New Media: Web, Blogs and Journalism [Part: 2/2]

Published by Emil Abraham,



Internet: A Short History
A single person did not create the Internet that we know and use today. Vinton Cerf and Robert Kahn design TCP during 1973 and later publish it with the help of Yogen Dalal and Carl Sunshine in December of 1974. Most people consider these two people the inventors of the Internet.
  • TCP - Short for Transmission Control Protocol/Internet Protocol, TCP/IP is a set of rules (protocols) governing communications among all computers on the Internet. More specifically, TCP/IP dictates how information should be packaged (turned into bundles of information called packets), sent, and received, as well as how to get to its destination.
In 1990, while working at CERN, Tim Berners-Lee develops HTML, which made a huge contribution to how we navigate and view the Internet today.
The first web site, info.cern.ch, is developed by Tim Berners-Lee at CERN and published online on August 6, 1991.
  • HTML is short for HyperText Markup Language. HTML is used to create electronic documents (called pages) that are displayed on the World Wide Web. Each page contains a series of connections to other pages called hyperlinks. Every web page you see on the Internet is written using one version of HTML code or another. HTML code ensures the proper formatting of text and images so that your Internet browser may display them as they are intended to look. Without HTML, a browser would not know how to display text as elements or load images or other elements. HTML also provides a basic structure of the page, upon which Cascading Style Sheets are overlaid to change its appearance. One could think of HTML as the bones (structure) of a web page, and CSS as its skin (appearance).
Tim Berners-Lee introduces WWW to the public on August 6, 1991 and becomes available for everyone August 23, 1991. The World Wide Web (WWW) is what most people today consider the "Internet" or a series of sites and pages that are connected with links. The Internet had hundreds of people who helped develop the standards and technologies used today, but without the WWW, the Internet would not be as popular as it is today.

Website > Blogs > Online Newspapers
A "website" is really anyplace you can visit online with a URL/Domain (http://google.com) and allows you to view content. Therefore, a blog is a type of website. Blogs were created to have a simple interface and to make regular posts. These posts are typically displayed as a listing in chronological order, with the newest content at the top of the page. ‘All blogs are websites but not all websites are blogs.’ Difference between blogs and other websites.

Blogs
A blog (short for weblog) is a personal online journal that is frequently updated and intended for general public consumption. Blogs are defined by their format: a series of entries posted to a single page in reverse-chronological order. Blogs generally represent the personality of the author or reflect the purpose of the Web site that hosts the blog. Topics sometimes include brief philosophical musings, commentary on Internet and other social issues, and links to other sites the author favours, especially those that support a point being made on a post.
Blogs represent a significant shift in information flow, where information flows from many to many seamlessly. It is a serious challenge to traditional journalism. Blogs do not have gatekeepers, so they are raw, honest, immediate passionate, opinionated and strike an emotional chord. At times they may not be credible as there are no gatekeepers. It is professional journalism versus amateur journalism. Media has realised the growing power of blogs. So news websites nowadays encourage blogging by their employees on their site.Many celebrities too have their own blogs.
Blogs are on varied topics. They are easy to start but difficult to sustain. Those who wish to start a blog will have higher cyber space without payments and start to use the space. Add text, colours, paintings, photos, audio, visual, animation, graphics and more. Publish advertisements, persuasive pieces, and campaign materials; make money by business promotion, public relation activity, reviews etc. The owner of the blog decides the content and design. Seamless freedom is the major attraction of blogs. This is a global space. Any person around the world with internet accessibility can open the page and read. Blogs offer such an international opportunity to interact with the real faceless community. Though there is an international accepted code of ethics in journalism, all laws and regulations regarding publications in one country are applicable for a blog.
The advantages of blogs are creative freedom, instantaneity, interactivity, lack of marketing constraints. The key features of a blog includes content area, archives, comments, feeds, plug ins, widgets, themes, templates, trackbacks, pingbacks.
  • A trackback is a notification that WordPress sends to an external site when you link to it in your content. This would display an excerpt of your post and a link to your site in the external site’s comments section once approved by its owner. An updated version of a trackback is known as pingback, which links to external articles automatically.
The blogosphere is made up of all blogs and their interconnections. The term implies that blogs exist together as a connected community (or as a collection of connected communities) or as a social networking service in which everyday authors can publish their opinions. Blogs can follow other blogs and repost portions of original posts or link out to original sources that prompted a post, such as news articles or product releases. Although bloggers can become influential and even profit from their posts, blogs are often maintained out of a desire to share thoughts with like-minded people rather than profit.
The blogosphere has become an invaluable source for citizen journalism – that is, real-time reporting about events and conditions in local areas that large news agencies do not or cannot cover. Blogosphere is a term some writers have used to describe the grassroots and interactive journalism made possible by participants in blogs (logs or journals maintained on the Internet) and the symbiotic relationship between bloggers and traditional journalists.
Example blog: The One Rule for Life by Mark Manson
Vlog
A vlog (or video blog) is a blog that contains video content. The small, but growing, segment of the blogosphere devoted to vlogs is sometimes referred to as the vlogosphere. is a form of web television. Vlog entries often combine embedded video (or a video link) with supporting text, images, and other metadata. Entries can be recorded in one take or cut into multiple parts. The vlog category is popular on YouTube.
Some bloggers have included video content for years. However, vlogging is becoming more common as equipment becomes cheaper and supporting software and hosting and aggregation sites become more prevalent. Both Yahoo and Google feature video sections and most MP3 players, such as iPod, support video. Anyone with access to a video-capable camera and a relatively recent computer with a high-speed connection can create a vlog and publish and distribute it online.
The vlogosphere is a very democratic arena. Unlike mainstream media, such as television or commercial Web sites, vlogs are not, for the most part, created to make money. As a result, vloggers are free to make their content about whatever they desire, no matter how controversial or esoteric the topic. Vlogging gives average citizens an audience and a chance to make their voices heard. Vlogs are often distributed through RSS feeds. Video content distributed in this way is sometimes called a vodcast or a vidcast.
Example vlogs: How to Vlog by Casey Neistat and Peter McKinnon
Podcast
A podcast is a digital medium that consists of an episodic series of audio or digital radio, subscribed to and downloaded through web syndication or streamed online to a computer or mobile device.
A list of all the audio or video files associated with a given series is maintained centrally on the distributor's server as a web feed, and the listener or viewer employs special client application software, known as a pod catcher, that can access this web feed, check it for updates, and download any new files in the series. This process can be automated so that new files are downloaded. Files are stored locally on the user's computer or other device ready for offline use. Podcasting contrasts with webcasting (Internet streaming), which generally isn't designed for offline listening to user-selected content.
There are now thousands of podcasts and the number is growing rapidly. Podcasters (as they are called) are not restricted by traditional broadcast formats and regulations. This allows for numerous subjects and formats. Podcasting is an escape from the same old, corporate conglomerate, worn-out, clear channel controlled, pre-programmed content. Anyone can create a podcast. All over the world, people are creating podcasts on subjects ranging from movies, to technology, to music, to politics etc. This is new original content made by passionate people who want to share their creativity with the world. The cost to start podcasting is so low that anyone can do it. Podcasters are creating very raw and real content and listeners are responding. Some podcasts are "talk show" style. Others introduce the latest bands and music. With podcasts one can stay current on the news, get a glimpse into someone’s life, listen to movie reviews and the list goes on.
The first podcasts were downloaded into an iPod, the portable audio player of Apple company. The words iPod and broadcasting were combined to form podcasting. Podcasting does not challenge radio, but its advantages are negligible production, and hosting cost, easy to create and edit, wide reach, no licensing.
Example podcasts:
The Way We Used To Feel
People Power: Coming Together For Science (Bird watching citizen-scientists in Kerala and the great power of crowds coming together for a natural history project.)

To summarise..
Blogs are dynamic (lots of new content on a regular basis), they get more attention from search engines driving more traffic than a regular website. Every time a new post is added to a blog, it automatically "pings" the search engines to update the status.
  • Blogs usually contain extensive information on a particular topic/several topics. Tags/categories are used to organize content within a blog.
  • Blogs facilitate high user engagement/interaction. Most blogs have a comment field for interaction.
  • Blogs provide easy setup features as opposed to technical expertise required to set up a regular website. On the other hand, a regular website is relatively static, contain basic information, rarely facilitate user engagement and require high level of technical expertise to set up.
Online Newspapers
An online newspaper is the online version of a newspaper, either as a stand-alone publication or as the online version of a printed periodical. Going online created more opportunities for newspapers, such as competing with broadcast journalism in presenting breaking news in a more timely manner. The credibility and strong brand recognition of well established newspapers, and the close relationships they have with advertisers, are also seen by many in the newspaper industry as strengthening their chances of survival. The movement away from the printing process can also help decrease costs.
Online newspapers, like printed newspapers, have legal restrictions regarding libel, privacy, and copyright. The Information Technology (Guidelines for Intermediaries and Digital Media Ethics Code) Rules, 2021 prescribes how digital news organisations, social media platforms and OTT streaming services will be regulated by the government. The rules include a strict oversight mechanism involving several ministries and a code of ethics that bans content affecting "the sovereignty and integrity of India" and that which threatens national security.
News reporters are being taught to shoot video and to write in the succinct manner necessary for Internet news pages. Some newspapers have attempted to integrate the Internet into every aspect of their operations, e.g., the writing of stories for both print and online, and classified advertisements appearing in both media, while other newspaper websites may be quite different from the corresponding printed newspaper.
News Sites
Most news sites are designed as blogs. A news site can be an online version of a newspaper/television channel. There are also sites that exist only online.
Types of online newspapers
  • Replica of print
    • The most common digital edition format today is ‘Replica Edition‘. It’s a true one to one replication of the print newspaper. For most newspapers, this is still the base form of edition products in their digital offering.
    • This product usually has a rather loyal audience, making it a great retention product. Being the product your most loyal readers see every day means it requires attentive product development. Most often it is enriched with article lightboxes allowing for a smoother digital reading experience (seen in the far right image below) or other content enrichment options such as extra picture galleries, video streams, links to web content or to HTML5 infographics. Most often replica editions are brought to readers in the form of iOS or Android apps
  • Digital native editions
    • A digital native edition newspaper is a type of newspaper that is primarily designed for consumption on digital devices, such as smartphones, tablets, and laptops. It is created with a digital-first approach, meaning that it is optimized for digital platforms and may have interactive features such as videos, images, and social media integration.
    • Digital native edition newspapers may also offer personalized content, such as news feeds that are tailored to the user's interests and preferences. They often feature responsive design, which means that the layout and formatting of the newspaper automatically adjust to fit the screen size of the device being used.
    • Examples of digital native edition newspapers include The New York Times Digital Edition, The Guardian Digital Edition, and The Washington Post Digital Edition.
  • Newsletters
    • Newsletters are nothing new but until recently they have only been viewed as a way to get readers to your website. However we’re seeing the emergence of media products that exist primarily as newsletters such as theSkimm or Morning Brew. This supports the idea that newsletters are essentially digital editions, using email as the distribution channel.
    • Just like print newspapers, successful newsletters come at a regular frequency, at a predictable time and with specially selected content in a well-designed format. Newsletters are also unique in this space as they are well suited for developing habits in readers that will convince them to become paying subscribers. While most publishers lock their ePapers to subscribers-only, newsletters are still often seen as a way to push readers further down the subscription funnel.
    • Readers themselves are also turning to their inboxes more often for news, with a Reuters report finding that 25% of Americans choose email as their preferred starting point for news, with the French and Danes close behind, at 21% and 24% respectively. Føljeton, a Danish news site, realised its readers were more interested in their newsletters so they even pivoted to become a newsletter company.
  • Other emerging edition formats
    • While the previous three types are the most popular forms of digital editions today, there is still a wide range of innovations and experiments that follow the principles of edition products.
    • One interesting example is the ‘stories‘ format, which is predicted to surpass feeds as the main way people share news with friends this year. Already on Instagram we see publishers such as The New York Times, The Guardian, and The Financial Times experimenting with this format
News Aggregators
  • Sites/apps that uses news content such as blogs, podcasts, vlogs, and mainstream mass media websites to present a continuous, customizable flow of articles organized from thousands sources. For e.g., Google News, Yahoo News, AllTop, Flipboard, Feedly, etc.
  • A news aggregator is "software that periodically reads a set of news sources, in one of several XML-based formats, finds the new bits, and displays them in reverse-chronological order on a single page."
  • They combine the potentials of a news website and a search engine.

Future of Online Journalism
Financial viability for newspapers and most magazines, at least for now, requires retaining as many existing print readers as possible. Yet the trends are clear: people, especially the young, are turning to the internet for more and more of their news. Developing an effective digital strategy is essential for long term survival. Also, while it is accepted that ‘good writing is good writing wherever and however it is published’, differences still apply between print and online news.
One of the reasons is the reader’s volatility. Titles, style of writing and content were all important in print papers, but it must now be adapted to the user interface of online websites. The potential to customise content means readers may select only the content that appeals to them. The web has also given rise to citizen journalism. Technically it means that everyone with access to the internet can get involved in a story. Global news can be produced from anywhere and by anyone.
The rise of Internet and smartphone will not only change the way readers access news but also put extra pressure on journalists. Only tech-savvy journalists will survive with the line between newsdesk and bureau getting blurred. And as technology advances, the days are not far away when reporters will be asked not only to file a report but to take photos, video grabs and even upload the story on the website sharing it across social media platforms. On the other hand, news organisations can use AI (from machine learning to natural language processing) to automate a huge number of tasks that make up the chain of journalistic production, including detecting, extracting and verifying data, producing stories and graphics, publishing (with sorting, selection and prioritisation filters) and automatically tagging articles.
The future of online journalism is constantly evolving, with new technologies, trends, and business models emerging all the time. Here are a few potential developments that could shape the future of online journalism.
1. Personalization: As artificial intelligence (AI) and machine learning (ML) technologies continue to advance, online news platforms may be able to deliver more personalized content to their readers. This could help to increase engagement and loyalty, as well as to improve revenue through targeted advertising.
(Source: Sushmita Sinha, "The Future of Online Journalism: Personalisation, Micro-Monetisation and Artificial Intelligence," Journalism.co.uk, 19 October 2021, https://www.journalism.co.uk/news/the-future-of-online-journalism-personalisation-micro-monetisation-and-artificial-intelligence/s2/a842797/)
2. Augmented reality (AR) and virtual reality (VR): These technologies could help to create more immersive and engaging online news experiences, allowing readers to explore stories in new ways. For example, news organizations could use AR and VR to create interactive maps, 360-degree videos, and virtual tours of news events.
(Source: Lauren Johnson, "How Augmented Reality and Virtual Reality Could Revolutionize Online Journalism," Adweek, 22 March 2021, https://www.adweek.com/media/how-augmented-reality-and-virtual-reality-could-revolutionize-online-journalism/)
3. Subscription-based models: As traditional advertising revenue continues to decline, many online news organizations are exploring subscription-based models as a way to generate revenue. By offering exclusive content, access to events, and other perks to paying subscribers, news organizations may be able to build more sustainable business models.
(Source: Robert Hernandez, "The Future of Online Journalism: Paywalls and Digital Subscriptions," MediaShift, 27 February 2018, https://mediashift.org/2018/02/future-online-journalism-paywalls-digital-subscriptions/)
4. Trust and transparency: In an era of fake news and misinformation, online news organizations will need to work hard to build and maintain trust with their readers. This may require more transparency around sources, fact-checking, and editorial decision-making, as well as a greater focus on ethical journalism practices.
(Source: Emily Bell, "The Future of Journalism: Risks, Threats and Opportunities," The Guardian, 12 May 2019, https://www.theguardian.com/media/2019/may/12/the-future-of-journalism-risks-threats-and-opportunities-emily-bell)