Modern Journalism Made Possible with the World Wide Web

In the field of journalism, information involving current events and issues are traditionally published through newspapers or magazines, or broadcasted over television or radio. But M/Cyclopedia of New Media reports that due to the development of the Internet, a new medium has emerged. This medium is known as the World Wide Web, and it provides certain advantages over any other used by news organizations.

Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia, defines that the World Wide Web is a huge set of interlinked documents, images and other resources, linked by hyperlinks and URLs. According to Whatis.com, its outstanding feature is hypertext, a method of instant cross-referencing. Most sites controlled by the World Wide Web contain specific words or phrases appearing in different colored text or underlined, and occasionally there are buttons, images or portions of images, all of which can be selected by "clicking" on it with the use of a pointer. When one of these options are selected, the user will be transferred to a site or page relevant to what is chosen. People sometimes use the word Internet in place of the World Wide Web, but they are not identical in meaning.

The most recent, significant change in journalism is the invention of the World Wide Web. As its population of users continues to grow, it is becoming more accepted and available as a source of information. It provides faster access to databases, archives, and contact details, and the ability to distribute and update news more frequently. On-line news can be supplemented with pictures, sounds, animation, or videos. Hyperlinks and interactivity are also made accessible.

The World Wide Web is just one of many services offered over the Internet. CenterSpan Internet Tutorial describes the Internet as a worldwide collection of computer networks, cooperating with each other to exchange data using a common software standard. Any computer having a successful connection to the Internet is able to access these networks, and with the application of a web browser, a user can send or receive information. Other types of interface, such as on-line chat rooms, electronic mail (E-mail), and the sharing and transfer of files are made possible by specialized computer programs. Internet users can communicate with each other, post and update information, experience content in a variety of formats, and gain from various perspectives all over the world.

The currently existing version of the World Wide Web originated in the late 1980s, when an English scientist named Tim Berners-Lee started experimenting with Hypertext Markup Language (HTML) and Hypertext Transfer Protocol (HTTP). On August 6th, 1991 his work was publicized when the first web page was hosted on the first web server at CERN, a European organization dedicated to particle research. For years the World Wide Web mostly consisted of simple text and rigid page structure, but eventually corporations began to make Internet connections with homes and offices, and networks and software evolved to help people easily get on-line. As technical quality improved, better-looking and more complex pages became a reality, as well as the separation of content and design, and the opportunity to visualize and store large amounts of information. Web hosting, on-line stores, and Internet advertising took off suddenly, and corporations such as Lycos, Altavista, and Yahoo began offering search-by-keyword services at no cost. As a result of these services, directories of web content were created, making it possible to separate useful data from background material.

As the World Wide Web continues to develop, and its number of users increases, the role it plays in the world at large will become even more important. In an article created by the WebKnowHow Editor's Desk, it is written that the enforcing of web standards and the improvement in technologies will lead to an even more accessible Internet -- in fact, it is possible that incompatibility issues will diminish drastically. The expanding use of Radio-frequency identification (RFID) and mobile devices are bringing World Wide Web applications into the everyday world. More and more people will be able to involve it in their personal or business lives. Government regulation of the Internet will become a popular issue, and search algorithms will require additional research.

My conclusion is that the World Wide Web has brought many opportunities to the field of journalism. This single source provides a very convenient way to view information. A user is able to transfer easily between documents, and can read text, view pictures, watch animation, listen to sounds, and explore interactive virtual environments. Only a small percentage of it is restricted to subscribers or other authorized users. The majority of web pages are available to anyone with Internet access. It offers a place where companies, universities, institutions and individuals can display information about their products, services, facilities, research, and private lives.

I recommend that on-line journalism should replace mass circulating newspapers as a basic news readership. In an article published by mndaily.com, Frank Erickson writes that newsprint, which is what newspapers are made of, runs between 70 percent and 100 percent virgin forests. Over 60 percent of newsprint is recycled, but not much of that is made newsprint again. The bigger usage of computers would be less of a strain on our natural resources, namely chopping down trees to make paper.

Sources

1.)M/Cyclopedia of New Media, "Online Journalism-Applications" M/Cyclopedia of New Media

2.)Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia, "Internet" Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

3.)Whatis.com, "Internet" Whatis.com

4.)CenterSpan, "What Is the Internet?" CenterSpan INTERNET TUTORIAL

5.)WebKnowHow Editor's Desk, "Past, Present and Future of the World Wide Web" WebKnowhow

6.)Frank Erickson, "Perspective and questioning the paper we're printed on" mndaily.com