The Journalism Jumps to the World Wide Web

In 1961 journalist A. J. Liebling of The New Yorker wrote a line over the power of the media: “Freedom of the press belongs to the man who owns one.” at that time few people had the printing presses or broadcasting facilities needed to deliver information to large audiences. Those who had a message but no printing press found it difficult to communicate with huge numbers of people.But 35 years later, the vast global system of computer connections known as the Internet has broken down that barrier. Today, freedom of the press might more accurately be described as belonging to anyone who can type, for it is about that easy to publish information on the Internet's popular World Wide Web (WWW, or the Web). Instead of being controlled solely by large corporations, mass communication can now be achieved by anyone with a computer, a few software programs, and an Internet connection.One wonders what Liebling would say of this brave new world of computerized communication. It ranges from individuals in basements putting out highly personalized zines (informal newsletter/magazine publications) via electronic mail (e-mail) or the Web, to start-up Web magazines that recruit thousands of subscribers without ever using the Postal Service, to the Web versions of prestigious publications such as the New York Times, Wall Street Journal, and U.S. News & World Report. As the world of communications is broadened and changed by the Internet, so too are all the rules and methods of how content is presented and updated, how advertisers are recruited and charged, and ultimately how information itself is evaluated for its accuracy and news value.