The Evolution of the Internet
March
6, 2012
Written by, Aminah Cruise
Written by, Aminah Cruise
It is a well known fact that things
change over time; the mass media and journalism is no different. With great technological advances happening
faster and faster with each coming year, it is no wonder that digital media and
journalism are quickly advancing and making huge strides as well. Not only is the average person scrambling to
keep up, but so are journalists and others in the field of mass media. The Internet is a powerful global network
system that has brought about cyber journalism as a social construct and caused
profound changes in journalism and how media is shared, viewed, and developed. Cyber journalism, including citizen
journalism and participatory journalism, and adaptations to the laws that guide
journalists are effects that the Internet and our new digital world has had on
traditional journalism.
The
Internet began as a tool for the government and employees of universities and
the military, and steadily evolved into the World Wide Web that we know
today. Arpanet began in 1969 and was
renamed the Internet in 1984. It linked
corporate labs and universities to send files and data from one computer to
another. In 1991, Tim Berners-Lee, a
Swiss computer programmer, created the World Wide Web that we are familiar with
today. The Internet has grown
exponentially from these humble beginnings, now connecting hundreds of millions
of computers. Because people from all
over the world are connected in this way, it is no surprise that the news has
always been a popular and important feature of the Internet.
In
1992, a sophisticated browser called Mosaic (later known as Netscape) was
developed by Marc Andreessen. This web
browser made searching the web user-friendly by “allowing users to see words
and pictures on the same page for the first time and to navigate using scrollbars
and clickable links” (The invention of…).
Netscape allowed online news to become available to most Internet users. Newspapers and magazines were publishing
information online by 1994. The
popularity of news sites put them “among the most widely viewed sites on the
Net” (Craig, 2005). This development made
it imperative for news organizations to have a website for users to visit, thus
over the next five years there was a boom in the amount of news websites. Journalists now needed to create content, not
only for print audiences, but for online audiences as well.
In
the late 1990s, the Internet made huge strides along with online
journalism. The development of software
such as Dreamweaver, Macromedia, Flash, Adobe Acrobat, Director, and Shockwave
helped Web designers make more sophisticated sites and applications. The first was weblog started in 1997, and
public schools begin to connect to the Internet. In 1998 half the homes in the United States
had personal computers. By 1999
approximately 1,311 T.V. stations and more than 2,800 newspapers had web
sites. The Online News Association
(ONA), “a nonprofit membership organization for digital journalists, connecting
journalism, technology and innovation” was established ("Online news
association,"). Then we were
ushered into the new millennium with the September 11, 2001 terrorist
attacks. Because of the technological
advances of the past decade, people were able to quickly learn about this
tragedy and watch as a plane crashed into the second World Trade
Center tower. People immediately felt a sense of urgency in
trying to understand what had happened and share the information. This U.S. catastrophe fueled the use of
the Internet and the jobs of online journalists.
Over
the next decade the Internet continued to become the high speed, news filled,
interactive, social networking Internet that we know today and regular citizens
began to try their hand at “journalism.”
In 2002, Friendster, the first social network site began, paving the way
for Myspace and Facebook. Web logs tipped
the scale with many people contributing and creating many different types. With do-it-yourself software and blogging,
people now had a way to publish their own stories online that easily contributed
their knowledge, views, news and opinions to millions of people. Blogging set the stage for citizen journalism.
People have a sense of identity and
professionalism if they can voice their opinions about any topic that they
choose in their own online page or forum.
The ability to comment on others’ blogs and carry on discussions on any
subject that you wish, with just the use of your home computer is intriguing to
many. Certain newsworthy events such as
the Columbia Space Shuttle disaster and the earthquake and tsunami that hit
South Asia, had news organizations asking citizens to submit photographs and
eye witness accounts; encouraging people to get involved in journalism to a
degree. In 2004 the Media Bloggers
Association was founded and for the first time, bloggers were given press
passes to the Democratic and Republican conventions; a huge accomplishment for
“amateur journalists.” Training for
journalism also started to change as cyber journalism changed the face of
traditional journalism. Still, the
digital revolution continued strongly as we got closer to the end of the first
decade of the 21st century.
In
the more recent years, Myspace, Skype, I-tunes, Facebook, e-readers, podcasts,
adsense, and You Tube were introduced and quickly became a part of life for
people all over the world. The
revolutionary I-phone was produced by Apple and combined many useful tools into
one small device. In 2008 the White
House began a blog and new political journalism sites covered the presidential
campaign. The amount of people that viewed
the news online and had blogs and cell phones continued to grow. In 2010, Apple introduced another
revolutionary device, the I-Pad. People
everywhere are now armed with the tools that they needed to quickly and easily
capture breaking news on their phones or cameras and broadcast their photos or
videos online and publish a story to go with it.
The
many developments and advancements that have been made to our technology have
altered almost every aspect of journalism. Participatory journalism and citizen
journalism are fairly new developments that are allowing people to get more
involved with content that they come across online. It is now possible to comment on news stories
and bring up a point that the writer might have missed. We can interact with others who may pose
questions that can add to our understanding of the story, or even add
information that was missing from the original story. Many websites, not just news and magazines,
have areas for user comments. People are
very excited and willing to let their views and opinions be known. There are also websites like Indymedia.com,
where people can publish their own versions of news stories and have people
comment on them. Since people can say whatever they want, these comments must
be monitored. In addition to comments,
now anyone can post stories and videos online.
Many people are prepared at a moment’s notice to catch breaking news if
they are on the scene. When college
student Andrew Meyer got tasered during John Kerry’s speech at the University of Florida, someone got the video on their
cell phone. This footage of the video is
rare and therefore popular on Youtube.com.
People want the inside track and although the video is not good quality,
it was wildly popular. Because the
Internet is so vast and popular, posting and publishing breaking news is almost
guaranteed to be viewed by millions if published first online. Citizen journalist websites like The Third
Report have become an outlet for these “reporters.” People have become aware that they have the
ability to do these things and voice their opinions and that people will see
and hear them online. The Internet is a
powerful tool and people realize what they can do with that power.
Participatory
journalism gets the public even more involved in journalism. If someone knows a lot about a particular
topic, then a reporter may ask them to lend their expertise, or maybe even do
some amateur reporting to assist the reporter in the final story. Getting feedback on stories from readers and
taking that into consideration for the story is also participatory
journalism. The public has been
encouraged by news outlets and other media organizations to participate and get
involved in journalism. I believe that
this encouragement stems from the media’s need to connect with the people and
give them exactly what they want and need from their media organizations. Everyone observes and interprets news in
their own ways, and the general public offers a large variety of ideas to
journalists. Social networking sites are
also the inside track to what stories people in the general public are interested
in and the ideas that they have about them.
Social
networking sites allow citizens to post and share news links. They can share their opinions and views on
the events of their choosing. These
sites are tools that link people of all ages and professions. Because so many people in the United States
have cell phones with Internet access, I-pads, laptops and personal computers,
social networking sites and cyber journalism have become a part of our
culture. Getting online is easier now
than it has ever been; even children are on the Internet. We can shop, watch videos, video chat, get
entertainment information, watch the news, email, work, job search and apply, read
a magazine and books, listen to music, and countless other activities
online. Since our lives are so involved
in the Internet, it is no wonder that cyber journalism is a large part of our
lives as well. The Internet is currently
the ultimate form of communication and that goes hand in hand with cyber
journalism, which is a product of the world and the media being connected
through the web.
Since
the Internet and cyber journalism have become such a big part of our culture,
it is safe to say that cyber journalism is a social construct. As part of our culture, we assign certain
meanings to certain things and we all agree on those meanings. We all agree that the bald eagle is a symbol
of America,
although there is no sign on it that says so.
Online journalism, or cyber journalism, is the media communicating with
us through the Internet. Many aspects of
traditional media have merged with new online journalism techniques to
successfully reach the online audience and to keep up with technology. In American culture, we agree that cyber
journalism is the online version of journalism.
We have constructed this idea through social and cultural practice. If cyber journalism has been successfully
socially constructed then the majority of Americans will agree on its
meaning. If cyber journalism is still in
active social construction, then we, as a culture, are still trying to agree on
its meaning. Trying to keep up with
technology is hard by itself, and cyber journalism is advancing with
technology, making it just as hard to keep up with. If citizen journalists and participatory
journalists consider themselves cyber journalists then this helps blur the
meaning. Is journalism education and professionalism
part of cyber journalism, or is it all encompassing to include bloggers and
citizen journalists as well? This also
leads to questions about the rules that govern bloggers and citizen journalists
as opposed to journalists who have been professionally trained to adhere to a certain
code of ethics and rules in journalism. Since
cyber journalism is still changing and being molded, then I would have to say
that it is still in active social construction.
But another question that is raised is, with so much information online
from so many different sources, how do we know which ones are the “legit” ones
and which ones are not?
The
Internet is a powerful tool with vast amounts of information that must be
sorted through to find the true, valid information from sites that can be
trusted. It is also very important for
journalists to know which sources are reliable and what sites they can go to
for reliable information. Searching the
Internet for information can be a daunting task. For this reason, it is important for
journalists to develop good search skills and equally important for the public
to pay special attention to what information they are getting and the site that
it is coming from. Government sites that
end in .gov and education sites that end in .edu are generally trusted
sites. Public libraries and university
libraries can be extremely helpful providers of valid information. Organization sites that end in .org can be
very useful with reliable information as well.
It is always important to pay special attention to the source of the
information. Confirm that the source of
information is someone who is qualified to be giving information on the
subject. For journalists, the Internet
is not the only source of information that needs to be met with qualms. “Journalists have to locate knowledgeable
people, ask them important questions and report the answers accurately” (Craig,
2005, p. 63). In this situation it is important
to collect accurate information and double check any information that you get
from a source that may seem a little off or incorrect. The accuracy and credibility of information
is always important no matter what the reason is that someone needs it; factual
information is the most useful kind.
Accuracy and truthfulness is especially paramount for journalists; due
to the legal ramifications or suits involved if certain information is
published that is untrue or unfounded.
The
Internet has made it a necessity for the United States to adapt or “tweak”
its basic laws that guide and protect journalists to fit online
journalism. Libel and slander are types
of defamation that journalists have to avoid.
Libel is false information that is published that hurts someone’s
reputation and slander is something spoken that damages a reputation. When something is published online, it is
something that anyone can see or has access to.
Thus, publishing false information is more damaging because anyone and
everyone can access it. There are also
four torts of privacy, in which the writer can be sued if a story invades
someone’s privacy. The first tort is the
publication of private facts. This
happens when true private information about someone is published. Intrusion into seclusion is the second tort
which happens when “the writer trespasses into someone’s personal space,
whether physically or using technology” (Stovall, 2009, p. 314). The third tort is false light, in which the
writer presents or portrays someone as being something that they are not. Appropriation is the last privacy tort that “is
defined as the unauthorized use of a persona’s name, likeness or other integral
part of the individual’s persona for commercial purposes” (Stovall, 2009,
p315). There are also copyright laws
that protect a person’s creative works.
Copyrights do have a “shelf life” because they don’t last forever. Advertising has recently become protected by
the First Amendment to some degree. The
ad has to be truthful and the product must do what it claims to do for it to be
protected. If the government has good
reason for regulating an ad, such as an alcohol ad being aimed at children,
then it will do so; otherwise the ad is protected under the First
Amendment. Despite these laws, it is
harder for communications on the Internet to be regulated and enforced.
Because
the Internet is a worldwide communication “it stands apart from most
governmental regulation” (Craig, 2005, p. 233).
The laws of different countries are obviously different and this could
present problems for journalists who are reporting from a foreign country. Libel laws are tricky to enforce with
something published online because they differ with each state. It is easy to quickly publish retractions or
corrections online and in some states you can only be sued for libel if you
don’t print a retraction. Presently,
state laws don’t distinguish between published online material that has been
there for three days or three months.
This is the basis of the Blumenthal
v. Drudge and America Online, Inc. (1998) case. Drudge published allegations about Blumenthal
on AOL but quickly retracted them. The
case against him is still unresolved.
Another tricky aspect of the Internet is anonymity. If reporters are contacting people via email,
then they are forced to assume that the person is who they say that they
are. Since the boom of the Internet, it
is much harder to enforce laws that were once so cut and dry. The standards for journalists have remained
unchanged, but a new set of “rules” have arisen for online journalism.
In
the earlier years of journalism it was customary to do “anything for the
story.” Of course, this couldn’t last;
not in the world that we live in today.
There are standards that journalists must live by and morals and ethics
to maintain. The “10 Commandments of
News” were introduced by John Maxwell Hamilton and George A. Krimsky in their
1996 book Hold the Press: The Inside
Story on Newspapers. These “rules”
go hand in hand with ethics, morals, and values that we each hold as people and
would hold as journalists. They include: thou shalt not lie, threaten a source,
report rumors, omit opinion that one disagrees with, show favoritism,
misrepresent oneself, plagiarize, tap telephone conversations, use your
position for personal gain, or do anything that my be a conflict of interest
(Craig, 2005). We try hard to uphold the
standards to which we are held through journalism or anything else because of
our morals and ethics. The standards for
online journalism are just as important as traditional standards; though
possibly harder to uphold. Virginia Shea
introduced the “Core Rules of Netiquette” in her book Netiquette in 1994. They
include: “remember the human, adhere to the same standards of behavior online
that you follow in life, know where you are in cyberspace, respect other
people’s time and bandwidth, make yourself look good online, share expert
knowledge, help keep flame wars under control, respect other people’s privacy,
don’t abuse power, and be forgiving of other people’s mistakes” (Craig, 2005,
p. 222-223). These are good rules for
everyone to follow, not just journalists.
If everyone did follow them, then the Internet would be a lot better and
safer experience for users.
The
Society of Professional Journalists code is the most widely accepted code of
ethics for journalists. Accuracy and
completeness are among the most important concepts of the code of ethics. These are also the areas of ethics that are
most put to the test in online journalism.
There is pressure to “out scoop” competitors and publishing the story
first online. Then keeping that story
updated as currently as possible is also important. Creating a complete and authentic story takes
some time, especially when you have to remember that accuracy is also a key
element. The Internet has put a rush on
journalism and the media to keep us as up to date as possible. In this rush, journalism standards and ethics
become that much harder to uphold.
We
will continue to experience technological advances and the Internet will
continue to change journalism. We, the
people and journalists, will have to learn how to adapt to these changes and
learn as we go. Cyber journalism will
continue to grow as well, and as we are figuring things out it will only get
better. Citizen journalism and
participatory journalism are tools for the citizens and journalists involved
and we will all learn different things as time goes by. Laws that pertain to journalism will have to
weather the storm as trial and error ensues.
There are big changes that continue to happen in the world of the web
and cyber journalism so we just have to hang on for the ride.
The Evolution of the Internet
References
References
Craig,
R. (2005). Online journalism: reporting,
writing, and editing for new media. Boston.
Wadsworth.
Marsan,
C. D. (2009, February 9). The evolution of the internet. Retrieved from http://www.networkworld.com/slideshows/2009/020909-evolution-internet.html#slide1
Online
news association. (n.d.). Retrieved from http://journalists.org/
Date retrieved: March 2, 2012
Outing,
S. (2005, May 31). The 11 layers of citizen journalism. Retrieved from http://www.poynter.org/uncategorized/69328/the-11-layers-of-citizen-journalism/
Shedden,
D. (2004, December 16). New media timeline 1969-2010. Retrieved from http://www.poynter.org/latest-news/business-news/transformation-tracker/28803/new-media-timeline-1969-2010/
Stovall, J.G. (2009). Writing for the
mass media. Pearson Education, Inc.
The
invention of the internet. (n.d.). Retrieved from http://www.history.com/topics/invention-of-the-internet
Date retrieved: 2 March 2012
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