Journalism and the news media are built on credibility. Credibility of the news media or sources is important for audience members. The appearance of online news websites, journalism in the traditional news media gained a competitor in the news offer.
How did mainstream journalists react to their competitor in this media scene? As we all know, mainstream media are concerned with the sources of credibility and information reliability.
According to Unit Media Baru (UMB) Chairman, Tun Faisal Ismail Aziz stated, people nowadays are no longer a national audience receives the news from a trusted gatekeepers, unfortunately we are now a million of consumers that harvest information from like-minded providers and it is hard for us to get fair and steady view that we need.
When we are using online information as a source, the question is how long it would be around. For example, individual that used article in web blog as their reference. The article could completely change next week, if you are using it as reference a source, it would disappear.
Another factor is how reliable is the source? Many people nowadays are reporter-to-be. When one incident happened within the circumstances and it attract world’s attention, so those people would convey their own opinion by writing and published it through social networks. Compared to mainstream media that would find and ask from trusted sources, which is authority that involved. However, most of the time, their writing can be manipulated or else contained slanderous elements in order to fulfill certain agenda. General Election 2013 just around the corner, and as we can see some of them would be part of the party’s machinery.
A study found by The State of the News Media (2006) of online journalism concluded, “The more people use the Web, the less they trust it”. Even lots of people enjoy reading blogs, but they also feel suspicious of it. They do not seek hard information from it, they just wanted to go for energy and arguments they find there.
Nevertheless, there is a concern that the standards of journalism are being ignored. There are issues of media bias and sensationalism especially on political and other issues. It all depends to the writers that are doing the writing either to be honest and fair. We cannot judge them by the media that carries the message. The most important thing is the writer either they are attempt to be fair and those who are slanted. Yet, some of mainstream media in our country are serving for the ruling government.
Both of online journalism and of mainstream media have their pros and cons. They might have their own objective to be achieved. We can lift up online journalism as lighting-speed news because now everyone can access latest news through his or her smartphone. Though, as if it credible sources or not, I am myself also still doubting it.
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