sources, impracticable to access previously for many reasons. This new
accessibility necessitated new decisions in journalists’ research processes as they
weighed up the value of such sources to their enterprise. Six categories of Web
resources used by journalists emerged, including: 1) Raw data requiring
journalists’ processing; 2) Data already structured by another body for their own
purposes; 3) Data structured specifically for Web publication by some other body;
4) Data structured for Web publication by a media/information group; 5)
Navigational sites acting as signposts to information on a topic; and 6) Sites
established specifically for journalistic research.
Some major research-related problems surfaced. Public relations operatives were
using the Internet as a tool by which to access and influence journalists. It was
being used as such by PR practitioners, individuals, corporations, organisations
and even nations. Some such approaches were quite subtle while others were more
direct. They also varied in their level of organisation, with evidence of systematic
attempts to gain direct electronic access to journalists. There was evidence of
technical failure associated with the Internet disrupting the journalistic research
enterprise in several ways and causing concern among journalists and journalism
educators. Examples included software glitches, bandwidth shortages and Internet
protocol difficulties. There was also evidence of user ignorance causing Internet
usage problems. The Internet proved time consuming for journalistic research.
Examples of time wasting activities included the processing of electronic mail and
other software, sorting reams of information, seeking help with technical
problems, and inefficiencies in Internet searching and Web navigation.
399
The lack of authenticity in source materials was a research problem facing
journalists using the Internet. Dubious marketing strategies through to actual
scams and deceptions for sinister purposes plagued journalistic research.
Journalists needed to develop effective verification strategies to ensure the
authenticity of research material.
There were also cost concerns associated with the use of the Internet for
journalistic research, particularly to do with the prospective costs of Internet
access and the costs of accessing government data. However, most were seen as
potential cost issues rather than existing ones.
Journalistic writing was also undergoing Internet-related influences. The use of
the technology had prompted a re-evaluation of writing techniques used by
traditional media and the development of new techniques for new media. There
were indications the Internet was being used by journalists to improve their
writing and that audiences were becoming more discerning in their appreciation of
journalism writing. Some new media writing forms such as electronic mail short
forms showed the potential for adaptation into traditional media. The medium
prompted a revisiting and, to a large extent, a reinforcement of traditional
journalistic writing techniques and an appreciation of the relative importance of
writing and reporting to the journalism enterprise.
Journalists’ editing and publishing techniques were under review. The medium
had influenced journalism quality control mechanisms, including most
importantly accuracy and its associated verification procedures, but also at a
general level with the establishment of industry bodies and as a forum for the
comparison of news products.
Accuracy and its quality control mechanism of verification were being both
challenged and enhanced with the advent of the Internet. The instantaneous and
widespread delivery of unverified information via the Net presented substantial
challenges to journalism practice, while discussion lists represented a useful
vehicle for verifying dubious material.
Journalists were being called upon to perform new production related tasks to
prepare news for Internet publication, representing an important shift in the
400
definition of what it means to be a “journalist” and presenting challenges to
journalism educators who might be expected to prepare graduates for such tasks.
Journalists had adopted at least 169 new tasks or practices in their work as a
result of the influence of the Internet. Of course, not all journalists had adopted all
new tasks and practices as part of their work. Some were restricted to small
sections of the media. Some traditional journalists may have adopted none of
these new tasks or practices as yet. However, such tasks and practices were
already a reality for at least some journalists.
Educational implications of the Internet’s influences were numerous. A range of
implications for the resources being used in journalism education emerged,
including the degree of access to them; increased dialogue about their usefulness;
sharing of them among educators; and the development and offering of
exclusively Internet-based resources. Textbooks were being reassessed as to their
value in the light of Internet-based alternatives, while others were in need of
updating to account for the advent of the Internet.
Methods used in journalism education were also being impacted upon. The
development prompted a sharing of teaching methods, a reassessment of
pedagogies which had been used previously and an experimentation with new
methods and modes of delivery, most notably with the trial of a variety of
Internet-based delivery of courses.
Curricular implications included the provision of a forum for curricular debate;
the sharing of curricula online; the incorporation of the Internet into the
curriculum in the form of Web publishing classes and multimedia strands; the
inclusion of technology-related skills and know-how; and the inclusion of units
teaching students how to deal with information overload. The 169 new journalistic
tasks and practices identified prompted curricular modifications addressing each
of the skills involved.
A range of educational outcomes were brought about by the impact of the
Internet upon journalism practice. These included an increase in the variety and
level of professional discourse among journalists, educators and students;
educators’ use of the Internet as a vehicle for research and publishing; a shift in
401
the graduate placement opportunities available in journalism; and a perceived
increase in competition between journalism courses with implications for their
pricing.
There was a symbiotic relationship evident between the Internet’s influences
upon the occupation of journalism and its repercussions for journalism education.
Each impacted upon the other, since any change in the context and practice of the
occupation must have implications for the education of its practitioners.
8.2 Key results and articulation of the theory of “Multi-Journalism”
Key Results emerged from the discussion and analysis in each of chapters 5, 6 and
7, and the combination of those key results led to the development of a Core
Result and a Core Category which represents the cornerstone of the study in
accordance with grounded theory principles (Strauss, 1987, p. 69).
Chapter 5, addressing the influences of the Internet upon the context in which
journalism is practised, culminated in the following result:
Key Result 1: The context in which journalism is practised is itself
being influenced markedly by the advent of the Internet. This has
profound implications for the very raison d’être for journalism as a
social institution and raises serious questions about its future role and
direction.
The narrative above is testimony to the extent of those influences, demonstrating
the Internet had impacted upon journalists’ culture; their communication between
each other; their work environment; legal and ethical issues impinging upon them;
the media in which they worked; and the audiences they served. The influences
were substantial and far-reaching, justifying the questioning of journalism’s future
role as a social institution, a topic taken up below.
Chapter 6, in addressing the influences of the Internet upon the actual practice of
journalism, led to the following result:
402
Key Result 2: The very practice of journalism has been transformed
in numerous identifiable ways through the use of the Internet. While
the quantification of these influences is beyond the realms of this
study, its manifestations have been documented here. They span the
depth and breadth of journalism practice, with monumental
implications for the way journalists go about their work.
Those “monumental implications” are also evident in the narrative description
presented in the section above. They extend to the values journalists use to
determine the newsworthiness of stories; the actual topics they report upon; their
research techniques; their approaches to writing; and their quality control
techniques in their editing and publishing. It was demonstrated that in certain sites
the work of journalism had been transformed markedly.
The discussion and analysis in Chapter 7 led to the formulation of Key Result 3,
dealing with educational implications of the above influences. Discussion of this
result is best left until the end of this section, following the discussion of the Core
Category, however as a background to that discussion the result alone is listed
here:
Key Result 3: The influences of the advent of the Internet upon both
the context of journalism and its practice have been so profound that
they render current approaches anachronistic and demand a
comprehensive re-evaluation of the aim, role and function of
journalism education.
As evidenced by the above analysis and the research reported in the literature
review in Chapter 2, there is no doubt that journalism and, by implication, its
education, has been undergoing a major transformation as a result of the advent of
the Internet. The narrative above gives ample indication of the kinds of influences
which have impacted upon the context in which journalists work, the methods of
reportage they undertake, and the resultant educational needs of those planning a
career in the field.
The extent of that transformation is such that it has prompted some, such as
Jurgensen and Meyer (1992) and Postman (in Fulton, 1996, pp. 22-23), to
403
challenge the very future of journalism as it has been known by questioning the
purpose journalism serves in the new communication context. With the new
media allowing for much more choice and interactivity, such scholars have
pondered the suitability of mass media techniques of reportage and distribution.
Newhagen and Levy (1998, pp. 9-21) questioned the continuing relevance of
journalism as an occupation and practice in their study of the relationship between
the function of journalism and the new distributed communication architecture
being used for its dissemination on the Internet. They suggested the new
architecture had moved the position of the journalist from the “narrow neck” of
the information flow, stripping the occupation of much of its social power as
gatekeeper to the news and moving the burden of verification back to the audience
(Newhagen and Levy, 1998, p. 9 and 17). The journalist’s agenda-setting role
might change to that of a “pathfinder”, offering guidance to audiences through the
complex Internet environment (Newhagen and Levy, 1998, p. 18). The occupation
“information specialist” might replace that of “journalist”, they contended
(Newhagen and Levy, 1998, p. 20). Aufderheide (1998, p. 54), too, suggested a
less crucial role for journalists as the “facilitators of responsible public discussion,
not the guardians of public knowledge”. Singer (1998) contended that journalists
were adjusting their role to add importance to their functions of quality control
and “sense-making”.
Postman cast his challenge with the question: “What is the problem to which the
profession of journalism is the solution?” (Fulton, 1996, p. 22), suggesting the
reasons for its development in earlier centuries may no longer exist. Having gone
through the process of identifying, mapping and discussing the influences of the
Internet upon journalism and its education in this document, we might now turn
our attention to this larger question as we review the Core Result and the Core
Category.
The core, overarching result of the study represents a synthesis of all three of the
category-based key results and addresses the totality of the research questions
posited. It is the conceptualisation that grounded theory research deems the “Core
404
Category”, the fulcrum for an all-encompassing theory grounded in the data which
is the focal point of the study (Strauss, 1987, p. 69).
The Core Category and the Core Result are detailed here:
Core Category: The Newest Journalism: “Multi-Journalism”
Core Result: The influences of the Internet upon the context in which
journalism is practised and upon the very practice of journalism itself
are so momentous that they represent the emergence of an endeavour
which, while retaining many of the characteristics of journalism as it
has been known, is too fragmented, multi-dimensional and multipurposed to be classified as such, a notion which has profound
implications for journalism education. The term “Multi-Journalism”
has been coined to describe this new manifestation of journalism as an
occupation.
The conditional matrix illustrating the Core Category appears below in Figure
8.1.
THE NEWEST JOURNALISM: MULTI-JOURNALISM
Context
INTERNET
INTERNET
Core Category
‘MULTI-JOURNALISM’
A disparate combination
of new and old practices
under negotiation.
Fragmented
Multi-dimensional
Multi-purposed
JOURNALISM
EDUCATION
Resources
Methods
Curriculum
Outcomes
INTERNET
INTERNET
Context
Figure 8.1: Conditional matrix showing the Core Category “Multi-Journalism”.
405
The term “Multi-Journalism” has been coined to encapsulate the multidimensional nature of journalism as it emerged from the analysis. While some of
the scholars cited above were pessimistic about the transitional role of journalism
and its longer term prospects, the data suggested journalism was not dying, but
was transforming into a disparate combination of new and old practices at
multiple sites, serving numerous social purposes. Whether or not they boasted
new media titles such as Content Editor, Producer or Webmaster, a common
thread of journalism linked the discussants simply because they appeared to view
themselves as journalists. Thus, on the one hand, the term “journalism” and its
accompanying complex meanings founded in history and tradition, should not be
discarded. However, the influences of the Internet meant that this occupation,
while retaining many of the qualities of journalism as it has been known, was now
too fragmented, multi-dimensional and multi-purposed to be classified as such,
and was better prefixed by “Multi” to encapsulate this complexity.
The new term might accommodate the complex mosaic of occupations and
practices which might emerge from the Internet influence within the journalism
domain, ranging from the new media positions mentioned above through to the
traditional provincial newspaper reporter whose role will undoubtedly continue
for the foreseeable future. Equally, it might account for the computer-assisted
reporter using sophisticated database searching techniques to undertake
investigative journalism as well as the “information specialist” as described by
Newhagen and Levy (1998, p. 20) who might provide information processing or
Internet navigation services.
Whether the work undertaken by such individuals at multiple sites and for
multiple purposes is still “journalism” will be dependent upon their own
conceptions of that function, their self-perception, and the judgment of their
societies and audiences. Thus, “Multi-Journalism” is a movable entity, changing
its guise according to the social roles and functions it performs and the shifting
conceptions of its practitioners and its constituents.
The Core Category also allows us to move some way towards answering
Postman’s question: “What is the problem to which the profession of journalism is
the solution?” (Fulton, 1996, p. 22). “Multi-Journalism” offers multiple solutions
406
to a diverse range of problems in a complex array of contexts, all centred upon the
provision of reliable news and information for the social good. Such solutions
might be as a “pathfinder” through the Internet environment (Newhagen and
Levy, 1998, p. 18), an “information specialist” (Newhagen and Levy, 1998, p. 20),
a “facilitator of responsible public discussion” (Aufderheide, 1998, p. 54), or as a
quality controller or “sense-maker” (Singer, 1998). Or they could find meaning in
a host of other social functions for a range of audiences or clients. Nevertheless,
despite the diversity of their roles and occupational sites, they would be bound by
commonalities of meaning in their conception of “journalism”.
How do we educate journalists for this new “Multi-Journalism” occupation? We
thus return to the result emanating from the discussion and analysis in Chapter 7:
Key Result 3: The influences of the advent of the Internet upon both
the context of journalism and its practice have been so profound that
they render current approaches anachronistic and demand a
comprehensive re-evaluation of the aim, role and function of
journalism education.
Just as there are already many different forms of journalism, encapsulated in the
term “Multi-Journalism”, so too are the educational needs of journalists many and
varied. While Chapter 7 suggested some educational strategies for addressing new
tasks and practices journalists faced in the new environment, it is beyond the
ambit of this project to develop a broader educational plan. However, the literature
reviewed and the data analysis offer some starting points.
As noted in Chapter 7, some of the influences of the Internet upon the context
and practice of journalism are minor, and might be addressed by cosmetic
modifications to journalism programs. However, others strike at the heart of the
journalism enterprise, making much of journalism education as it stands
anachronistic. For example, the typical journalism course offers news writing,
research and production aimed at the three distinct traditional media: newspapers,
radio and television. Multi-media writing and research skills, audience analysis,
and the new media context are typically ignored. In short, the industry for which
407
such courses have been preparing their students is the one snap-frozen in the
1980s, rather than the one they will need to encounter in the new millenium.
The notion of “Multi-Journalism” calls for both adaptability and specialisation in
journalism programs. Students will need to be adaptable in order to cope with
inevitable change in their occupations as technologies are developed and social
roles are adjusted. They will also need the opportunity to specialise and find
suitable niches in the multi-dimensional, fragmented information sector. Allen and
Miller’s (1997) argument for the adoption of a “reflective practice” approach to
journalism education seems to offer potential as a pedagogy suited to the new
environment. It is the professional education method articulated by Schön (1987),
involving the placement of a reflective practicum at the centre of a vocational
program, linking the educational environment with that of the workplace. Allen
and Miller (1997) suggested it had the potential to equip students to deal with
frequent change in the post-Internet journalistic environment, since it allows for
controlled exposure to challenging new journalistic scenarios.
At a curricular level, Massey’s (1996) Delphi study provides some useful
direction. Her surveys addressed newspaper industry changes the experts expected
in coming years, the skills newspaper journalists would need and how they might
acquire these skills. Massey (1996) identified the following top three predicted
changes for newspapers:
1. More demands for staff with computer expertise.
2. More part-time and contract work.
3. Serious questions regarding copyright.
She identified the following top five predicted skills needed by journalists:
1. The need to keep learning and changing what they do and how
they do it.
2. Better understanding of the readership of newspapers.
408
3. Computerised
information-gathering
techniques
and
data
manipulation techniques.
4. Willingness/ openness to communicate via a variety of media.
5. Ability to work independently.
Massey’s (1996) findings sit well with those of this study and offer useful starting
points for a reinvention of the journalism curriculum, given that most of the points
raised would play a relatively minor role in most existing journalism programs.
Combined with the reflective practice approach of Schön (1987), it might provide
the starting point for a dynamic, adaptable, client-driven approach to education for
the new era of “Multi-Journalism”.
8.3 Directions for further research
Throughout the discussion and analysis in Chapters 5-7 there have been numerous
suggestions of opportunities for further research. As mentioned above, the nature
of this project as a large scale survey of the broader terrain of the influences of the
Internet upon journalism practice and education has prevented detailed
examination of many issues which have arisen. In this section the opportunities
mentioned in the body of the text as signposts for future researchers are reviewed.
•
The project was structured around data gathered from computer-literate
journalists and educators participating in discussion lists. Further research
could be carried out with journalists who do not use the Internet or discussion
lists to draw broader, more representative, conclusions.
•
The project was based predominantly on journalists using the Internet in
Western, democratic societies, mainly North America. Enough evidence of
differences between their approaches and needs and those of journalists
elsewhere, particularly in developing nations, justifies research focussing on
such journalists and countries.
409
•
The new social roles performed by journalists, or perhaps by other information
professionals instead of journalists, has huge potential for further exploration
into the backgrounds and attitudes of those performing such roles.
•
Related to this is the interpersonal relationship dynamic in the traditional
journalism newsroom as new tasks are brought into practice. The phenomenon
is worthy of research into which media professionals are performing which
roles in the transforming news rooms and the nature of the resulting
organisational hierarchy relationships.
•
The technological imperative in the journalist’s work environment raises
important research questions about the continuing role of those lacking
competence in new technologies and the continued relevance of their
traditional journalism roles and techniques in the new environment.
•
The area of changing news values and topics is deserving of longitudinal
analysis and quantification. Content analysis might play a role here, answering
questions such as: What new topics are traditional media reporting upon as a
result of the Internet’s advent? How often are Web site and electronic mail
addresses being cited? What is the rate of such change?
•
Quinn’s (1998b, p. 241) important finding of widespread variations in Internet
take-up among reporters on Australian metropolitan and regional daily
newspapers is worthy of follow-up work to give it a longitudinal perspective.
Similar work might be conducted in other countries and among other media.
•
The importance of currency as a research imperative prompts questions about
the changing mix of currency and journalism generally. Does the intervention
of a journalist delay the telling of a story for too long now that audiences have
other means of direct access to the actual sources of the material? This
deserves the attention of sophisticated audience-based research.
•
Journalists’ quality control mechanisms should also be studied in the new
environment. Does currency or up-to-datedness of journalism by definition
mean there must be less verification and more inaccuracy in reportage? Do
audiences want currency or reliability, or at what point in the continuum do
410
they find reasonable expectation of both? This could be addressed through
case studies of reporters in action, along with developing schema for assessing
and comparing story quality.
•
The internationalisation of news sources prompted a range of questions left
unanswered by the data field, yet worthy of further research. They included:
Can international sources work effectively for localised traditional journalism,
such as community newspapers or regional television? To what extent are they
already being used by such outlets? How amenable are audiences to
internationally sourced material? How tolerant are international contacts of
using their time corresponding or talking with foreign reporters when there
may be no direct benefit forthcoming? Given the availability of international
sources, are journalists now less likely to seek out local sources on important
issues? Is US-centricity really a problem or is it just that information is being
internationalised, albeit with a US flavour? Such questions suggest a variety of
research techniques and methodologies.
•
Journalists’ use of Web-based sources prompts research into the investigation
habits of traditional journalists now that such technologies are available.
Research questions include: What non-Web sources are journalists still using?
What place does the Web resource really play in the scheme of a journalist’s
work? How do they know when to access the Web and when to access preexisting resources? What time and resources are journalists allocated in order
to access such data? What training are they given? How do they rate the
relative usefulness of Web sites? Such questions might be addressed by
surveys or by intensive time and motion studies of journalists at work.
•
Similarly, a cost analysis would be useful in quantifying the price of
traditional news rooms converting to Internet operation.
•
The 169 new journalistic tasks and practices identified from the nine week
data collection period might be expanded and prioritised with a longer study or
a more intensive study of journalists’ work in particular workplaces. Such
work is important because it lays the foundation for educational strategies
411
designed to imbue students with skills to enable them to perform such tasks
and practices. It might also be quantified by case study and survey research.
•
The issue of journalism educators’ use of the resources identified is worthy of
further research beyond the findings of Panici (1998). Worthy of particular
research focus are the comments of Somera (1997, p. 85) and Quinn (1997b,
p. 139) which suggest potential inequities in resource access for students in
developing countries and for those studying in distance education programs.
Research might suggest the minimum resource base needed for the teaching of
“Multi-Journalism”.
•
The take-up and sustainability of Internet delivery of journalism courses, or of
materials for such courses, is worthy of monitoring and reporting in further
research.
•
Educators should be encouraged to report upon their curricular and
pedagogical experiments with accommodating “Multi-Journalism”. For
example, the results of attempts at marrying computer courses with journalism
courses into hybrid offerings should be shared with the education community,
along the lines of experiential reports by Tapsall and Granato (1997),
Gunaratne and Lee (1996), Thompson (1995) and Williams (1997).
•
Assessment of whether education and training needs are best targeted at the
pre-service or in-service levels is worthy of exploration, perhaps drawing upon
survey and focus group methodologies.
•
Further research opportunities abound in the area of educational outcomes
brought about by the influences of the Internet upon journalism practice. They
include studies tracking the frequency and nature of journalist/educator
exchanges on discussion lists, the quantification of Internet-based co-operative
research projects, the reality of the new job market and the effects of the
Internet upon course pricing.
•
The rate and extent of the adoption of educational resources, methods,
curricula and outcomes influenced by the Internet is beyond the ambit of this
study but is certainly worthy of further research.
412
It can be seen that research possibilities are plentiful. Judging by the spate of
Internet-related research to be published since 1995, there is little doubt that many
of these gaps will be filled in the near future, as the Internet continues to grow and
transform, and as its relationship with traditional occupations and practices like
journalism is continually renegotiated.
413
Appendices
Appendix 1: Exploratory study
An exploratory study was conducted of the content of discussions on a single list
over one week in order to ascertain the potential usefulness of such lists as a
source of data for the larger project and to help identify features of the data which
might inform the larger theory-building project. At this stage, it was felt a simple
quantitative content analysis best served this exploratory purpose. It was not
proposed that further content analysis be conducted during the main part of the
study. All messages to the discussion list Journet (discussion list for journalism
educators) for the first week of November, 1994, were downloaded and saved and
a simple frequency distribution was calculated along with a simple content
analysis. Basic data about the discussions were quantified. The volume of
correspondence was measured and absolute and relative frequencies were
calculated for key indicators, including participation levels, roles as originators of
messages or respondents, and genders and nationalities of participants. The
content analysis involved the assignation of terms to the primary topic discussed
in each message and the communicative purpose of each item (announcement,
discussion, etc.). Their frequencies were also recorded. More sophisticated
analyses such as correlations and cross-tabulations were not performed. It was
thought these would prove misleading unless performed upon a larger sample over
a longer period. This might be a worthwhile topic for further research, however it
fell outside the scope of this study.
Some of the decisions about which of the data should be subject to simple
frequency analysis were relatively straightforward, informed in part by studies by
Garramone, Harris and Anderson (1986); Swift (1989) and Ogan (1993). These
included tabulations of the numbers of messages in the list over the week, the
level of participation of subscribers, the length of messages, the genders and
nationalities of participants and whether the messages were original messages or
replies to other messages.
Journet was billed in Okerson (1994, p. 365) as containing “topics of interest to
journalists and journalism educators”. During the week of data collection there
was a total of 84 messages received. The discussion amounted to 25,250 words,
416
with the average length of a message being 300 words (excluding addressing
coding, but including excerpts of previous messages to which the author may have
been replying.)
Of the total 84 messages, 53 (63%) were original messages, while 31 (37%)
were replies to other participants’ messages. The fact that almost one third of the
messages were responses reflects the degree of interactivity of the medium and
seems to confirm Rafaeli and LaRose’s (1993, p. 291) designation of CMC as a
“many-to-many” communication medium. However, it is worth noting just 59
(6.8%) of Journet’s then 872 subscribers participated during the week. This was a
considerably lower participation rate than the 31% recorded by Ogan (1993),
although it should be noted that her study was over a one month period at a
particularly volatile time. Nevertheless, other studies of bulletin board users have
recorded even higher participation rates (Garramone, Harris and Anderson, 1986;
Swift, 1989). Perhaps in the light of this, Rafaeli and LaRose’s (1993, p. 291)
designation of CMC as a “many-to-many” communication medium might be
redefined as “few-to-many”. Follow-up studies might seek to explain this
relatively low participation level, which renders more than 90% of registrants
“lurkers” — subscribers who observe rather than participate in the debate. (Or,
worse still, but evidenced by some correspondence to the lists, subscribers who do
not know how to remove themselves from the list.)
This was reinforced by an analysis of the participation rates of discussants.
Table 1 shows that only two of the 59 participants (3.4%) contributed five or more
messages, while 47 (80%) contributed only one message during the week. One of
the two frequent contributors could not be considered a “discussant” per se, in that
he was simply posting to the Journet list announcements about industrial award
negotiations.
417
No. of messages
Contributors
1
47
2
6
3
3
4
1
5
1
6
-
7
1
Total
59
M = 1.5 messages per contributor. Mode = 1 message per contributor.
Table 1: Messages on the Journet discussion list (November 1-7, 1994).
The findings are comparable with Ogan’s (1993) analysis of the Turkish
Electronic Mail List which averaged 5.8 messages per contributor over a one
month period. Also consistent with the findings of others (Garramone et al., 1986;
Rafaeli, 1986; Swift, 1989; and Ogan, 1993) was the domination of male and
American discussants. Gender was not always identifiable, but at least 65 of the
messages (77%) were contributed by men. Americans were by far the most
prevalent contributors, with 81 (96%) of the messages originating from the United
States, two (2.3%) coming from Canada and a single contribution from Britain.
This was despite a significant number of non-American addresses featuring
among the subscribers’ lists, with both Australia and Europe particularly well
represented. This phenomenon added weight to the assertions of commentators
such as Poster (1994, p. 76) who feared the cultural and political consequences of
an Internet dominated by US users:
The dominant use of English on the Internet suggests the extension of
American power as does the fact that e-mail addresses in the US alone
do not require a country code. The Internet normalises American
users.
418
This issue will be revisited later in the study.
A deeper understanding of the content necessitated more subjective allocation of
discussion topics into units which could be counted and analysed. As O’Sullivan
(1983, p. 52) pointed out, “the most problematic part of content analysis is the
categorisation, that is how to choose and classify units to be counted”. It was
decided that each of the messages should be subjected to two distinct
categorisation processes: one reflecting the topic being discussed and the other
addressing the communicative purpose of the particular message.
As can be seen from Table 2, the data of the exploratory study presented five
general topic areas under discussion, classified as education, journalism,
technology, social and other. Each of these featured a number of sub-topics (13 in
all) which indicated a further refinement of the topic being discussed. Messages
were only allocated a single categorisation in this process, necessitating the coder
to decide which was the dominant topic of discussion where more than one topic
may have been mentioned in the one message.
419
Topic
Frequency
Education (total)
25
- Courses (comparison)
3
- Curriculum
12
- Pedagogical approaches
10
Journalism (total)
19
- Practice (including ethics)
10
- Industrial issues
9
Technological (total)
32
- Equipment
18
- Net Administration
3
- Internet
8
- Netiquette
3
Social (total)
- Convention planning
1
1
Other (total)
7
- Employment issues
1
- Positions vacant
6
Total
84
Table 2: Messages coded for discussion topic
A note of caution should be issued on the interpretation of such results. Since they
only represented a single week of discussion, they were easily skewed by the
course of that week’s debate. A single topic might never have been discussed on
the list previously and might never be discussed again, but in this particular week
might well have been the focus of debate. It should also be realised that the topics
should not be considered in isolation and that other factors may impact upon them.
For example, it might seem that Journet discussants have a strong interest in
industrial issues. In fact, the nine messages listed under the topic on the Journet
420
list were simply bulletins posted by the Wire Service Guild about their
negotiations with Associated Press. They generated no discussion from
participants.
Despite the limitations of the classification process, the results offer a number
of points for discussion. Most importantly for the larger project at hand, the most
popular discussion area on Journet was about technology, dominated by debate
over the most suitable ways of equipping journalism teaching labs and of using
the Internet for research and publishing purposes. This demonstrated the high
potential of such lists as a source of data for the larger project analysing
journalists’ and educators’ discussions of the influence of the Internet upon
journalism.
It should not be unexpected that more than one quarter of the discussion on the
Journet list related to educational issues. Despite their separate topic
classifications, the distinction between curriculum and pedagogical approaches is
considerably blurred, with most discussion involving a combination of both and
the topic allocation being decided on the basis of most dominant theme.
Surprisingly, the Journet discussion of journalism was limited, particularly
when the nine bulletins on industrial negotiations are deleted from the total. The
balance was 10 messages about the practice of journalism, particularly journalism
ethics, representing less than one eighth of the overall discussion on the list.
The most noteworthy aspect of the “other” category in Table 2 was the ongoing
use of the lists to discuss employment prospects and to post job advertisements.
The six messages of position vacant advertisements indicated a usage of
discussion lists as a “one-to-many” as distinct from “many-to-many” form of
communication. For such advertisers, Journet became a convenient and
inexpensive way of directly marketing a job ad to what was then 872 target
readers internationally — a sensible adjunct to traditional advertising options.
The second strand to the categorisation process was to adjudge the
communicative purpose of each posting to the lists. Table 3 shows that each
message was designated as having one of six communicative purposes:
discussion, query, help given, announcement, net administration or banter.
421
422
Communicative purpose
Frequency
Discussion
31
Query
19
Help Given
15
Announcement
15
Net Administration
3
Banter
1
84
Total
Table 3: Messages coded for communicative purpose
More than one third of the messages were categorised as “discussion” —
displaying the characteristics of either generating or taking part in debate on an
issue. This, it would seem, is the primary purpose of such a “discussion list”.
Gilster (1993, p. 194) called it a “platform for exchanging ideas”. Clearly, its
dominant function was to do exactly that, with slightly fewer than half of
Journet’s messages in that category. Just as clearly, half the time the medium was
used it was for a different purpose, with the seeking (“Query”) and giving (“Help
Given”) of assistance combining to be the most popular use of the lists (34 of the
84 messages). The kinds of assistance sought and offered ranged across the
spectrum of topics are listed in Table 2. The “helping out” phenomenon served to
reinforce the schema of “community” as raised by Rheingold (1994, p. 13). It also
promised value as a site for exploration of journalists’ and educators’ use of
technology in their work, demonstrating their willingness to ask others in the
discussion list community for assistance in the use of technology.
The posting of announcements was the next most prominent usage in this
particular week. This reiterated the point made earlier about job advertisements —
many were comfortable using the medium as they would the traditional mass
media, for one-to-many communication. This took the form of posting
423
announcements for the information of the general list community, introducing
oneself as a new subscriber, and redistributing messages found on other lists or in
other media.
The remaining categories of communicative purpose figured only marginally in
the total week’s messages. Each — banter and Net administration — represented
“noise” on the discussion lists which fell outside the primary purpose of idea
exchange. “Banter” is the exchange of pleasantries and humour which might
sometimes strike a chord of collective support on the list, but more often raises the
hackles of other participants because of its trivial waste of time and online
connection costs. Net administrative messages are in some cases necessary evils
of the medium (for example, list owners advising participants of changed
procedures) and in other cases public demonstrations of the ignorance of
participants (for example, not being aware that basic subscription commands
should be sent to a central server, not the discussion list generally). Only four of
the 84 postings fell into these three groups, a result that other list members might
well have found encouraging.
The above analysis indicates the high value that participants on Journet placed
on the information sharing capabilities of the list. Many of the examples of the
exchange of knowledge during the week in focus were to do with the influence of
the Internet upon journalism. These kinds of exchanges, across four discussion
lists at a later period, formed the data for the qualitative analysis in the study
proper. The exploratory study used a quantitative content analysis of one of the
lists to demonstrate that there is material suitable for the grounded theory analysis
proposed. It showed that much of the discussion on the list would not in fact
inform the major study which was concerned with the influence of the Internet
upon journalism and its implications for journalism education. It prompted the
inclusion of a new step in the procedures outlined later in this chapter: the need
for a preliminary sort of the discussions to determine those which inform the
study. This data reduction process ensured the grounded theory analysis was
focussed on meaningful data. The exploratory content analysis therefore served its
purpose, using a different methodology to “test the waters” of a comparable data
pool.
424
Appendix 2: Discussion list analysis breakdown by week
[Legend: Prefix letter signifies particular discussion list used;
C = CARR-L list, J = Journet list, O = Online-News list, S = SPJ-L list.
972, 973, 974 signifies year and month.
A-D designates week of that month.
Thus, C972B is the CARR-L list messages (C) posted February, 1997 (972) in the
second week (B).]
972A - All lists - Sorted 1997 - 526 total: 396 used (75%), 130 saturated (25%)
C972B - Sorted 19-2-98 - 89 total: 28 used (31%), 61 saturated (69%)
J972C - Sorted 24-2-98 - 20 total: 12 used (60%), 8 saturated (40%)
O972D - Sorted 26-2-98 - 114 total: 62 used (54%), 52 saturated (46%)
S973A - Sorted 9-3-98 - 110 total: 30 used (27%), 80 saturated (73%)
C973B - Sorted 13-3-98 - 69 total: 22 used (32%), 47 saturated (68%)
J973C - Sorted 1-4-98 - 12 total: 1 used (8%), 11 saturated (92%)
O973D - Sorted 20-3-98 - 164 total: 65 used (40%), 99 saturated (60%)
S974A - Sorted 26-3-98 - 113 total: 13 used (11.5%), 100 saturated (88.5%)
Overall: 1217 total: 629 used (52%), 588 saturated (48%).
425
Appendix 3: List of 110 categories
(1)
/Context of J-Practice
(1 1)
/Context of J-Practice/J's culture
(1 1 1)
/Context of J-Practice/J's culture/Community-camaraderie
(1 1 1 1)
development
/Context
(1 1 2)
/Context of J-Practice/J's culture/J's perceptions and attitudes
(1 1 2 1)
technology
/Context of J-Practice/J's culture/J's perceptions and attitudes/Attitudes to
(1 1 2 2)
values
/Context of J-Practice/J's culture/J's perceptions and attitudes/Upholding old
(1 1 3)
/Context of J-Practice/J's culture/Mission
(1 1 3 1)
/Context of J-Practice/J's culture/Mission/Press systems
(1 1 3 2)
/Context of J-Practice/J's culture/Mission/Changing role of journalists
(1 2)
/Context of J-Practice/Communication
(1 2 1)
/Context of J-Practice/Communication/Language
(1 2 1 1)
/Context of J-Practice/Communication/Language/New tech words
(1 3)
/Context of J-Practice/Work environment
(1 3 1)
/Context of J-Practice/Work environment/Industrial issues
(1 3 1 1)
/Context of J-Practice/Work environment/Industrial issues/Freelancers
(1 3 1 2)
/Context of J-Practice/Work environment/Industrial issues/Job hunting on web
(1 3 2)
/Context of J-Practice/Work environment/Technology
(1 3 3)
/Context of J-Practice/Work environment/Newsroom resources
(1 3 4)
/Context of J-Practice/Work environment/New opportunities
(1 3 4 1)
/Context of J-Practice/Work environment/New opportunities/Job types
(1 4)
/Context of J-Practice/Legal and ethical issues
(1 4 1)
/Context of J-Practice/Legal and ethical issues/Legal issues
(1 4 1 1)
/Context of J-Practice/Legal and ethical issues/Legal issues/Intellectual property
(1 4 1 2)
/Context of J-Practice/Legal and ethical issues/Legal issues/Fraud
of
J-Practice/J's
culture/Community-camaraderie/Co-operative
426
(1 4 1 3)
/Context of J-Practice/Legal and ethical issues/Legal issues/Free speech
(1 4 1 4)
/Context of J-Practice/Legal and ethical issues/Legal issues/trade practices
(1 4 1 5)
/Context of J-Practice/Legal and ethical issues/Legal issues/defamation
(1 4 1 6)
/Context of J-Practice/Legal and ethical issues/Legal issues/Privacy
(1 4 1 7)
/Context of J-Practice/Legal and ethical issues/Legal issues/FOI
(1 4 2)
/Context of J-Practice/Legal and ethical issues/Ethical issues
(1 4 2 1)
/Context of J-Practice/Legal and ethical issues/Ethical issues/Netiquette
(1 4 2 2)
/Context of J-Practice/Legal and ethical issues/Ethical issues/Invasion of privacy
(1 4 2 3)
/Context of J-Practice/Legal and ethical issues/Ethical issues/Advertorials
(1 4 2 4)
/Context of J-Practice/Legal and ethical issues/Ethical issues/Self-regulation
(1 4 2 5)
/Context of J-Practice/Legal and ethical issues/Ethical issues/Subterfuge
(1 5)
/Context of J-Practice/Media
(1 5 1)
/Context of J-Practice/Media/Medium type
(1 5 1 1)
/Context of J-Practice/Media/Medium type/Newspapers
(1 5 1 2)
/Context of J-Practice/Media/Medium type/Radio
(1 5 1 3)
/Context of J-Practice/Media/Medium type/TV
(1 5 1 4)
/Context of J-Practice/Media/Medium type/Magazines and ezines
(1 5 1 5)
/Context of J-Practice/Media/Medium type/Miscellaneous
(1 5 1 5 1)
/Context of J-Practice/Media/Medium type/Miscellaneous/Newsletters
(1 5 1 5 2)
/Context of J-Practice/Media/Medium type/Miscellaneous/Encyclopaedia
(1 5 1 5 3)
/Context of J-Practice/Media/Medium type/Miscellaneous/CD-roms
(1 5 1 6)
/Context of J-Practice/Media/Medium type/New media
(1 5 1 7)
/Context of J-Practice/Media/Medium type/Non-news services
(1 5 2)
/Context of J-Practice/Media/Qualities of new media
(1 5 2 1)
/Context of J-Practice/Media/Qualities of new media/Internationalisation
(1 5 2 2)
/Context of J-Practice/Media/Qualities of new media/hobby web publishers
(1 5 2 3)
/Context of J-Practice/Media/Qualities of new media/Profitability
(1 5 2 4)
/Context of J-Practice/Media/Qualities of new media/Web page design
(1 5 2 5)
/Context of J-Practice/Media/Qualities of new media/Mass vs. Niche
(1 5 2 6)
/Context of J-Practice/Media/Qualities of new media/Contrasts with old values
427
(1 5 2 7)
/Context of J-Practice/Media/Qualities of new media/Sense of Community
(1 5 2 8)
/Context of J-Practice/Media/Qualities of new media/Pull vs. push
(1 5 2 9)
/Context of J-Practice/Media/Qualities of new media/interactivity
(1 5 2 10)
/Context of J-Practice/Media/Qualities of new media/Multi-channelling
(1 5 2 11)
/Context of J-Practice/Media/Qualities of new media/Ephemeral nature of...
(1 5 2 12)
/Context of J-Practice/Media/Qualities of new media/Impact of advertising
(1 5 2 13)
/Context of J-Practice/Media/Qualities of new media/Video capability
(1 5 2 14)
/Context of J-Practice/Media/Qualities of new media/Threat to existing forms
(1 6)
/Context of J-Practice/Audiences
(2)
/J-Practice
(2 1)
/J-Practice/News values and topics
(2 1 1)
/J-Practice/News values and topics/Proximity
(2 1 2)
/J-Practice/News values and topics/Currency
(2 1 3)
/J-Practice/News values and topics/Unusualness
(2 1 4)
/J-Practice/News values and topics/Topics
(2 1 4 1)
/J-Practice/News values and topics/Topics/New tech
(2 1 5)
/J-Practice/News values and topics/Specialist reporting
(2 2)
/J-Practice/Research
(2 2 1)
/J-Practice/Research/Techniques
(2 2 1 1)
/J-Practice/Research/Techniques/International comparisons
(2 2 1 2)
/J-Practice/Research/Techniques/Net as research mechanism
(2 2 1 2 1)
/J-Practice/Research/Techniques/Net as research mechanism/CAR
(2 2 1 3)
/J-Practice/Research/Techniques/Relevance of old techniques
(2 2 2)
/J-Practice/Research/Sources
(2 2 2 1)
/J-Practice/Research/Sources/Currency
(2 2 2 2)
/J-Practice/Research/Sources/International nature of sources
(2 2 2 3)
/J-Practice/Research/Sources/Web resources used by Js
(2 2 2 4)
/J-Practice/Research/Sources/PR influence
(2 2 3)
/J-Practice/Research/Problems
(2 2 3 1)
/J-Practice/Research/Problems/New tech failure
428
(2 2 3 2)
/J-Practice/Research/Problems/Time consumption
(2 2 3 3)
/J-Practice/Research/Problems/Privacy
(2 2 3 4)
/J-Practice/Research/Problems/Scams
(2 2 3 5)
/J-Practice/Research/Problems/Cost
(2 3)
/J-Practice/Writing
(2 3 1)
/J-Practice/Writing/listservs
(2 3 2)
/J-Practice/Writing/Relevance of old writing techniques
(2 4)
/J-Practice/Editing and publishing
(2 4 1)
/J-Practice/Editing and publishing/Relevance of old techniques
(2 4 2)
/J-Practice/Editing and publishing/Quality control
(2 4 2 1)
/J-Practice/Editing and publishing/Quality control/Verification
(2 4 2 2)
/J-Practice/Editing and publishing/Quality control/Accuracy
(2 4 2 3)
/J-Practice/Editing and publishing/Quality control/Grammar
(2 4 3)
/J-Practice/Editing and publishing/Web production skills
(2 4 3 1)
/J-Practice/Editing and publishing/Web production skills/Multi-media publishing
(3)
/Educational
(3 1)
/Educational/Resources
(3 1 2)
/Educational/Resources/Textbooks
(3 2)
/Educational/Methods
(3 2 1)
/Educational/Methods/Web courses
(3 3)
/Educational/Curriculum
(3 4)
/Educational/Outcomes
(4)
/List information
(5)
/Saturated or useless
429
References
Abernathy, J. (1993, January). Casting the Internet: a new tool for electronic
newsgathering. Columbia Journalism Review, 31, 56.
Adam, G.S. (1989). Journalism knowledge and journalism practice: the problems
of curriculum and research in university schools of journalism. Canadian Journal
of Communication, 14, 70-80.
Agar, M. (1991). The right brain strikes back. In Fielding, R. & Lee, R. (Eds.).
Using computers in qualitative analysis. (pp. 181-194). Berkeley: Sage.
Allen, C. (1994, August). The Internet, distribution lists and gatekeeping. Paper
presented to the Communication Technology and Policy division of the
Association for Education in Journalism and Mass Communication Annual
Convention, Atlanta.
Allen, R. & Miller, N. (1997, August). Reflective practice in journalism
education. Paper presented at the annual meeting of the Association for Education
in Journalism and Mass Communication, Chicago, Illinois.
Altheide, D.L. & Johnson, J.M. (1994) Criteria for assessing interpretive validity
in qualitative research. In Denzin, N.K. & Lincoln, Y.S. (Eds.). Handbook of
qualitative research. (pp. 485-499). Sage: Thousand Oaks.
Arant, M. (1996). Going online to teach journalism and mass communication.
Paper presented at the annual meeting of the Association for Education in
Journalism and Mass Communication, Anaheim, California.
Aufderheide, P. (1998). Niche-market culture, off and on line. In Borden, D.L. &
Harvey, K. (Eds.). The electronic gravevine. Rumor, reputation, and reporting in
the new on-line environment. (pp. 43-57). Mahwah, New Jersey: Lawrence
Erlbaum Associates.
Bailey, K.D. (1987). Methods of social research (3rd ed.). New York: Free Press.
429
Bailey, R.W. (Ed.). (1982). Computing in the humanities. Amsterdam: NorthHolland.
Ball-Rokeach, S.J. & Reardon, K. (1988). Monologue, dialogue and telelog. In
R.PO. Hawkins, J.M. Wiemann & S. Pingree (Eds.). Advancing communication
science: Merging mass and interpersonal processes. Newbury Park, CA: Sage.
Becker, L.B & G.M. Kosicki. (1998, November). Job market looks favorable for
JMC graduates. AEJMC News, 1-7.
Bigum, C. & B. Green. (1993, May). Changing classrooms, computing and
curriculum: Critical perspectives and cautionary notes. Australian Educational
Computing, 6-16.
Borden, D.L. & Harvey, K. (Eds.). (1998). The electronic gravevine. Rumor,
reputation, and reporting in the new on-line environment. Mahwah, New Jersey:
Lawrence Erlbaum Associates.
Breen, M. (Ed). (1998). Journalism theory and practice. Sydney: Macleay Press.
Bromley, R.V. (1994). Journalists assess computers’ value in covering US Courts
of Appeals. Newspaper Research Journal, 15 (1), 2-11.
Bryman, A. (1988). Quantity and quality in social research. London: Unwin
Hyman.
Campbell, L.M. (1994, August 4). Some items I look for in a thesis prospectus
(Methods Section). QUALRS-L discussion list [Online]. Available E-mail:
[email protected]. [1994, August 4].
Christopher, L.C. (1998). Technology and journalism in the electronic newsroom.
In Borden, D.L. & Harvey, K. (Eds.). The electronic gravevine. Rumor,
reputation, and reporting in the new on-line environment. (pp. 123-142).
Mahwah, New Jersey: Lawrence Erlbaum Associates.
Church of Scientology Case. (1996). Religious Technology Center and Bridge
Publications Inc. v. Netcom On-Line Communication Services Inc., Dennis Erlich
and Tom Klemesrud dba Clearwood Data Services, US District Court for the
Northern District of California, 21 November 1995, [1996] 2 ENT. L.R. 48.
430
Compaine, B.M. (1980). The newspaper industry in the 1980s: An assessment of
the economics and technology. Knowledge Industry Publications: White Plains,
New York.
Compuserve Case (1991) (Cubby v. Compuserve Inc), 776 F Supp 135.
Concise Macquarie dictionary. (1986). Sydney: Doubleday.
Cork, G. (1992). 2001, technology and the writer. Australian Author, 24 (3), 1517.
Cumbow, R.C. (1996). The legal frontier of the Internet 1. Communication Law
Bulletin, 15 (2), 11-14.
Cunningham, S. & Finn, M. (1996). Media theory and the Internet. Media
International Australia, 80, 84-92.
Curran, J. (1991). Rethinking the media as a public sphere. In P. Dahlgren & C.
Sparks. (Eds.).Communication and citizenship: Journalism and the public sphere
in the new media age. (pp. 27-57). Routledge: London.
December,
J.
(1992-1999).
“The
December
List.”
Computer-Mediated
Communication Information Sources. http://www.december.com/cmc/info/ [1999,
February 28].
December, J. (1996). Units of analysis for Internet communication. Journal of
Communication, 46 (1), 14-38.
Denzin, N.K. & Lincoln, Y.S. (Eds.). (1994). Handbook of qualitative research.
Sage: Thousand Oaks.
DeSanto, B. (1998, August). On-line or off-base? A pilot study to determine
undergraduate
student
perceptions
about
offering
a
journalism/
mass
communication course on the Web. Paper presented at the annual meeting of the
Association for Education in Journalism and Mass Communication, Baltimore,
Maryland.
431
Dozier, D.M. & Rice, R.E. (1984). Rival theories of electronic newsreading. In
R.E. Rice. (Ed.).The new media: Communication, research and technology. (pp.
103-127). Beverly Hills: Sage.
Editor & Publisher Interactive (1998). E&P MediaINFO Links Online Media
Directory [World Wide Web] Available:
http://www.mediainfo.com/ephome/npaper/nphtm/statistics.htm [1999, January
16].
Elasmar, M. & Carter, M. (1996, Summer). Use of e-mail by college students and
implications for curriculum. Journalism and Mass Communication Educator, 51
(2), 46-54.
Emmert, P. & Barker, L. (1989) Measurement of communication behaviour. New
York: Longman.
Everett, D.R. & Ahern, T.C. (1994). Computer-mediated communication as a
teaching tool: A case study. Journal of Research on Computing in Education,
26(3), 336-357.
Fielding, R. & Lee, R. (Eds.). (1991). Using computers in qualitative analysis.
Berkeley: Sage.
Fitzgerald, M. (1998, October 10). Paid print classifieds at risk from surge of free
Web ads. Editor and Publisher, 8.
Flew, T. (1998, August). From censorship to policy: rethinking media content
regulation and classification. Media International Australia, 88, 89-98.
FNC. (1995) FNC Resolution: Definition of 'Internet'
[Online]. Available:
http://www.fnc.gov/Internet_res.html [1996, September 21.]
Friedland, L. & Webb, S. (1996, Autumn). Incorporating online publishing into
the curriculum. Journalism and Mass Communication Educator, 51 (3), 54-65.
Fulton, K. (1996, March/April). A tour of our uncertain future. Columbia
Journalism Review, 19-27.
Gans, H. (1980). Deciding what’s news. New York: Vintage Books.
432
Garramone, G.M., Harris, A.C. & Anderson, R. (1986). Uses of political computer
bulletin boards. Journal of Broadcasting and Electronic Media, 30, 325-339.
Garrison, B. (1995). Computer-assisted reporting. Hillsdale: Lawrence Erlbaum
Associates.
Garrison, B. (1998). Newspaper use of the World Wide Web and other online
resources. Paper presented at the south-east colloquium of the Association for
Education in Journalism and Mass Communication, New Orleans.
Gay, L. R. (1987). Educational research: competencies for analysis and
application. (3rd ed.). Columbus: Merrill Pub. Co.
Gerson, E. (1984). Qualitative research and the computer. Qualitative Sociology.
7, 61-74.
Gilster, P. (1993). The Internet navigator. The essential guide to network
exploration for the individual dial-up user. New York: John Wiley & Sons.
Glaser, B.G. & Strauss, A.L. (1967). The discovery of grounded theory: Strategies
for qualitative research. New York: Aldine de Gruyter.
Glaser, B.G. (1992). Basics of grounded theory analysis. Mill Valley, CA.:
Sociology Press.
Gordon, T.F. (ed). (1995, February). Communication Abstracts: An International
Information Service. 18 (1).
Granato, L. (1998). The chain-link model of the news process. In Breen, M. (Ed).
(1998). Journalism theory and practice. (pp. 37-51). Sydney: Macleay Press.
Green, K. (1994). Computer-assisted reporting — sources from cyberspace.
Australian Studies in Journalism. 3, 219-230.
Green, K. (1997, December). Online and undercover. Discovering the boundaries.
Australian Journalism Review. 19 (2), 24-30.
Gunaratne, S. & Lee, B. (1996, Summer). Integration of Internet resources into
curriculum and instruction. Journalism and Mass Communication Educator. 51
(2), 25-36.
433
Gurevitch, M., Levy, M.R. & Roeh, I. (1991). The global newsroom:
convergences and diversities in the globalization of television news. In P.
Dahlgren & C. Sparks. (Eds.). Communication and citizenship. Journalism and
the public sphere in the new media age. (pp. 195-216). London: Routledge.
Hahn, H. & Stout, R. (1994). The Internet complete reference. Berkeley: Osborne
McGraw-Hill.
Hammersley, M. & Atkinson, P. (1989). Ethnography principles in practice.
London and NY: Routledge.
Hansen, K.A., Ward, J, Conners, J.L. & Neuzil, M. (1994). Local breaking news:
sources, technology and news routines. Journalism Quarterly. 71 (3), 561-572.
Harper, C. (1998). And that’s the way it will be. News and information in a digital
world. New York and London: New York University Press.
Harrison, T & Stephen, T. (1992, June). On-line disciplines: computer mediated
scholarship in the humanities and social sciences. Computers and the Humanities.
26, 181-193.
Heeter,
C.
(1989).
Implications
of
new
interactive
technologies
for
conceptualising communication. In J.L. Salvaggio & J. Bryant (Eds.). Media use
in the information age: Emerging patters of adoption and consumer use (pp. 221225). Hillsdale, NJ: Lawrence Erlbaum Associates.
Hesse-Biber, S., Dupuis, P., & Kinder, T.S. (1991). HyperRESEARCH, a
computer program for the analysis of qualitative data with an emphasis on
hypothesis testing and multimedia analysis. Qualitative Sociology. 14, 289-306.
Hobsbawm, E. & Ranger, T. (1983). The invention of tradition. London:
Cambridge University Press.
Holt, M., Kleiber, P. & Swensen, J. (1998, Summer). Facilitating group learning
on the Internet. New Directions for Adult and Continuing Education. 78, 43-51.
Hsia, H.J. (1988). Mass communications research methods: A step-by-step
approach. Hillsdale: Lawrence Erlbaum.
434
Huber, G.L., & Garcia, C.M. (1991). Computer assistance for testing hypotheses
about qualitative data: The software package AQUAD 3.0. Qualitative Sociology.
14, 325-348.
Huberman, A.M. & Miles, M.B. (1994). Data management and analysis methods,
In Denzin, N.K. & Y.S. Lincoln. (Eds.). Handbook of qualitative research.
Thousand Oaks: Sage.
Hutchinson, S.A. (1988). Education and grounded theory. In Sherman, R.R. &
R.B. Webb. (Eds). Qualitative research in education: focus and methods. East
Sussex: Falmer Press.
Internet Society. (1995). Internet survey reaches 6.6 million Internet host level. In
Internet
Society
Home
Page
[World
Wide
Web]
Available:
http://info.isoc.org:80/infosvc/press/020895press.txt [1996, September 19].
Jensen, K.B. & Jankowski, N.W. (Eds.). (1991) A Handbook of Qualitative
Methodologies for Mass Communication Research. London: Routledge.
Johnson, Graham. (1994). Computer-based research for journalism. Australian
Studies in Journalism, 3, 201-218.
Johnson, J.T. (1994). Applied cybernetics and its implications for education for
journalism. Australian Journalism Review. 16 (2), 55-66.
Jurgensen, K. & Meyer, P. (1992). After journalism. Journalism Quarterly. 69 (2),
266-272.
Kaid, L.L. & Wadsworth, A.J. (1989) Content analysis. In P. Emmert & L. Barker
(Eds.). Measurement of communication behaviour. (pp. 197-217). New York:
Longman.
Kennedy, K.L. (1997) Media management motivations for going on-line.
Unpublished MA Thesis, College of Fine and Professional Arts, Kent State
University, Kent, Ohio.
Kerlinger, F.N. (1986) Foundations of behavioural research (3rd ed.) New York:
Holt, Rinehart & Winston.
435
Ketterer, S. (1998, Winter). Teaching students how to evaluate and use online
resources. Journalism and Mass Communication Educator, 52 (4), 4-14.
Kiesler, S.S & McGuire, T.W. (1984). Social psychological aspects of computer
mediated communication. American Psychologist,. 39 (10), 1123-1134.
Kincheloe, J. L. & McLaren, P.L. (1994). Rethinking critical theory and
qualitative research. In N.K. Denzin & Y.S. Lincoln. (Eds.). Handbook of
qualitative research. (pp. 138-157). Sage: Thousand Oaks.
Kirkpatrick, A.J. (1996). The beat goes online: US newspaper journalists and the
World Wide Web. Unpublished MA Thesis, School of Journalism and Mass
Communication, University of Colorado: Boulder, Colorado.
Kliethermes, M.F. (1997). The Internet and its impact on media relations.
Unpublished honors thesis, Department of Journalism, College of Liberal Arts and
Sciences, Butler University, Indianapolis.
Knight, A. (1995). Signposts to Asia and the Pacific: The Internet and the future
of foreign reporting. In J. Tully (Ed). Beyond 2000: Future directions in
journalism education. Proceedings from the Journalism Education Association
annual conference, 6-8 December 1995, (pp. 343-354). Christchurch, New
Zealand: University of Canterbury.
Koch, T. (1991). Journalism for the 21st century: Online information, electronic
databases and the news. New York: Greenwood Press.
Larsen, P. (1991) Media contents. Textual analysis of fictional media content. In
Jensen, K.B. & Jankowski, N.W. (Eds.). A Handbook of Qualitative
Methodologies for Mass Communication Research.,
(pp. 121-134). London:
Routledge.
Lawbaugh, W. (1996, Winter). College newspapers are plugging into the world.
College Media Review. 33 (4), 7-9.
Lee, K. & Fleming, C. (1995, Autumn). Problems of introducing courses in
computer-assisted reporting. Journalism Educator. 50 (3). 23-34.
436
Leonard, T. (1992). Databases in the newsroom: Computer-assisted reporting.
Online. 16 (3), 62-65.
Leonhirth, W. (1998, Winter) Review of McGuire et. al. The Internet Handbook
for Writers, Researchers and Journalists. Journalism and Mass Communication
Educator. 52 (4), 91-92.
Levine, H.G. (1985). Principles of data storage and retrieval for use in qualitative
evaluations. Educational Evaluation and Policy Analysis. 7 (2), 169-186.
Lincoln, Y. & Guba, E. (1985). Naturalistic inquiry. Beverly Hills, CA: Sage.
Lloyd, C. (1985). Profession: Journalist. A history of the Australian Journalists’
Association. Sydney: Hale & Iremonger.
Lloyd, C. (1993). Multi-media and journalism education. In Morgan, F. (Ed.) New
views on news. Proceedings from the Journalism Education Association annual
conference, November 29 - December 2 1992, University of Newcastle. (pp. 107119). Department of Communication and Media Arts, University of Newcastle:
Newcastle, NSW.
Lule, J. (1998, August 7). The power and pitfalls of journalism in the hypertext
era. Chronicle of Higher Education. 44 (48), B7-B8.
Macarthur, J. (1995, December) Fear and loathing in cyberspace. Medialine, 4,
10-11.
Macquarie Dictionary (1987) Second edition. Sydney: Macquarie Library.
Makulowich,
J.
(1995).
The
Journalism
List.
[Online].
Available:
http://www.jou.ufl.edu/commres/jlist.htm [1995, January 24].
Makulowich, J.S. (1995-1999) "World Wide Web Virtual Library: Journalism."
World Wide Web Virtual Library. http://www.cais.com/makulow/vlj.html [1999,
February 28].
Marshall, C. & Rossman, G.B. (1989). Designing qualitative research. Newbury
Park: Sage.
437
Massey, S. (1996, August). Cyberjournalism: a look at the future of newspapers
and print education. Paper presented at the annual meeting of the Association for
Education in Journalism and Mass Communication, Anaheim, California.
Masterton, M. (1998). A theory of news. In Breen, M. (Ed). Journalism theory
and practice. (pp. 85-103). Sydney: Macleay Press.
MEAA (Media, Entertainment and Arts Alliance, Australian Journalists'
Association section). (1996, November). Ethics Review Committee Final Report.
[Online]. Available: <www.alliance.aust.com/ethics0.htm> [Accessed 1999,
January 21].
McGuire, M., Stilborne, L., McAdams, M. & Hyatt, L. (1997). The Internet
Handbook for Writers, Researchers and Journalists. Toronto: Trifolium Books.
McLuhan, M. (1962). The Gutenberg galaxy: The making of typographic man.
Toronto: University of Toronto Press.
McLuhan, M. (1964). Understanding media: The extensions of man. New York:
Mentor Books.
McMillan, S.J. (1998, September). Who pays for content? Funding in interactive
media. Journal of Computer-Mediated Communication, 4 (1). [Online].
MEAA Journalists' Code of Ethics. (1996).
Meadows, M. (1998). Journalism as a cultural resource. In Breen, M. (Ed).
Journalism theory and practice. (pp. 67-82). Sydney: Macleay Press.
MediaSource (1995a) Media in cyberspace study II. MediaSource - the
journalist’s
information
resource.
[Online].
Available:
<http://www.mediasource.com/study/online.htm>. [Accessed: 1997, March 4].
MediaSource (1995b) Media in cyberspace study II. MediaSource - the
journalist’s
information
resource.
[Online].
Available:
<http://www.mediasource.com/study/uses.htm>. [Accessed 1997, March 4).
438
MediaSource (1997) Media in cyberspace study IV. MediaSource - the journalist’s
information
resource.[Online].
Available:
<http://www.mediasource.com/intro.htm>. [Accessed 1999, January 13].
Meyer, P. (1991) The new precision journalism. Bloomington, Indiana: Indiana
University Press.
Miall, D.S. (Ed.). (1990). Humanities and the computer: New directions. Oxford:
Clarendon.
Microsoft Corporation. (1995). Annual Report.
Middleton, S. (1995). Re: quoting from Internet. Discussion list on Qualitative
Research for the Human Sciences QUALRS [Online]. Available E-mail:
[email protected]. [1995].
Miles, M. & Huberman, M. (1994). Qualitative data analysis: a sourcebook of
new methods Beverly Hills: Sage Publications.
Miller, L.C. (1998). Power journalism. Computer-assisted reporting. Fort Worth:
Harcourt Brace.
Miller, T. (1993). Radio. In S. Cunningham & G. Turner (Eds.). The media in
Australia. Industries, texts, audiences. (pp. 41-58). Sydney: Allen & Unwin.
Morris, M. & Ogan, C. (1996).The Internet as mass medium. Journal of
Communication. 46 (1), 39-50.
Morris, M. (1993, August). E-mail editors: gatekeepers or facilitators? Paper
presented at the Annual Meeting of the Association for Education in Journalism
and Mass Communication, Kansas City.
Morse, J.M. (1994). Designing funded qualitative research, in N.K. Denzin &
Y.S. Lincoln (Eds.) Handbook of Qualitative Research. Thousand Oaks: Sage.
Neuberger, C., Tonnemacher, J., Biebl, M. & Duck, A. (1998, September). Online
- the future of newspapers? Germany’s dailies on the World Wide Web. Journal
of Computer-Mediated Communication, 4 (1). [Online].
439
Newhagen, J.E. & Levy, M.R. (1998) The future of journalism in a distributed
communication architecture. In Borden, D.L. & Harvey, K. (Eds.). The electronic
gravevine. Rumor, reputation, and reporting in the new on-line environment. (pp.
9-21). Mahwah, New Jersey: Lawrence Erlbaum Associates.
News Corporation. (1995). Annual Report.
Novek, E. (1996). Do professors dream of electric sheep? Academic anxiety about
the information age. Paper presented at the annual meeting of the Association for
Education in Journalism and Mass Communication, Anaheim, California.
NUA Internet Surveys. (1998) [Online]. Available:
http://www.nua.ie/surveys/how_many_online/index.html [Accessed: 1998,
November 23].
O’Sullivan, T. et. al. (1994). Key concepts in communication and cultural studies.
Second edition. London: Routledge.
Odegard, O. (1993). Telecommunications and social interaction: Social
constructions in virtual space. Telektronikk [Online]. 4 (93). Available:
http://www.nta.no/telektronikk/4.93.dir/. [Accessed: 1995, February 20].
Ogan, C. (1993). Listserver communication during the Gulf War: What kind of
medium is the electronic bulletin board? Journal of Broadcasting and Electronic
Media. 37 (2), 177-196.
Okerson, A. (Ed.). (1994). Directory of electronic journals, newsletters and
academic discussion lists. Washington: Association of Research Libraries.
Online-News. (1996) Online-News welcome and FAQ: (Frequently Asked
Questions)
[Online]
Available:
http://www.planetarynews.com/listrules.html
[Accessed: 1996, June 17].
O'Sullivan, T, Hartley, J., Saunders, D. & Fiske, J. (1983). Key concepts in
communication. London: Routledge.
Outing, S. (1996, August 27) RESULTS: Who's reading Online-News?
Discussion
List
Online-News
[Online].
Available
[email protected] [Accessed: 1996, August 27].
440
E-mail:
Padilla, R. (1991). Using computers to develop concept models of social
situations. Qualitative Sociology. 14, 263-274.
Pagano, P. (1992). Electronic warfare, Washington Journalism Review. 14 (3).
Panici, D. (1998, Spring). New media and the introductory mass communication
course. Journalism and Mass Communication Monographs. 53 (1), 52-63.
Patching, R. (1997). Too many students, not enough jobs? A comparative study of
Australian journalism programs. Unpublished Master’s thesis, University of
Wollongong.
Paul, N. (1993). A primer for computer-assisted research. In Barbara P. Semonche
(Ed.), News media libraries: A management handbook. Westport, Conn:
Greenwood.
Paul, N. (1997) Computer assisted research: a guide to tapping online information,
(3rd ed). St Petersburg, Florida: Poynter Institute. [Online]. Available:
http://www.poynter.org/car/cg_chome.htm [Accessed: January 15, 1999].
Pearson, M. (1993). Electronic mail as a news medium. Australian Journalism
Review, 15 (2), 131-138.
Pearson, M. (1997). The journalist’s guide to media law. Sydney: Allen & Unwin.
Petersen, N. (1993). News not views: The ABC, the press and politics 1932-1947.
Sydney: Hale & Iremonger.
Pfaffenberger, B. (1988). Microcomputer applications in qualitative research.
Beverly Hills: Sage.
Pinos, T. (1990). Computer communications, the legal profession and the
emergence of LINK - Lawyers Information Network. Essays on Computer Law,
523-532.
Playboy Enterprises Inc. v. Frena (1996). 839 F. Supp. 1552, 1534. (MD Fla.
1993), [1996] 2 ENTLR 48.
Poster, M. (1994). A second media age? Arena journal, 3, 49-91.
441
Powell, A.C. (1998, February). Hats off to unofficial journalism! The Drudge case
shows how anyone can be a journalist? Reason, 29 (9), 43-45.
Priest, S.N. (1998). Public opinion, expert opinion, and the illusion of consensus:
gleaning points of view electronically. In Borden, D.L. & Harvey, K. (Eds.). The
electronic gravevine. Rumor, reputation, and reporting in the new on-line
environment. (pp. 23-29). Mahwah, New Jersey: Lawrence Erlbaum Associates.
Prochnau, W. (1998, October). In Lord Thomson’s realm. American Journalism
Review, 20 (8), 44-62.
Prodigy Case (1995) (Stratton Oakmont Inc and Porush v. Prodigy Services Inc)
The Recorder, 1 June 1995.
Provenzo, E.F. (1986). Beyond the Gutenberg galaxy: Microcomputers and the
emergence of post-typographic culture. New York: Teachers College Press.
Punch, M. (1994). Politics and ethics in qualitative research. In N.K. Denzin &
Y.S. Lincoln (Eds.). Handbook of qualitative research. (pp. 83-98.) Thousand
Oaks: Sage.
Putnis, P. (1995) News and communication technology. Unpublished manuscript,
Bond University Centre for Journalism Research and Education, Gold Coast.
Quarterman, J.S. (1990). The matrix: Computer networks and conferencing
systems worldwide. Bedford, MA: Digital Press.
Quinn, S. (1997a, June). Computer-assisted reporting in Australia: do we need
deeper newgathering methods? Australian Journalism Review. 19 (1), 77- 89.
Quinn, S. (1997b, July-December). Learning the 4Rs of computer-assisted
reporting in Australia. AsiaPacific MediaEducator. 3, 131-140.
Quinn, S. (1998a). Newsgathering on the Net. An Internet guide for Australian
journalists. Winchelsea, Victoria: Precision Press.
Quinn, S. (1998b). Newsgathering and the Internet. In Breen, M. Journalism
theory and practice. (pp. 239-255). Sydney: Macleay Press.
442
Radio and Television News Directors Foundation (1996). Wired journalist:
Newsroom guide to the Internet. Washington, D.C.: Radio and Television News
Directors Foundation.
Rafaeli, S. & LaRose, R.J. (1993). Electronic bulletin boards and “public goods”:
Explanations of collaborative mass media. Communication Research. 20 (2), 277297.
Ragin, C.C. (1987). The comparative method: Moving beyond qualitative and
quantitative strategies. Berkeley: University of California Press.
Raines, E.S. (1996). Making the newspapers move: will advertisers support online
newspaper publications? Unpublished MA Thesis, School of Journalism and
Mass Communications, Kent State University, Kent, Ohio.
Reavy, M.M. (1995). Journalism on the electronic frontier: a Q methodological
coorientation analysis of attitudes and perceptions about Internet reporting.
Unpublished PhD dissertation, Graduate School, University of MissouriColumbia.
Reddick, R. & King, E. (1995). The online journalist. Using the Internet and other
electronic resources. Fort Worth: Harcourt Brace.
Reddick, R. & King, E. (1997). The online journalist. Using the Internet and other
electronic resources. (2nd ed). Fort Worth: Harcourt Brace.
Reid, E. (1991). Electropolis: Communication and community on Internet Relay
Chat. [Online]. Available: http://www.ee.mu.oz.au/papers/emr/electropolis.txt
[Accessed: 1994, November 24].
Reid, E. (1994). Cultural formations in text-based virtual realities. [Online].
Available: http://www.ee.mu.oz.au/papers/emr/emr.html [Accessed 1995, June 8].
Rheingold, H. (1991). Virtual reality. London: Mandarin.
Rheingold, H. (1994). The virtual community — finding connection in a
computerized world. London: Secker & Warburg.
443
Richards, L & Richards, T.J. (1987). Qualitative data analysis: Can computers do
it? Australian and New Zealand Journal of Sociology. 23, 23-35.
Richards, T.J. & Richards, L. (1990a, December) Critiquing qualitative
computing: Grounded theory method vs. code and retrieve techniques. Paper
presented to the Social Research Conference, Queensland.
Richards, L. & Richards, T.J. (1990b). Manual for mainframe Nudist. A software
system for qualitative data analysis on time-sharing computers. Eltham, Victoria:
Replee.
Richards, L. & Richards, T.J. (1991a). Computing in qualitative analysis: a
Healthy Development? Qualitative Health Research. 1, 234-262.
Richards, L. & Richards, T.J. (1991b). The transformation of qualitative method:
computational paradigms and research processes. In Fielding, R. & Lee, R. (Eds.).
Using computers in qualitative analysis. (pp. 38-53). Berkeley: Sage.
Richards, T. & Richards, L, (1991c). The NUDIST system. Qualitative Sociology.
14, 289-306.
Richards, T. & Richards, L. (1994a). Using computers in qualitative analysis. In
Denzin, N. & Lincoln, Y. (Eds.)., Handbook of qualitative research.. (pp. 445462). Berkeley: Sage.
Richards, T. & Richards, L. (1994b). From filing cabinet to computer. in Alan
Bryman & Robert G. Burgess (Eds.). Analyzing qualitative data. (pp. 146-172)
London & New York: Routledge.
Richards, T. & Richards, L. (1994c). Creativity in social sciences: the Roberts,
J.M. 1983. The Pelican history of the world. Harmondsworth: Penguin.
Riley, P., Keough, C.M., Christiansen, T., Meilich, O., & Pierson, J. (198,
September). Community or colony: The case of online newspapers and the Web.
Journal of Computer-Mediated Communication, 4 (1). [Online].
Rindos v. Hardwick (1994). Unreported judgment 940164, delivered 31 March,
1994, Supreme Court of Western Australia.
444
Rogers, E.M. (1983) Diffusion of innovations. New York: The Free Press.
Ross, S.S. (1998). Journalists’ use of on-line technology and on-line sources. In
Borden, D.L. & Harvey, K. (Eds.). The electronic gravevine. Rumor, reputation,
and reporting in the new on-line environment. (pp. 143-160). Mahwah, New
Jersey: Lawrence Erlbaum Associates.
Rowe, C. (1995, January/February). A Journalist's guide to the Internet. American
Journalism Review, 30-34.
Rutkowski, T. (1995). Internet survey reaches 6.6 million Internet host level.
Reston, Virginia: Press Release of the Internet Society.
Schön, Donald. (1987). Educating the reflective practitioner: toward a new design
for teaching and learning in the professions. San Francisco: Jossey-Bass.
Seaton, J. (1988). Broadcasting and the blitz. In J. Curran & J. Seaton (Eds).
Power without responsibility: The press and broadcasting in Britain. (pp. 136160). London: Routledge.
Sega Enterprises v. MAPHIA. (1996). 857 F. Supp. 679 (ND Cal. 1994), [1996] 2
ENT. L.R. 48.
Senat, J. (1996, August). On-line student publications: do student editors at public
universities shed their First Amendment rights in cyberspace? Paper presented at
the annual meeting of the Association for Education in Journalism and Mass
Communication, Anaheim, California.
Shapiro, N. (1985). Toward an ethics and etiquette for electronic mail. Santa
Monica: Random House.
Shepard, A.C. (1998, June). The incredible shrinking news cycle. World and I. 13
(6), 80-86.
Sherman, R.R. & R.B. Webb. (Eds). (1988). Qualitative research in education:
focus and methods. East Sussex: Falmer Press.
Silva, M. & Cartwright, G.F. (1993). The Internet as a medium for education and
educational research. Education Libraries, 17 (2), 7-12.
445
Silverman, D. (1993). Interpreting qualitative data: Methods for analysing talk,
text and interaction. London: Sage Publications.
Singer, J., Craig, D., Allen, C, Whitehouse, V., Dimitrova, A. & Sanders, K.
(1996, Summer). Attitudes of professors and students about new media
technology. Journalism and Mass Communication Educator, 51 (2), 36-45.
Singer, J.B. (1998, September). Online journalists: foundations for research into
their changing roles. Journal of Computer-Mediated Communication. 4 (1).
[Online].
Smethers, S. (1998, Winter). Cyberspace in the curricula: new legal and ethical
issues. Journalism and Mass Communication Educator, 52 (4), 15-23.
Smith, C., Kim, H. & Bernstein, J. (1993). Computer mediated communication
and strategies for teaching — Instructional use of e-mail and bulletin boards.
Journalism Educator, 48 (1), 80-83.
Smith, M. (1992). Voices from the WELL: The logic of the virtual commons.
[Online]. Available: <www.sscnet.ucla.edu/soc/csoc/virtcomm.htm>. [Accessed:
June 24, 1995].
Somera, L. (1997, July-December). Logging in: perceptions of e-mail usage by
university students in the Philippines. AsiaPacific MediaEducator, 3, 70-88.
Sproull, L. & Kiesler, S. (1992). Connections: New ways of working in the
networked organisation. Cambridge Massachusetts: MIT Press.
Stacks, D.W. (1992). Essentials of communication research. New York: Harper
Collins.
Starr, R. (1992). Virtual classroom: learning without limits via computer
networks. Norwood, NJ: Ablex Publishing Corporation.
Strauss, A. (1987). Qualitative analysis for social scientists. Cambridge:
Cambridge University Press.
Strauss, A. & Corbin, J. (1990). Basics of qualitative research. Grounded theory
procedures and techniques. Newbury Park: Sage.
446
Strauss, A. & Corbin, J. (1994). in N.K. Denzin & Y.S. Lincoln (eds) Handbook
of qualitative research. (pp. 273-285). Thousand Oaks: Sage.
Strunk, W. (1918). The elements of style. Ithaca, New York: Private print
[Geneva, N.Y.: Press of W.P. Humphrey].
Swift, C.R. (1989). Audience activity in computer mediated communication.
Doctoral
dissertation,
Indiana
University,
1989.
Dissertation
Abstracts
International. 50/1841A.
Tallerico, M. (1991). Applications of qualitative analysis software: A view from
the field. Qualitative Sociology. 14, 275-285.
Tapsall, S. & Granato, L. (1997, December). New CAR curriculum will influence
the practice of journalism. Australian Journalism Review. 19 (2), 14-23.
Tesch, R. (1990). Qualitative research: Analysis types and software tools.
Basingstoke: Falmer.
Thompson, D. (1995, August). Digital communications: a modular approach to a
21st century curriculum. Paper presented at the annual meeting of the Association
for Education in Journalism and Mass Communication, Washington, DC.
Trotter, A. (1998, February 11). Web site home to banned school journalism.
Education Week, 17, 10.
Tully, J. (Ed). (1995). Beyond 2000: Future directions in journalism education.
Proceedings from the Journalism Education Association annual conference, 6-8
December 1995. Christchurch, New Zealand: University of Canterbury.
Turkle, S. (1995) Life on the screen: identity in the age of the Internet. New York:
Simon & Schuster.
Turner, B. (1981). Some practical aspects of qualitative data analysis: one way of
organising the cognitive processes associated with the generation of grounded
theory. Quality and Quantity, 15, 225-247.
Vahrenwald, A. (1996, March) The publishing industry faces technological
change. Entertainment Law Review, 7 (2), 50-61.
447
Van Oostendorp, H. & van Nimwegen, C. (1998, September). Locating
information
in
an
online
newspaper.
Journal
of
Computer-Mediated
Communication, 4 (1). [Online].
Walizer, M.H. & Wienir, P.L. (1978) Research methods and analysis: searching
for relationships. New York: Harper & Row.
Watson, J. & Hill, A. (1997). A dictionary of communication studies. (4th Ed.).
London: Arnold.
Weitzman, E. A. & Miles, M. B. (1995). Computer programs for qualitative data
analysis: A software sourcebook. Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage.
White, R. (1981) Inventing Australia - images and identity 1688-1980. Sydney:
Allen and Unwin.
Wilkins, D. (1997, Spring). Despite computers, journalism remains a human
enterprise. Journalism and Mass Communication Educator. 52 (1), 72-78.
Williams, P. (1998). The impact of the Internet on broadcast journalism. Doctoral
dissertation, Department of Communication, State University of New York at
Buffalo.
Williams, P. & Nicholas, D. (1998). Not an age thing! ‘Greynetters’ in the
newsroom defy the stereotype. New Library World. 99 (4).
Williams, R. (1989). The politics of modernism. Against the new conformists.
London: Verso.
Williams, R. (1990).
Television: Technology and cultural form. (2nd ed.).
London: Routledge.
Williams, W. (1997, Spring). Computer-assisted reporting and the journalism
curriculum. Journalism and Mass Communication Educator. 52 (1), 67-71.
Williams, W.S. (1998). The blurring of the line between advertising and
journalism in the on-line environment. In Borden, D.L. & Harvey, K. (Eds.). The
electronic gravevine. Rumor, reputation, and reporting in the new on-line
environment. (pp. 31-41). Mahwah, New Jersey: Lawrence Erlbaum Associates.
448
Wimmer, R.D. & Dominick, J.R. (1994) Mass media research - An introduction.
(4th ed.) Belmont: Wadsworth.
Winston, B. (1986). Misunderstanding media. Cambridge, Mass.: Harvard
University Press.
Wolcott, H.F. (1992). Posturing in qualitative inquiry. In M.D. Lecompte, W.L.
Millroy & J. Preissle (Eds.). The handbook of qualitative research in education.
(pp. 3-52). New York: Academic Press.
Yin, R.K. (1988). Case study research: design and methods. Newbury Park,
California: Sage.
Yuen, H.K. & Richards, T. (1994). Knowledge representation for grounded theory
construction in qualitative data analysis. Journal of Mathematical Sociology. 19
(4), 279-288.
449