1What is online journalism? - Ayo Menulis FISIP UAJY

6 Journalism Online
to create effective web content. For, as David Gauntlett remarked,
it is the provision of engaging content that gets the attention of the
web audience; and where you have content creation, you have
journalism.
This brings us back to Bob Eggington’s postscript – the
challenge of making journalism work on the Web. It is a challenge
that lies at the heart of this book and is based on defining what
online journalism is and how it can be practised best within this
new medium. This, perhaps, is the solid middle ground – the way
forward.
Trying to look through and beyond the smoke of current
battles, this book is based on the following premises.
Online is a distinctive medium because it is user-driven and
multifaceted.
All elements of the medium should support the offering of the
content.
The application of core journalistic principles and processes
should inform all stages of online content creation and
presentation, from the original idea to the finished page or
site.
Online journalism is a broad church – embracing content
creation across a wide range of types (e.g. news and information)
and settings (e.g. commercial as well as news-based).
Bob Eggington sees this as primarily an intellectual challenge.
Yet making web journalism work may have commercial potential
as well. As yet, there is no viable revenue model for web
publishing. One reason for this may be that too many people do
it badly.
There is certainly a commercial prize to be won, according to
recent research by the Forrester Group. 7 It forecasts that sites
offering news, sport, music and games will receive a share of a
US$ 27 billion advertising market in 2005, with US$ 13 billion
available through syndication, subscriptions and electronic commerce
(e-commerce).
7 www.digitaledge.org/monthly/2001_01/Forrester.HTM