Last but not least: Journalism 2.0
Media professionals don't trust the web. And yet they are enthusiastic about it—as a research tool. But since no discord has ever lasted forever in human history, a shift is underway here as well: toward Journalism 2.0.
They don't trust it, the web. After all, it has entered its second era, the age of Web 2.0, where any web user is suddenly responsible for any content and the content belongs to everyone. Journalists are rightly skeptical about content and the development of the Internet. So skeptical, in fact, that they use it enthusiastically themselves. A recent study by the University of Vienna reveals that 80 percent of journalists consider the web to be an ideal research medium. This is interesting, because the same study found that the same media representatives have little faith in the Internet. Have journalists become schizophrenic? Or simply cognitively dissonant?
Quite simply, one attempted answer would be: we are on the cusp not only of a digital media revolution, but also of a journalistic one. This is because the traditional type of journalist will soon disappear and make way for a new one. This study derives three types of journalist from its findings: The "self-confident internet skeptic" (type 1), the "critical internet user" (type 2) and the "internet-savvy all-rounder" (type 3). Type 1 is currently still the predominant type, accounting for around two-thirds. It regards the Internet as a medium that is replacing traditional research methods and is bringing about a change in the way people work and their job description. Older journalists in particular belong to this type. Type 2 emphasizes its own function as a gatekeeper or filter. In the medium term, however, type 3, the internet-savvy all-rounder, will become the majority.
Today, women and young media representatives in particular already belong to this type. Even though 87% of all respondents believe in the relevance of the gatekeeper role against the backdrop of the internet age and 70% think that the agenda-setting function has increased, this type places no less trust in the internet than in traditional media. The conclusion: Journalism 2.0 is just around the corner.
Quite simply, one attempted answer would be: we are on the cusp not only of a digital media revolution, but also of a journalistic one. This is because the traditional type of journalist will soon disappear and make way for a new one. This study derives three types of journalist from its findings: The "self-confident internet skeptic" (type 1), the "critical internet user" (type 2) and the "internet-savvy all-rounder" (type 3). Type 1 is currently still the predominant type, accounting for around two-thirds. It regards the Internet as a medium that is replacing traditional research methods and is bringing about a change in the way people work and their job description. Older journalists in particular belong to this type. Type 2 emphasizes its own function as a gatekeeper or filter. In the medium term, however, type 3, the internet-savvy all-rounder, will become the majority.
Today, women and young media representatives in particular already belong to this type. Even though 87% of all respondents believe in the relevance of the gatekeeper role against the backdrop of the internet age and 70% think that the agenda-setting function has increased, this type places no less trust in the internet than in traditional media. The conclusion: Journalism 2.0 is just around the corner.
