Electronic Journalism: Opportunities and Obstacles

This paper deals with issue such as Interactivity, hypertext, and multimedia that are now the most striking features of the World Wide Web. These features have caused some changes in gathering, processing, dissemination and reading of the news dramatically. This development brings about a new kind of journalism much different from the traditional one. This type of journalism, now known as electronic journalism, are potentially characterized by informing rather than persuading the reader, more control and activity by the reader, two-way communication rather than one-way communication, and flexible rather than set times for the user. However, it is claimed here that not all aspects of the electronic journalism are positive and promising. The new electronic technology has provided some perspectives and opportunities. There are nevertheless some problems and concerns involved. For example, neglecting objectivity standards, low credibility of the news resources, lack of required and expected degree of being free to criticize political and economic power are the predictable problems, at least for the near future. More importantly, one cannot consider the electronic journalism and the role it plays in social and political changes without its interaction with a typical citizen.