1What is online journalism? - Ayo Menulis FISIP UAJY

40 Journalism Online
Get the right combination of person and quote, and you’ve got
news – at least, that’s what politicians try to persuade journalists
every day.
Original and existing news
The next important fundamental to understand about identifying
and finding news is that a lot of it isn’t new at all.
Most journalists spend a large part of each day working with
what is already known, trying to find a development. The aim is to
take an existing story a stage further, to reveal additional
information, action or quotes, which will be of relevance to the
readership. The development may be new, but much of the rest of
the story will be ‘background’ or, to put it more crudely, a re-hash of
what has been written before. This is known as the development of
‘existing’ news. It is the staple activity of much news journalism.
There is a certain amount of selfish posturing by some
journalists about the development of existing news. For them, it
smacks of recycling – worthy but dull. This is putting the interests
of the journalist before the needs of the readership and audience.
People want to know about developments in stories they have
been following, because the story interests them. It would be a
disservice not to tell them. Equally, if taken to excess, developing
existing news can become introspective and again exclude the
reader. The pursuit of a development in a story can become more
important to the journalist than the development itself or may be
easier than looking for something fresh.
Some news is brand new. Crime and accidents are obvious
examples, but there are many others. The coach of a football team
is sacked, a politician exposed, a rock band splits up. These events
each fit within the context of the lives of the football team, the
political party or the band. Yet the news event is sufficiently
different or unexpected to be seen as something new – the
starting point of a story that itself becomes existing news and, so,
ripe for further development.
This ‘brand new’ material can be classified as ‘original’ news. It
often has more impact than developments of existing news. It can
be more dramatic, or revelatory. However, it is also a scarcer