1. Introduction
By the turn of the century, information, including access to the Internet, will be the basis
for personal, economic, and political advancement. The popular name for the Internet is the
information superhighway. Whether you want to find the latest financial news, browse through
library catalogs, exchange information with colleagues, or join in a lively political debate, the
Internet is the tool that will take you beyond telephones, faxes, and isolated computers to a
burgeoning networked information frontier.
The Internet supplements the traditional tools you use to gather information, Data
Graphics, News and correspond with other people. Used skillfully, the Internet shrinks the world
and brings information, expertise, and knowledge on nearly every subject imaginable straight to
your computer.
History
The Internet originated in the late 1960s when the United States Defense Department
developed ARPAnet (Advanced Research Projects Agency network), an experimental network
of computers designed to withstand partial outages such as a bomb attack. The agency sought to
create a web of computers that could continue to communicate with each other, even if some of
the computers were disabled. In the mid-1980s, when desktop computer workstations became
increasingly popular, organizations wanted to connect their local area networks (LANs) to
ARPAnet. If computers could link together and share resources, everyone would benefit.
To help speed the connections, the National Science Foundation (NSF) established five
supercomputing centers in 1986, creating the NSFnet backbone. NSFnet continued to grow, and
more and more countries around the world connected to this Internet backbone.
1991 was a big year for the Internet: The National Research and Education Network
(NREN) were founded and the World Wide Web was released. The Internet is still dominated by
scientists and other academics, but begins to attract public interest. With the release of the
Mosaic Web browser in 1993 and Netscape in 1994, interest in and use of the World Wide Web
exploded. More and more communities become wired, enabling direct connections to the
Internet. In 1995, the U.S. federal government relinquished its management role in the Internet
and NSFnet reverted back to being a research network. Interconnected network providers are
strong enough now to support U.S. backbone traffic on the Internet.
What is an Internet?
1. The Internet is a global network of networks.

2. 2. People and organizations connect into the Internet so they can access its massive store of
shared information.
3. The Internet is an inherently participative medium. Anybody can publish information or
create new services.
4. The Internet is a cooperative endeavor -- no organization is in charge of the net.
Digital Medium
Digital media (compared to analog media) is electronic media that works on
digital codes.
Examples of Digital Medium
 Cell phones
 Compact disc
 Digital video
 Digital television
 E-book
 Internet
 and many interactive media
The Internet is a large group of computers that are connected to each other. The Internet
is used to send information quickly between computers around the world. It has millions of
smaller domestic, academic, business, and government networks and websites, which together
carry many different kinds of information (facts and details) and services. So in other words, the
Internet is a network of networks. Internet is a digital medium.
Computer – as a Communication Medium
Technology has changed human life. One school of thought says that computer and other
modern technologies have benefited humanity but the other school of thought is that man has
become subservient to technology which is bringing more disadvantages than benefits. If man
had kept technology under its control rather than becoming subservient to it than it could have
been taken as a blessing but in the present circumstances it is getting dangerous day by day.
Regarding Journalism and Mass Communication, computer is playing a very big role. In
Pakistan and all over the world almost all newspapers and magazines have their websites where
one can read their news, columns and editorials etc. now you don’t have to buy a newspaper and
you can get information not just from your national but also from international newspapers. In

3. this online journalism, some newspapers and magazines have their whole newspapers and
magazine available on their websites. Similarly broadcasting services also give their news on
their websites where you can also listen to their bulletins and broadcasts.
Communication has various types and forms. Two important among them are one-one i.e.
interpersonal communication and the other one is one-much i.e. mass communication. Computer
does not fall in one category as a medium of communication. You can chat on it with various
people at a time and now even voice chat and cameras are also available which makes your chat
almost like face to face communication. Then you can read newspapers and other informative
websites which are available to millions of people at the same time, this quality makes it a mass
medium. A computer remains your personal until and unless your work on it benefits you alone
but when you put something on it in the form of a blog or a website which is accessible to
anyone who wants then it becomes a mass medium of communication.
Online Journalism
Online journalism refers to news content produced and/or distributed via the Internet,
particularly material created by journalists who work for mainstream market driven news
organizations. While blogs and other emerging forms of online news communication are widely
acknowledged as significantly influencing mainstream news content both on and offline, they are
considered here a distinct phenomenon and treated under the category of alternative media.
The Online News Association, founded in 1999, is the largest organization representing
online journalists, with more than 1,700 members whose principal livelihood involves gathering
or producing news for digital presentation
Features:
 Real time: News can be published in real time. Online Journalists can provide updating
breaking news and events as they happen.
 Shifted time: Contents published online can be archived so that viewers can read them at
a later time.
 Multimedia: Online Journalists can include images, music, sound, video etc.
 Interactivity:
o Online Journalists can add hyperlinks to their writings. These links relate their
writings to other contents related to their subjects.
o Readers or participants can respond instantly to materials published by online
journalists in the form of email, comment, and threaded discussion.
With the magic of the web, now anyone with an opinion can be a writer. The authority
that newspaper journalists had and the power governments wielded on the media, in part, have
been subverted. As often as not, non-professional writers are getting more attention than the
professional ones on the internet. The range of people who write have enormously widened, and

4. so did the range of people who read. The web connects people all around the globe, allowing
them to access an interminable stream of information. This mutual relationship between writers
and viewers makes it possible for blogging, one of the most inventive and resourceful online
communication methods, to survive.
For the past years, blog has played the leading role in the history of online journalism.
Blog is like a local cafeteria where people gather and talk about their lives with their friends,
giving and receiving knowledge on travel, cosmetics, restaurants, fashion, music, etc. It is very
accessible and inexpensive, but you get tons of information on every aspect of our lives. As an
online communication method, blog extends the scope of people we can share information with,
from our close friends to people around the world. Now, with just one mouse click, we can find
people who have things in common with us, who have the information we have been looking for,
or to whom we can talk about our interests as many as possible.
Advantages
1. Democratic Medium - take up those stories which mainstream media does not covers.
2. Feedback and comments - encourages 2 way communications.
3. Huge Space
4. High reach
5. Low production cost
6. Archiving stories for references.
7. Fast - story uploaded as soon as anything happens
8. Multi-media facilities - video/ audio/chats /opinion polls /blogs /discussion forms - for
making news website more informative.
9. Help in posting mainstream main media to take up stories which are buried due to
economic/political pressures
10. Search based - user can get the news/info which he/she wants.
Disadvantages
1. Not credible medium - no verification of facts
2. Only for those who can understand English
3. Ethical Issues.
4. No gatekeeper involved
5. Information overloads
6. In some countries, computer with net is still a luxury - e.g. tier III and IV cities
The realm of blogging has grown tremendously in the past few years. Blogging, with its
many benefits as a tool of online journalism, has affected not only the social and political aspects
of the world, but also our personal lives. Blog has facilitated the fast flow of information and
made journalism more accessible than ever. Although some dangerous consequences may ensue

5. (as all other online journalism methods have faced unexpected challenges throughout their
expansion,) it is certain that blogging brought drastic evolution to online journalism.
Conclusion
In conclusion, Today's society is in the middle of a technological boom. People can either
choose to take advantage of this era, or simply let it pass them by. The Internet is a very
powerful tool. It has many advantages; however, people need to be extremely aware of the
disadvantages as well. Internet:
 provides access to a global information system
 makes it possible for many to access
 makes it easy to publish information
 presents some serious legal issues
 is impossible to manage centrally