Week 5: Meikle – D and E

Can open news be quality news? There is a great deal of ‘quality’ news on the internet, however, as discussed within paragraph 18 there are issues with priorities of what’s seen on the internet. In terms of ‘quality’ I think stories can still have quality to them, but unlike the news like BBC the reliability of the source can be questioned, due to the fact that anyone can become a journalist through websites like indymedia. We don’t know who is writing the stories, and the stories aren’t going through the same processes that BBC for example would do.
Then there is the factor of them being edited.
The fact the news is edited can raise the question is open news ever really open? With all the information, stories etc being on the internet in front of all online users they can easily be edited and changed into different formats. Therefore although people may see this as open news, there are still restrictions in how they are actually expressed over the internet.
Does this mean that 'open' news is mirroring what is going on with other types of media, i.e. gatekeeping?

Week 5: Meikle – C and F

DIY news online is part of the internet culture, I wouldn’t necessarily say that it’s an alternative culture. Within society today, people have been given the opportunity through the internet to express themselves; therefore it is a development of our culture. In terms of the news, it gives people the chance to inform others of their take on the news. When referring back to internet users being ‘researchers’ I think when people are on the internet, they are essentially looking for peoples opinions and not the mass media news. When it comes to other types of media, people can’t add, retaliate or adjoin their thoughts. Blogging could be seen as another example of this is in how users express themselves and the ‘news’ but from their perspectives. The net is “enabling changes to the nature of news and newsmakers” (Meikle 20) and could well “facilitate new types of media institution,” (Meikle 20) because of the constant developments that keep going continuing to enable anyone and everyone to contribute in some way to society. Indymedia is also an example of ‘Civil Society’ as we are shaping technology in order to get our opinions seen.

Week 5: Meikle – A and B

To me I would class online news as being the websites for BBC, ITV etc, consequently news channel websites. I’m aware that may seem narrow minded in saying that, but I think even though I have grown up with technology progressing, if I want to see, hear or watch the news I would go straight to bbc.com. However, I am aware, and do agree with what Burnett and Marshall say when they identified a “shifted boundary of what constitutes as news.” (Page 9) With reference to the internet and news, I think to some extent people don’t necessarily want mass media news, they want opinions and are looking for views on on-going social issues that they can read, and reply with their own views. A new chance compared to usually just being told the news. XXXXX
In terms of indymedia, it’s a specific site where people have the chance to be journalists, and recognised for it. This is a further expression of the ‘freedom’ that the internet has given us. Therefore, there are ‘new kinds of journalists’ because “audience members are transformed into researchers.” (Page 8) People online read and research the internet and as a result of this want to post their views for the world to see, and this is possible for internet users.