Journalism Today

“The art of writing, editing, and administration of a blog is called journalism”. Arguable? We cannot really agree that journalism is the “systematic and reliable dissemination of public information” anymore. We can neither say that it is the “art of writing, editing and administration of a newspaper”. Then, what is modern day journalism?

If journalism is the reliable dissemination of public information, then tabloid journalism is not included. If journalism is about newspapers only, then television, radio and the internet is excluded. If journalism is not propaganda, where do all the political newsletters fit? What journalism has become now is an institution. It has become an institution where all the communication media mentioned above, along with some more forms, are used by people employed by these media to convey messages to the public, be it reliable or not.

Maybe, this definition of journalism is too liberal. In going along with this theory, we would be betraying the age old Code of Ethics and the Principles of journalism. The question that now surfaces is whether these really are applicable to modern journalism. It seems as if these principles have become archaic. “Archaic” might be too harsh a word in this context but rather, the principles set by the pioneers could be said to be contradicting modern journalism.

For example, let us take the principle on decency and morality. This is one of the seven canons of journalism. However, this clashes with one of the most successful forms of journalism ever- celebrity gossip. According to the principal, it is the duty of a journalist to protect the decency and morality of a woman. A reporter cannot name a female victim of an offence the like of rape. But now, the rule has changed; a reporter cannot name a female victim of an offence unless the victim is a celebrity.

Moral responsibilities and duties aside, journalism has evolved into something bigger, more diverse and more interactive since the days of “The Bengal Gazette”. Anyone can become a journalist. Anyone who can begin and sustain a well hit blog or a website is a successful journalist. Internet has provided amateurs with an opening into the world of mass communication. Anyone can be a mass communicator. You just have to upload your thoughts into your “myspace” page.

Due to this same media, the audience has become more responsive. We do not need to write a letter to the editor to voice our opinion. We do not need to go to the post office to get that posted. It is just a click away. It is not necessarily a good thing that innumerable comments are posted about every news story. Sometimes, it becomes a bore to the next reader and also, the comments loose their importance and impact. But then, it can never be all pros.

That takes us to the advantages and disadvantages of modern day journalism. Accessibility, both to the audience and the communicators, is surely the biggest advantage of modern communication media. Nevertheless, this advantage itself invents disadvantages. It might be an advantage for the celebrity gossip blogger and to the child looking for adult movies, but what about the celebrity concerned or the impact on the child? Thus, we can safely state that, in such an independent and interactive industry like journalism these two “extremes” do not exist as such. This is a forum for exchanging opinions and hence and advantage for one would be a disadvantage for the other.

Please do not get this wrong. My “theory” about modern day journalism does not state that traditional journalism has become extinct. It is very much present. The principles still apply. The Press Laws still ought to be followed. But like the modern day woman, journalism has emancipated. But whether the emancipation is positive or negative I do not know, but it surely is interactive … from the grassroots up.