Today, most newspapers receive press releases and statements over fax. The technology has speeded up delivery. But that has rendered authentication of sources difficult for the reporters. Material may get discarded simply because it was delivered over fax.
In many countries, press hand outs are now being issued through electronic bulletin boards and the Internet. Thus, it is now possible to release information simultaneously across continents. Journalists can dial up and get the information any time after it has been posted. Bulletin boards can be of real help if used while managing calamities and other incidents. If authorities like the police keep on posting information as and when they become available on bulletin boards, they can avoid answering a lot of telephone calls from reporters.
The bulletin board and the Internet are among the new sources and tools that have become available to the journalist with the development of computer networking. These sources can be broadly classified as electronic sources of information. Perhaps the most important among them, on account of reliability, is the electronic databases. The new tools include E-mail, telnet, Internet browsers and search engines.
A large number of information systems are now available on a wide variety of subjects. This makes it possible for the journalists to obtain authentic information on specialised subjects. Specialisation was the in thing in journalism in the recent past. However, the importance of specialisation would diminish in the coming years as quick access to large pools information, on almost everything under the sun, is available through networks. It would now be possible for a journalist with good general knowledge and common sense to write stories relating to almost any field for the general public, provided that he is willing to learn some fundamentals of science, economics, commerce and other subjects.
The Internet also offers vast amount of information useful to journalists. However, much of the material on the Internet could not be considered reliable. (Generally, Gopher sites have more reliable information than world wide Web sites). There is also the possibility of Internet sites or files disappearing without trace. This could become a problem if the material is controversial. In fact, the several ethical questions are being thrown up about sourcing stories from the Internet. I am not detailing them here as it is not within the scope of this discussion.
The E-mail opens up wider vistas for the journalist to contact experts and other sources, and also for in-house communication. Journalists working from a location can now easily reach out to experts in other parts of country or even abroad to gather information and check facts. Most of the scientific institutions in India and Collectorates are now connected by E-mail. The only problem is that many here are not in the habit of checking their mail daily. Some are afraid of the cost of replying.
The discussion lists and usenet news groups also offer additional fora for the journalists to collect information. The media generally reflect the opinions of the elite and not the common man. Reporters usually look for opinions from politicians, opinion leaders from various professions and experts, except for occasional forays for interviewing the man on the street for his opinions on the budget or the like. The reason for this is not often the reporter's antipathy for the opinion of the common man but the difficulty in identifying the man on the street with worthwhile opinion. Discussion lists and news groups, when it becomes common here also, will remove this difficulty to a great extent. Reporters can subscribe to discussion lists or "lurk" relevant news groups to gauge the opinions of the general public. There are also cases of journalists posing questions and gathering responses. Several discussion lists exist which cater to various professional interests of journalists. Some of them help journalists in the use of electronic sources.
source: http://cyberjournalist.org.in/advance.html
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