Wednesday, April 8, 2009

Journalism in Mass Media

Social networking sites like Twitter and Facebook, along with online blogs, are rapidly changing the face of journalism. Mass amounts of information are being shared through a touch of a button, and online journalism is slowing turning into the new "fad" for many ordinary users of the internet.

For Bethany Keeley, current creator and sustainer of 3 blogs on the internet, online journalism is a "part-time job". Her blog www.unnecessaryquotes.com receives upwards of 4,000 hits on a given day. The blog is updated everyday with a picture showcasing an example of a blatant misuse of quotations; Keeley, also known as 'bethaniqua' for Twitter addicts, also provides links to other blogs she enjoys and makes money on advertising posted on her website. While her blog may sound like a job, Keeley only spends "an hour or two a day working on the blog." She is a graduate student in the Department of Speech Communication at the University of Georgia and considers this her full-time job. For Keeley, www.unnecessaryquotes.com was started as something "funny and unique", but clearly this blog has turned into a classic example of the changing face of online journalism. Her blog was even featured in AP writer Jocelyn Noveck's article "Blogger `exposes' Annoying Quote Abuse".

The gap between print and online journalism is becoming more distinct as technology allows more information to be disseminated faster. Content manager for www.gogreentriad.com, Morgan Josey Glover has slowly transitioned from working in the print journalism arena to a full online journalist. Glover "still follows the principles of journalism, but now has the ability to get information out quicker"; this advantage has been created by using various online sites such as Twitter.

With opportunities constantly arising among the internet, graduate students and traditional print journalists are paving a new avenue for online journalism. Utilizing past journalism techniques with newly created technology tools, the future of journalism on the internet is intact.

1 comment:

Grady Journalist said...

Hillary,

I like how you tied the two speakers together and your use of links throughout.
There are a few minor AP style issues, like Internet, but other than that good job capturing an hour and a half worth of content in 30 minutes time. You also get bonus points for your dissemination of the topic on Twitter and continued discussion on there (and pointing out that my white hat was pretty rockin' hahaha).