The Electronic Grapevine

The widespread use of the Internet as a tool for gathering and disseminating information raises serious questions for journalists--and their readers--about the process of reporting information. Using virtual sources and publishing online is changing the way in which journalism takes place and its effect on the society it serves. USE LAST THREE PARAGRAPHS ONLY FOR GENERAL CATALOGS... The Electronic Grapevine explores the use of online media by reporters in the United States, and examines the impact that usage may have on how journalism is framed in the cultural sphere, as well as how it is conducted in the professional one. It contains a mix of material examining how it feels to "do" online journalism, how it affects those who consume it, different ways that media scholars go about trying to understand it better, and the likely social and cultural impact of Internet-like technologies on the public, at whom all this electronic information is eventually aimed. Drawing from the emerging scholarly work in the field and from the real-life experiences of working journalists, Borden and Harvey collect contributions that examine why journalists use the Internet, what changes it makes in how they approach their jobs, and what differences they see in conducting their daily newsgathering with this medium rather than other methods. The volume also analyses when and why journalists do not use online media and what the impact of the decision to use or not use the Internet may mean for the outer world, whose perceptions of itself are so often shaped by journalistic portrait. This series of thought-provoking, original essays explores the impact of computer-based information and communication services on traditional journalistic routines and practices, and thereby addresses a critical gap in the scholarly literature on communication, law, and culture. Distinguishing between linkage devices like the Internet, and database resources such as LEXIS/NEXIS, America Online, and others, this book examines the ways in which both types of online services may reshape and redefine not only the products of journalistic effort, but the newsgathering process itself.

Borden, Diane L.; Harvey, Kerric

Contents: Preface. Part I: Rumor.J.E. Newhagen, M.R. Levy, The Future of Journalism in a Distributed Communication Architecture. S. Hornig Priest, Public Opinion, Expert Opinion, and the Illusion of Consensus: Gleaning Points of View Electronically. W.S. Williams, The Blurring of the Line Between Advertising and Journalism in the On-Line Environment. P. Aufderheide, Niche-Market Culture, Off and On Line. Part II: Reputation.J. Primuth, Cyberspace: A Consensual Hallucination. K. Harvey, Going On Line With the U.S. Constitution: Gender Discussions in the Cultural Context of the First Amendment. D.L. Borden, Cyberlibel: Time to Flame the Times Standard. Part III: Reporting.B. Henderson, J. Fernbank, The Campus Press: A Practical Approach to On-Line Newspapers. L.C. Christopher, Technology and Journalism in the Electronic Newsroom. S.S. Ross, Journalists' Use of On-Line Technology and On-Line Sources. W. Evans, Content Analysis in an Era of Interactive News: Assessing 21st Century Symbolic Environments. K. Kawamoto, Making Sense of the New On-Line Environment in the Context of Traditional Mass Communications Study.