Internet Impact on Journalism: Print vs. Online Newspapers Proposal

Introduction and Theoretical Framework

It is impossible to imagine modern reality without the Internet as the global database of all the necessary information. In recent years the access to information became one of the main factors of successful interactions and activities in society (Dimmick, Chen, & Li 2004). People need to learn the latest news and to share their opinions with the public. In this situation, the Internet with the developed system of social networking provides a good opportunity for satisfying the people’s needs in gaining the necessary information and communicating (Scott 2005). Thus, today people are inclined to search for important materials and news with the help of Internet resources. This fact contributes to the development of the question about the role of print newspapers and journalism in modern society (Ahlers 2006).

The phenomenon of journalism is directly connected with providing analytical or critical materials in print newspapers. Nowadays it is possible to speak about the progress of the phenomenon known as ‘online journalism’ which differs from the traditional notion in the peculiarities of the journalists’ style and forms of the presentation of information (Freedman 2006; Matheson 2004). Thus, those journalists who work in the newspaper industry can be compared with the online journalists, the bloggers, and even with the active readers who share and post their opinions on definite problems with the help of online resources (Allan 2006; Betancourt 2009).

The Internet possibilities to develop interactivity in providing and sharing news make people pay attention to online newspapers as the main source of the information. The public also has the opportunity to access the latest news at any time and anywhere with the progress of mobile technologies (Lowrey & Anderson 2005). The reaction of the readers to the news can be immediate and represented in their commentaries and in blogs. Thus, today the frequent development of the Internet and technologies also influences the situation with the printed resources and contributes to the changes in understanding the role of journalism in society (Farhi 2009; Thurman 2007).

Statement of the Problem and the Purpose of the Study

The impact of the Internet on journalism can be discussed as rather significant today because it is associated with alternations in the system of providing and sharing the news for the public. The problem is in the fact that with spreading the Internet and developing its possibilities, print newspapers can be considered less effective in comparison with online newspapers. That is why the role of the print newspapers is decreased by the impact of the Internet.

Today the profession of a journalist acquires a new meaning with references to the job made by journalists in the Internet. It is the fact that presenting the news in the format typical for the Internet and online resources is not journalism, and not all bloggers and Internet writers are professional journalists. Therefore, it is possible to speak about the perspectives of professional journalism in the future as one of the most controversial questions connected with the problem of the role of print and online newspapers in society.

Moreover, the examination of the opportunities of interactive communication, active readers’ participation in analyzing the information and sharing opinions with the help of social networking contributes to developing of the discussion of the impact of the Internet on journalism and the progress of the newspaper industry. This impact can be discussed as negative with references to the role of print newspapers in modern society, but there are also a lot of problems connected with the peculiarities of the online newspapers and presenting the news which should be examined properly.

The purpose of the investigation is to examine the impact of the Internet on journalism with the help of analyzing the role of print newspapers, online newspapers, and social networking in presenting the information and news with determining the main aspects of the problem.

Research Questions and Hypothesis

To achieve the purpose of the research, it is necessary to concentrate on the important questions connected with the problem of the impact of the Internet on journalism. Moreover, to present an effective discussion of the issue, it is significant to provide the investigation with references to the modern situation in the newspaper industry and development of the online newspapers in Oman. To conduct the complex research, it is necessary to provide the answers to the following questions:

1. What changes in providing and sharing information are affected by the progress of the Internet and by the increase of its role in society?
2. What is the role of online newspapers and social networking in providing the information and news in Oman in particular and in the global context in general?
3. Is the modern development of the newspaper industry in Oman and around the world influenced by the progress of the Internet as the contemporary news medium? What are the peculiarities of this process?
4. What is the future of professional journalism? What are the peculiarities of the notion of ‘online journalism’? Can bloggers, online journalists, and non-professionals influence the changes in determining the role of journalists and the print newspapers’ role in society?
5. What are the characteristic features of providing the information and news in online newspapers and print newspapers? What are the differences and similarities of the processes?

The hypothesis for the research can be formulated the following way: the progress of the Internet has a significant impact on the changes in the roles of the newspaper industry, online newspapers, and social networking in presenting the information and news, and in the development of the modern vision of journalism.

Research Design

The investigation is based on the theoretical discussion of the problem of the Internet impact on journalism with analyzing the data from the previous researches in the area and with the proper examination of the evidence received from the questionnaires which are developed for the journalists and the audience of the print and online newspapers in Oman.

To present the complex analysis of the problem, a qualitative investigation will be provided. The data and all the necessary materials for the research should be collected with the help of analyzing the information presented in the previous investigations on the aspects of the topic and the answers from the questionnaires developed for the professional journalists and the audience of the print newspapers and the Internet news resources and online newspapers in Oman.

The findings of the research will be evaluated with the help of the qualitative methods which can be discussed as effective for analyzing the results of this investigation. The discussion of the problem will be presented with references to the modern tendencies in the development of traditional and online journalism which should be determined during the examination of the journalists’ positions and modern studies.

References

Ahlers, D 2006 “News consumption and the new electronic media”, Harvard International Journal of Press/Politics, vol. 11, pp. 29-52.

Allan, S 2006, Online news: journalism and the Internet, Open University Press, Maidenhead, UK.

Betancourt, L 2009, How social media is radically changing the newsroom. Web.

Dimmick, J, Chen, Y & Li, Z 2004, “Competition between the Internet and traditional news media: the gratification-opportunities niche dimension”, Journal of Media Economics, vol. 17 no. 1, pp. 19-33.

Farhi, P 2009, “The Twitter explosion”, American Journalism Review, vol. 31 no. 3, pp. 27-31.

Freedman, D 2006, “Internet transformations: old media resilience in the new media revolution”, in J Curran & D Morley (eds), Media and cultural theory, Routledge, London, pp. 83-87.

Lowrey, W & Anderson, W 2005, “The journalist behind the curtain: participatory functions on the Internet and their impact on perceptions of the work of journalism”, Journal of Computer-Mediated Communication, vol. 10 no. 3, pp. 34-37.

Matheson, D 2004, “Weblogs and the epistomology of the news: some trends in online journalism”, New Media & Society, vol. 6 no. 4, pp. 443-468.

Scott, B 2005, “A contemporary history of digital journalism”, Television and New Media, vol. 6, pp. 89-126.

Thurman, N 2007, “The globalisation of journalism online: a transatlantic study of news websites and their international readers”, Journalism: Theory, Practice and Criticism, vol. 8, pp. 285-307.