Author: Humbulani Rambau. Introduction

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1 Author: Humbulani Rambau Introduction This paper discusses the role of information communication technologies (ICT s) in journalism. It will compare various traditional mediums such as radio, television and the printing press with online news services.the comparison will outline the key strengths of online news services (journalism) against the backdrop of mentioned traditional mediums. To reap the benefits of ICT s in journalism, this paper will discuss the changing roles of a journalist within the ICT journalism operation and also suggests that there should be skills development programme aimed at empowering journalists with skills central to the operation of an ICT journalism operation. This paper has also discussed the role of the Internet in journalism and also identified that that the advent of the World Wide Web and open source software has turned everyone into a journalist. The impact of web 2.0 applications and its key strengths in journalism and citizen participation in socio-economic and political discourses has also been given attention. This paper also identified that the Internet provides a resourceful links and sources for research. It however indicated the need for journalists to verify their sources as there is so much information on the net which can also be misleading. Good journalism is based in principles of ethical and good practice; this paper has therefore urged journalists not to fall into the trap of unethical journalism. Attention has also been brought to the fact that until recently there are no universal codes of ethical and good journalism practice applicable to the net. This paper therefore calls upon media institutions internationally to set universal codes of good practice for online journalism. The blurred relationship between a journalist and publisher has also been identified in ICT journalism ad this paper suggested a need for journalists to acquire other skills to complement their trade such as desktop publishing skills. Attention has also been brought to the fact that ICT s will facilitate knowledge and information management in newsrooms. The role of information communication technologies in journalism cannot be underestimated because such technologies present immense opportunities for information communication, storage and retrieval. Information communication technologies compel institutional reorganization. They have become a lifeblood of any successful business and professional operation and journalism is not an exception. To remain competitive and relevant, journalism operations need to adopt information communication technologies in their business strategies. Considering that traditional newspaper readers have access to computers and other interactive mobile technologies, newspaper operations have no choice but to design strategies best suited to reach the mobile and computer networked reader. When designing such strategies newspaper operations need to exploit various multimedia channels to complement their stories such as games, visuals (video & images) and text. In the past, traditional newspapers could only tell stories through text and images only, but now the advent of new media technologies allows journalists to tell stories in multiple channels. This increases the credibility of the story. It also allows users (readers), to become active participants in information creation. In other words, it turns users from been passive recipients of information to active participants of 1 / 7

2 information production. To further understand the role of information communication technologies in journalism this paper examines the Internet (Online news) and its capability compared to other forms of traditional communication. The Internet (Online news) offers a complete communication solution for both journalists and their audience, compared to radio, television, newspapers and news magazines. The table below illustrates the power of online news services in story telling when compared to other forms of story telling as also indicated medium strengths and weakness analysis below: Strengths and Weaknesses of Different News Media source: Online Journalism 2005 Medium Strengths & Weaknesses -Newspapers In-depth News/reporting. Can cover many news subjects in depth. Can t use video or audio to cover stories. Can t cover events live. -News magazines Offers deep analysis of news than any other medium. Excellent colour photos Can t use video or audio. Cant cover events live -Radio Convenience most people have radios(i.e. in cars, bedrooms and e.t.c) Can t use pictures or video. No depth analysis of news. -Television Compelling. Can show high quality video of most events and interviews. Can use audio of events interviews. Radio:Format limits depth of coverage. Can t cover as many subjects as print or online media. -Online news Can update instantly, can include photos, video and audio of events, can cover stories live, can go into greater depth than broadcast media Inconvenient-must start computer, video quality is poor, requires close concentration, download times, inhibit quick access to information, sources sometimes questionable Source: Online Journalism 2005 Richard Craig San Jose State University Based on the medium strengths and weakness barometer above it is apparent that online news services are multifunctional and flexible than other traditional forms of news media (Craig: 2 / 7

3 2005). This is also so because online services incorporate all functionalities which are found in traditional news media. It is also so because online news services are able to offer a tripple play (i.e. video, text and audio) which other news media channels can only offer in isolation. Perhaps the most striking feature of online news services is their ability to instantly update information. This suggests that where there is a factual error online news services will be able to update and correct information instantly as opposed to other traditional news media, such as those tabled above. In the light of online news services capabilities it is apparent that information communication technologies are already enhancing the journalism trade. Another interesting feature of online journalism is its interactivity nature which allows reporters and audiences to interact. It also allows for readers to talk back to the reporters. When readers talk back to reporters are able to track the numbers and this can help secure major advertising clients (i.e. people who are visiting the website for news information.). The role of ICT's in journalism cannot be realized if journalists are ICT illiterate. It is obvious that the role of an online journalist differs from a print journalist. Online journalists roles are continually redefined because of the ever-evolving nature of ICT's. This means that online journalists are flexible as their job, medium and audiences influence how they present their content. In other words online journalists not only know the principle of journalism but need to know how to operate various computer packages(craig:2005). A multi-skilled and converged journalist has become a favorable candidate for news operations; such a person is able to perform various functions independently. There is a growing need for converged journalists and in the absence of trained ICT journalists, the potential for ICT 's in enhancing journalism seems ambitious, particularly in Africa where access to ICT's and training is privileged. Information communication technologies, particularly the birth of the Internet has turned everyone into a journalist. Today everyone can write stories and publish online without actually having been to be in a newsroom operation. According to Rosales there are two unique features which the Internet offers that print media do not: citizen participation and dialogue in real-time (Rosales: 2006). Citizen participation is a very crucial aspect of democracy and this is enabled by information communication technologies. There is a trend that broadcasting media especially in Africa is owned by the state. This implies that what we often consume from broadcasting media are government news and government officials opinions that shape our understanding of the world and our surroundings. This also influences our decision making during election times. The role of information communication technologies in journalism is also to offer alternative forms of communication and also to increase the opinion base and platforms for a diversity of views. Access to diverse information sources makes the citizens to make thoroughly informed decisions. Most importantly, the citizens become the producers of information and contribute in the creation of socio-economic and political discourses. What is also interesting is the fact that through the Internet citizens can challenge the content of state owned broadcasting media content. This democratic exercise can not be achieved through other mediums due to the cost of implementing such mediums and the licensing and regulatory conditions which make it tougher for anyone, besides the state to own the broadcasting network. There is open source software that allows users to publish information on the desktop such as blogger. 3 / 7

4 Web 2.0 applications such as bloggs is also one of the tools which citizens use to document their stories and it has also become an important communication tool for journalists and its role in journalism can also not be overlooked. Ahiabenu noted that the key benefit of web 2.0 is the provision of an easy way for users to collaborate and share documents and data with others, which can help speed up the rate at which ideas are generated, processed and utilized (2007). For example, anyone who has the power and energy to produce content can become a blogger. Bloggers, like most newspaper operations set the agenda for their blogs. In other words, they choose a subject which they want to write on. They further link their bloggs with news sites carrying content which complement their blogs. It is important to note that bloggs are ICT's applications which are free to all, including journalists and their role in journalism cannot be underestimated. This is because whilst it is costly to set up an online news operation, it is free to set up a blogg. All that one need is access to Internet and computer hardware; through this ICT's are making entry into the journalism trade much more easier and will increase plurality and diversity of media content. In light of the above view it becomes apparent that ICT's are playing a positive role in society in general and journalism in particular. Another crucial role of ICT's in journalism is for research purposes. In the past one had to access information in the paper format. Accessing information also meant that one has to be in a library. When communicating one could in the past only communicate via faxes, telegrams and postal mails. In the case of research, doing research in the past was time consuming and quite a lengthy process. Communicating with research stakeholders or sources was also time consuming (Randall: 2000). The advent of computers and particularly Internet meant that it has become easier for journalists to research stories online and to also source sources making news online(randall:2000). It has also become easier for journalists to source contact of the story makers and communicate with contacts online. Internet, through connections will easily facilitate the interviewing process for journalists. Internet will also offer journalists an opportunity to link a story happening in their geographies with international trends. Also that where journalists are reporting complex stories such as environmental stories, they can verify facts and collaborate with other journalists working in the same subject. In brief, Internet has become a library on desktop. The challenge is for journalists to identify authentic websites because as more and more people are publishing on desktop, journalists run a risk of been trapped in the information glut. In other words, where journalists cannot verify the authenticity of particular sinister websites, they will run a risk of misinforming their readers. Misinforming readers who spend time on the Internet will result in journalists and their companies losing credibility. Where there are no guidelines of good journalism practice in online journalism operations, information communication technologies will erode the ethics of journalism. Online journalists need to apply the ethics of journalism online. Applying such ethics in an online journalism environment seems to be a daunting challenge facing online journalism operations. Bradley Osborn also noted in his research paper Ethics and Credibility in Online Journalism that the immediacy brought by the online environment, a medium which everyone is a potential publisher, allows for even less deliberation by the journalist and editor. In other words, matters of anonymity, identity, access to information, and protection of intellectual property impact in the practice of online journalism (Osborn: 2001). Osborn argues online journalists have received 4 / 7

5 little or no attention from researchers, perhaps few, pure online journalistic efforts exist, compared to the wealth of trivia, entertainment, personal communication and pornography (Osborn:2001). It is important to note that Osborn s argument in this regard suggests that journalists should strictly adhere to the ethical code of journalism practice especially because the public is loosing trust in journalism. Also because the advent of new media technologies such as; open source software allows for everyone to publish information. Some of the information published online may not have veracity and cannot be verified should such a need arise. Perhaps it is necessary that world media particularly those with an online presence should set a universal good code of online journalism practice. In the absence of a universal code of good journalism practice, it remains unclear as to what constitutes good ethical practice in online journalism. The Internet provides journalists with innovative ways of research and communication. However the roles of a journalist are becoming blurry. This is because with online media the journalist can be referred to as a publisher. Osborn noted that legally anyone who posts information on the World Wide Web is a publisher but the people who compose the information are journalists (2001). What this suggests is the fact that in the online environment the roles of journalists will change and there is therefore a need for continuous upskilling and training for journalists so that they will be able to assume other roles which complement successful online journalism practice such as desktop publishing. Another most important role of ICT s in journalism which cannot be ignored is content management systems which allow for journalism operations to manage information and knowledge efficiently. Content management systems and knowledge management systems can be used interchangeably. In this paragraph this paper will prefer to use knowledge management system and its role in ICT journalism. There is no universal agreed upon definition of knowledge management but generally it refers to techniques (technological and e.t.c) which can be applied for the systematic collection, transfer, security and management of information within organizations, journalism included (Ahiabenu: 2007). Information communication technologies have the ability to facilitate knowledge management in the newsrooms. Ahiabenu identified strategies for knowledge management using technology as follows; developing a mission statement for news organizations and creating a resource of useful information and knowledge easily available on demand to all news room staff (2007). To efficiently set up an online knowledge management resource centre Ahiabenu suggests that newsrooms should identifiy the types of knowledge management systems relevant to their news operation such as copy archive, commercial databases, databases of experts in specialist areas, wikis, PDA s, groupware, intranet, Wires, content routing software and e.t.c(2007). It is apparent that the implementation of ICT s in journalism such as knowledge management systems driven by technology will save the journalism operation not only information but the costs for research, time and will also enhance information management in the newsroom. In his article Harnessing newsroom knowledge Professor Guy Berger also noted that knowledge management systems will help newsrooms manage workflow and staff performance (2005). He also noted that content management systems will allow users (journalists) to easily store and retrieve information (2005). He further pointed out that content management systems will allow for journalism operations to store back up information resources (2005). This means that should 5 / 7

6 a journalism operation knowledge management system collapses, such an operation can request back up information resources from their information technology outsourcing partner. In conclusion, this paper identified that the roles of ICT s in journalism cannot be underestimated. Also that since ICT s are here to stay journalism operations are compelled to adapt such technologies in their operations. It has also identified there need for journalists to continuously acquire skills and training if they were to remain competitive and relevant to the networked audience. It also identified that the key strength of ICT s in journalism is their abilities for multifuntionality which allows journalists to tell stories in ways which they would not have been able to tell through traditional mediums such as radio, television and the printing press. Information communication technologies allow journalists to tell stories in a triple play format. In other words, journalists can incorporate all the key strengths of traditional mediums in their storytelling. Journalists through ICT s will be able to tell stories using visual, audio and graphics. Traditional mediums cannot incorporate all these formats in storytelling. This suggests that with access to ICT s journalists will be able to tell their stories in ways that are interactive and engaging to their audience. This paper also identified the speed through which journalists can conduct research using Internet but also warned journalists not to fall in the trap of quoting online sources that are not verifiable. The space of ethical and good journalism online has also been tapped into and suggestions were made that although there are no universal ethical codes of good online journalism practice, journalists should strive for ethical journalism practice by applying traditional journalism principles of ethical and good journalism practice online. On a closing note; the benefits and roles of ICT s in journalism evolves with changes in technology, it is therefore imperative that journalism operations constantly engage in research to identify emerging information communication technologies channels to tell their stories which are also accessible by their readers. In the absence of research into the capabilities of information communication technologies in enhancing stories, journalism operations will become irrelevant to their intended and targeted audiences. Remaining relevant to the audiences compels continuous training for journalists with the aim to identify innovative ways to tell stories. References: Bradley Osborn Ethics and Credibility in Online Journalism University of Memphis, Tennessee 2001 David Randall The Universal Journalist 2nd edition, University of Cape Town Press 2000 Guy Berger Harnessing newsroom knowledge in Rhodes Journalism Review 25, November 2005 Journal Richard Craig Online Journalism reporting, writing and editing for new media Thompson Wordsworth / 7

7 Rey G. Rosales The Elements of Online Journalism iuniverse 2006 Kwami Ahiabenu Lecture Six Notes The role of information and knowledge management in the newsroom International Institute of ICT journalism, PPB 1007-Global Online Course in ICT Journalism 2007 Kwami Ahiabenu Web 2.0 and Web 3.0 International Institute of ICT journalism, PPB 1007-Global Online Course in ICT Journalism 2007 Source: 7 / 7