Outside the box: Online journalism 101

Two weeks ago, a graduating student working on her thesis came to the office for an interview about news websites. One of her questions touched on the difference between online journalism and traditional media i.e. newspapers, radio, and TV. I remembered her query when I read UST’s defense last week regarding the university’s failure to reply to repeated questions from veteran journalist Marites Dañguilan-Vitug about Chief Justice Renato Corona’s dissertation, or the lack of it. “Is anyone claiming to be an online journalist given the same attention as one coming from the mainstream press?” came the reaction from UST, which also said officials were “at a loss on how to respond to ‘online journalism.’" It may seem like a conundrum, but the question is actually a simple one that I’ve been getting in various training sessions since I started my journey with GMA News Online in 2009. And based on my experiences so far, I’ve been telling students and colleagues alike that online journalism is an exciting medium to explore because it combines the three traditional media – press, radio, TV – in one digital format, with the additional benefit of multimedia that gives room for creative minds to produce interactive stories. The important thing to remember is that it is geared towards an Internet audience, something that is not fully appreciated by media consumers. Sounds geeky, and if that’s not enough, it might interest the really curious to know that online journalism is not really something new. For decades, the world has been relying on wire agencies such as AP, AFP, and Reuters to churn out news stories from various countries to audiences across the globe. Having done both, I believe the main difference between the two is that wire agencies have subscribers while most news websites have followers; the exceptions are some well-known foreign newspapers that charge readers for selected content. In all other respects, online journalism adheres to the same values as its precursor: accuracy, fairness, speed, relevance, and a keen news sense. Admittedly, wire agencies are much stricter and have more experienced editors, even as I’ve been kidding an ex-colleague that they have to update their stock phrases (poverty-stricken Philippines? With all those malls? Excusez moi :) to keep up with current realities. Still and all, any self-respecting and professionally run news website will strive to practice the tenets of journalism the way their staff learned the craft from university professors and mentors. In the case of GMA News Online, this means not using Wikipedia as reference because it is a crowd-sourced compendium that can be manipulated; besides, there are many reliable official sources available anyway. The way we practice it, online journalism also means adding value (to use an economics term) to storified radio and TV stories from our parent network by putting background information and context, and fact-checking every little bit of data that finds its way into our stories. Furthermore, even with our limited staff, we try to produce as many original news and feature articles as we can, which distinguishes us from competitors that often simply reproduce content from their principal medium (e.g. newspapers and TV news) in their web counterpart. But what about the difference between independent media and corporate (read: mainstream) media, as the UST statement pointed out? Can newly established outfits like rappler.com be trusted and held to account for their actions in the same way as a longtime source like GMA News? After all, we are answerable to our company officials and stockholders, while non-profits and smaller media may be seen as less stringent because of the more informal nature of their organizations. This debate reminds me of the alternative press during the Marcos years, when NGO and school publications became more credible sources of information than the crony newspapers. Back then, so-called “xerox journalism” gained cachet due to the prevailing media repression, and independent papers were seen as a better choice compared to mainstream news that tended to practice self-censorship. But that was then, back when a despotic ruler held sway. In these freer times, when big media no longer has to fear government restrictions, are independent media still needed? There are no easy answers to this question. As it evolves, online journalism will be examined in terms of its identity as a news product, and how McLuhan’s theory that “the medium is the message” can be applied to this new format. For its practitioners, however, the medium doesn’t really matter.  It is an oft-repeated mantra in the industry that a journalist is only as good as her last byline. That means the quality of the story will determine whether a journalist will remain credible in the eyes of the public or not. Whether it’s printed in a newspaper, broadcast on radio and TV, or posted in a website doesn’t really matter. In the end, it’s the substance of the story that counts.