Journalism and the Internet

Many of the effects that the advent of the internet has had on journalism are relatively easy to identify, as evidenced by the many points brought up by Jay Rosen and Nicholas Carr. Indeed, many of the arguments they bring up are ideas that have likely occurred to people who have only thought briefly on the subject, such as  more widespread access to materials and the ability for people who were once only consumers of news to contribute to the creation and discussion of it. Of the many arguments presented by these two debaters, the one that stood out the most to me was actually touched on by both debaters and the moderator as well. The question of 'Which stories are we missing?' seems to me to be the most important one to ask, because journalism is chiefly about delivering information.

The moderator, Tom Standage, touches on this briefly when he states that "measuring the impact of [less reporting] is almost impossible . . . you cannot know when a story is not being covered". I believe that one of the perpetual struggles of humankind is not knowing what we don't know, and I like that the moderator is working in the same idea space. While I did say that many of the effects of the internet on journalism are easy to identify, it is important to accept that there are effects we will probably never realize.

Moving away from the abstract to focus on a specific topic, both Rosen and Carr address the decreasing amount of coverage that news organizations are dedication to local governments, such as state capitols. (http://www.ajr.org/article.asp?id=4721). This is a result of cuts in staffing, and the implications are rather frightening. To some,  this may seem like an acceptable sacrifice (if one has to be made), because of the lack of attention that consumers usually give to local government news. To me, though, it is a frightening proposition, because while consumers may be more drawn to the sweeping and scathing rhetoric that makes federal government so interesting to watch, it is often the decisions made at the local level that has the most significant impact on people's lives. Regardless of whether they choose to reach out for it, the information must be there for them to find.