Journalism

survey of members of the Online News Association produced by the Association and the Pew Research Center’s Project for Excellence in Journalism. These online news people also believe that the Internet is changing the fundamental values of journalism and more often than not for the worse.

Overall, the online journalists surveyed are less likely to think journalism is headed in the “wrong direction” than are journalists from legacy media. They are also more confident than they are pessimistic that online news will find a self-sustaining revenue model. Contrary to current economic trends in the news industry, most report staff increases and are seeing their sites turn a profit though this is still heavily influenced by how costs are accounted for.

But these economic hopes, while encouraging, are still largely pinned on Web advertising, whose revenues in news began flattening out in 2008. When it came to the impact of the Internet on values, the most cited change was a loosening of standards and more carelessness in online news gathering.

Those journalists surveyed, who come largely from websites linked to legacy media, also believe the Web is changing the fundamental values of the journalism mostly for the worse. In particular, they are worried about declining accuracy, in part due to the emphasis online that news organizations are putting on speed and breaking news.

“I think there’s a huge potential in online journalism, but there’s also a lot of scary stuff out there We have to try to not lose our way,” said one member who, as a part of a three-person peration, does everything from handling tech problems to social media posts to original reporting. “It’s a good feeling to work in a part of the industry that has hope for the future,” offered another.