1What is online journalism? - Ayo Menulis FISIP UAJY

Online story construction 125
completely irregular and unpredictable. However, as a production
model, it is a paragon of linearity, at least at the level of the ‘info
chunk’. Journalism and content creation need production models.
For text, there is not much to beat the pyramid for linearity.
So when we dismantle the pyramid for online use, do we take it
apart from the apex down, in three or four sections like a child’s
wooden block toy? This would leave us with some very strange
shapes, and therefore story structures. Surely, instead, we build a
series of linked pyramid-shaped chunks, which means we do not
discard it completely.
Before moving on, we should consider three other reasons for
retaining a linear structure when writing for online.
First, some people want news at any time. They seek a similar
linear product to the ‘old media’ when they go online. They use
this medium primarily because of its immediacy, rather than its
ability to break a story down into different chunks. They are
seeking a concise digest of a story or the news in general, but they
want it now, even at three o’clock in the morning, and they want
it fresh. Not that it always comes that way.
Second, some people want news in any place. Wireless Internet
delivers news and information to your mobile phone. However, the
clumsy interface (small screen size and restricted command
input) discourages a ‘rich media’ experience. At the moment, it’s
better to keep it straight and simple. Keep it linear.
Finally, a short fanfare on muted trumpet for shovelware. This
is usually a term of abuse among the cognoscenti, referring to the
way newspapers put their hard copy content direct online with
little or no adaptation for the new medium. The complete pyramid
in all its digital glory.
However, actually, some people rather like shovelware. The
global reach of the web allows citizens in exile who are unable to
buy their local paper on the other side of the world to pick up a
copy online. They want the back page sports reports exactly as
they appear in the printed version – the same style, the same
content . . . the same linear structure. Long live linearity.
Once again, the medium is telling the journalist to be flexible, not
dogmatic and that it’s the user who decides. In online journalism
there is a role for both the deconstructed and the digest.