EL200: the news filled Net (Ch.3)

Chapter three of Going Live by Philip Seib praises the Internet as a fundamental news medium. The section I found to be most important was on page 89, under the subheading More than a Delivery System. Seib explains that the Internet allows interaction between viewers and news organizations unlike print and television news. I would include radio on that list, but I feel radio news does allow for feedback more easily through listeners calling in and commenting on the air.

The Internet has been an incredible source for news since its creation because news organizations do not want to be left behind technologically. Millions upon millions of viewers access the Web first for their news, so it would only hurt a news station to not have an official web site.

I can personally relate to this because of the Setonian online. Evan, the online editor, has recently revamped the page, and included a distinct button for "Your Voice." This is where we hope to have Setonian readers give us feedback which we all feel is vitally important to the paper. After all, if you're not publishing what your readers want to see, you're not running a successful publication.

Viewers of television news don't have the ability to reach through the television, and choke Larry King when he becomes irritating, or pat Connie Chung on the head for an outstanding broadcast. Television doesn't allow room for error, when it's live, it's permanent. Seib even explains that corrections made to stories on the air are usually very "haphazardly" done (p. 89) because there is only so much time to broadcast information between commercial breaks, it leaves little room for any additions.

The Internet also allows news organizations to incorporate multimedia tools which allow the user to interact with the news the site is providing. This can be done through streaming video, and most importantly, Flash presentations. Not only are these tools aesthetically pleasing, but the Internet allows news to be updated instantly, thus providing a more timely service.