1What is online journalism? - Ayo Menulis FISIP UAJY

Online story construction 143
However, there are occasions when the nature of the story you
are covering should at least make you reflect on any links you
provide. For example, if you were writing a story about the
discovery of a paedophile ring, would you link to its site as a
primary source? If so, does that in some way implant some sort of
relationship, however tenuous between your site and the ring’s?
Libertarians will argue that it is pointless to deny your users the
link because they are only two clicks away from the site anyway –
one click to a search engine and the second to the site. All you will
do, they believe, is drive readers away from your site and so any
possible counter arguments you have presented in your responsible
coverage.
Others believe that if people wish to seek out such material, it
is not the business of a news organization to facilitate the process
or to provide a platform for such groups. What would be the
position of the news organization if it later emerged that
paedophiles had used the link on your site to make contact with
like-minded people and this had led to the abuse of children?
There is also the possibility that material on certain sites breaks
laws regarding obscenity or the incitment of racial hatred. A link
to these could be seen as aiding and abetting such violations.
Political unrest and conflict can also raise issues about linking to
external sites. A country can be isolated politically and its policies
receive wide criticism, but news organizations may still link to its
official news sites to let readers judge for themselves. They may
seek ‘balance’ in the links they offer just as they will in their
storytelling. Thus, they will link to both sides in any conflict.
News organizations usually accept that they have responsibilities
to the societies within which they operate. However, this can
cause real tensions within the online medium. Any potential
conflicts of interest are usually dealt with on a case-by-case basis.
Online news gathering and publishing is a continuous process,
with different people frequently working on the same story. Large
organizations need policies on linking and other matters to ensure
editorial continuity.
An example of such policies are the BBC Online Producer
guidelines. These make it clear that any links to external sites
should be ‘editorially justifiable’. Issues uppermost in the mind of