Jack’s Weblog

Online = Journalists???

This post follows our last class which was asking “Are online journalists considered real journalists?” Someone made the point that yes they are…but it depends. If the online people are simply ‘re-hasing’ information then they are not; but if they are actually doing their own reporting then they are considered ‘real’ journalists. As I write this I am watching Live coverage from MSNBC.com (http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/8004316/) about a shooting on an Illinois college campus in the US. I consider these people real journalisits…they are giving me live news right now! Interestingly enough, CNN.com Live (http://edition.cnn.com/video/) is covering the shooting extensively right now, whereas CNN TV is not; the shooting is simply one story of many in their ‘scrolling screen’. So this is again an argument in favour of calling online journalisits ‘real’ journalists. Now, if you were to ask me “Are the people who simply type the news up on the websites journalists?” I would definetly say no. But since it is the internet feeding me the breaking news right now (albeit in video form) I would have to call these people real. I wonder did any of them take the MAJ in DCU…….