Dashin' through the table

"In this changing landscape, people crave for fast information. I mean, delivered fast and immediate and in real time news. I think that is the importance of blogging and online journalism in general."

                                                                                                                   

                                                                                                 - Iris Gonzales (Blogger)

The advantages of using the online medium are limitless. One can use their five senses while never getting tired of surfing the net. And with the ever shifting landscape, the online medium currently serves as a big conduit for change in the society.

In journalism's standpoint, through the internet, news can be delivered and spread swiftly and quickly. And primarily, it can cater to the new generation of new media users that spends most of their time wired and connected to the internet.

Take Singapore. With more than half of its population wired and connected, a new media revolution is taking place. Leading the way is the Strait Times, through its subsidiary RazorTV. While acknowledging the needs of the new generation and the apparent departure from the traditional media, the Strait Times launched its own online portal that primarily serves the interests of the wired and connected.

A host of RazorTV mentioned this during the documentary, "We can't be a dinosaur of the past. We have to live in the present and look out for the future" That is true, adapting a new media while not forgetting about the past is the way to go. 

The online and traditional media can complement each other. While traditional media today serves as the primary source of information, blogging and the internet usually serve as a venue for alternative stories that do not make it to the mainstream media. And in the future, while the roles could be reversed, the same concept can be carried over. 

However, on the other side of the coin, there are still those places which do not have access to the internet. In turn, the advantages of online journalism cannot be felt on a large scale. But on the bright side, efforts on these places are slowly taking place. 

In Cambodia,  while lagging behind its ASEAN neighbors, the ground work for online journalism is already, but slowly, starting. Common hindrance to the initiative lies on the prohibitive cost of internet access, equipment and electricity. But nevertheless, slowly but surely, Cambodia will catch up to the rest of Asia, their economy permits.

Others refer the use of the internet as a double edged sword. While news and information can be quickly spread, their accuracy can be questioned. However, according to a representative of RazorTV, questioning the accuracy of the news is not a problem because the journalistic values of online journalists are the same with their print counterparts. This means that potentially, fast and accurate pieces of information are going up for grabs in the future. While the threat of inaccuracies remain, this would not be much of a problem once a more concrete guidelines can be set-up for news websites.

Another hindrance for online journalism, in all countries, is cost. Online journalism's currently available business models are not sustainable, as of yet. However, news portals are getting ways on how to survive without compromising their independence. Use of subscription-based models are currently rising. The New York Times are subscription based and as well as Malaysiakini.com. 

With more venues to express, democracy will truly flourish. As said by one of the interviewees, "The more information you have, the more democratic you can get." Truly, the online media can surely provide that.