Advances in technology over the past century have radically changed everyday life. Everyday life is influenced by the world around us. We learn about the world around us thanks to the efforts of journalists. And journalism, like nearly every other facet of life, has seen a great deal of change as technological advances have penetrated the field over the years.
Newspapers were THE source of news for decades, if not longer. "Read all about it" could be heard every morning on bustling city streets. Soon radios put a voice to the written words and were able to provide live updates on news events. Television later added pictures to breaking news stories. And then...
Then came the internet.
Suddenly people were able to choose which news stories to follow - and to any extent desired. But therein lies a problem. The exponential increase in news coverage and analysis opened the doors for anyone with a bit of computer experience and an opinion to state their unedited and unsubstantiated views as if they are factual. Journalism has entered yet another crossroads.
Exactly where journalism is headed is a matter of opinion. Perhaps not coincidentally, this may be because much of today's "journalism" is exactly that -- a matter of opinion.
An informal study of journalism students headed by Gregory Favre, a faculty member at Poynter Institute (a journalism school,) brought forth a wide range of sentiments. The students' thoughts ran the gamut from optimism to pessimism to everything between. One underlying theme that consistently resonated through the room involved the change in journalism's credibility. And it's not for the better.
Newspapers, radio, and television abide by company (and federally mandated) rules and regulations. On the internet, anything - and anyone - is fair game.
Well designed websites connote plausibility. Whether or not the information is accurate is a whole other matter. Your ordinary web surfer looking for information on a subject knows no difference. It has become much too easy to be duped into believing something that has not happened the way it is told -- if it even happened at all.
So here we are, on the verge of entering a professional field that has been infiltrated by amateurs. These untrained neophytes have, to a degree, spoiled journalism for those who have made a career of honest reporting.
But journalism has survived change after change over the years, and this represents just one more hurdle to overcome. And maybe it will be resolved before long.
After all, as one Poynter Institute student said, "It can't be that bad, can it?"
