What is Online Journalism?

My initial thought was that online journalism is just a newspaper or a magazine but accessible online. There is more to it than that. It is definitely a new and exciting form of journalism, rinsing our hands clean of the ink on our fingers and instead turning to our computers to connect and learn about the world.

This new format of journalism provides a wealth of new options. First of all, with a laptop, news and magazines can be read from anywhere. Stories can be edited or followed up on within minutes. NYtimes.com for instance has new stories all day long, especially if there is a crisis going on. Besides the hard information though, online journalism opens up he floodgates for comments and interaction with the public. Now information can be discussed from anywhere. Someone from Arkansas can interact and comment on the same national news that someone in Connecticut has.

The best part is that other new media can be integrated into the stories. Before articles might have a couple pictures - but now there can be slide shows, podcasts, video podcasts, and even personally submitted cellphone video footage. Interactivity and speed are the two biggest pluses in online journalism.