New Media (Internet): Website, Blog

The New Media

The New Information and Communication Technologies (ICTs) such as Internet brought to limelight the phenomenon of the new (online) media. The online media is otherwise known as the new media because it is a departure from the old or conventional media of radio, TV, newspaper and magazine. The internet and the World Wide Web (WWW) have been a significant part of journalism since at least 1994. Hall (2001:2) (as cited in Rodin) notes that Reuters routinely serves 2,700 pages of data every second of every day to a potential market of over 200 million regular Web users. Rudin et al assert that news and information is one of the main reasons people use the Internet, with one survey showing that 40 per cent used the medium to give them more background on a story than had been available through press or broadcasting. Since the Daily Telegraph made its content available online, being the first UK national newspaper that went online, people have become increasingly aware of the need to patronize online journalism and as such, Internet usage at home and at work is also expanding rapidly in the world over, especially in the developing world. According to a survey in 2001, about 40 per cent of all household (in UK) had internet access – an increase of 4 million in just 12 months – and people were spending over 7 hours a week ‘surfing’ the Internet from home. Furthermore, most of those who had taken up the Internet had opted for an unlimited access scheme – which means they can stay online for as long as they want without incurring extra charges (oftel, 2001).

The Internet

 Internet as a worldwide, publicly accessible series of interconnected computer networks that transmit data by packet switching using the standard Internet Protocol (IP). It is a "network of networks" that consists of millions of smaller domestic, academic, business, and government networks, which together carry various information and services, such as electronic mail, online chat, file transfer, and the interlinked Web pages and other documents of the World Wide Web. Succinctly, Internet could be described by four major characteristics. They are: 1. Interactivity, that is, ICTs effective two – way communication. 2. Permanent availability, the new ICTs are available 24 hours a day. 3. Global reach; bridging the geographic distances. 4. Reduced costs for many; relative costs of communication have shrunk to a fraction of previous values. Dimaggio, Hargittai, Neuman & Robinson (2001) describe the Internet thus: Internet can be a telephone: literally, or through e-mail, chat rooms, and other forms of real-time communication between individuals. It can serve as a library: Specialized websites “narrowcast” information to users interested enough to use search engines to find them. It can act as a soapbox: for individuals expressing themselves to e-lists and discussion forums. Or it can operate as a conventional mass medium: Internet service providers like AOL and services like RAM media let providers broadcast information to large users simultaneously.(pp.307-336).