Internet News - A new Era of Distrust?

This week the Independent revealed that Americans are more likely to turn to the internet as a news source rather than printed newspapers or the radio.

With that in mind, the sound of the final nail thudding into the newspaper industry's coffin seems closer than ever.

Let's get one thing straight though, the death of the printed newspaper industry doesn't equal the death of journalism; far from it in fact.

With the internet rapidly becoming our favourite news source (now only second to the humble television), the fall of the newspaper industry does however spell two significant changes for writers and their readers.

The first is the rebirth of journalism as we know it. Although the stereotypes orbiting this three-hundred-year-old profession might lead some to believe you're not a bonafide hack until you're nursing a drinking habit and have a sleuth-like nose for news; this isn't really the case.

Now everyone, their neighbour and their neighbour's dog has the opportunity to become an intrepid reporter or opinion monger be it via a self-managed news blog, Twitter feed or YouTube channel.

While this new found accessibility is already helping to open doors for otherwise undiscovered talent in what is a notoriously pragmatic industry, this also comes at a price and in this case the price is authority.

As Washington Post columnist, Michael Gerson, points out, “The internet now allows readers to get their information entirely from sources that agree with them -- sources that reinforce and exaggerate their political predispositions...Free markets, it turns out, often make poor fact-checkers, instead feeding the fantasies of conspiracy theorists.”

While you might not necessarily agree with the opinions or writing style of a newspaper journalist, at least their work has been scrutinised and double-scrutinised by the desk editor and sub-editor.

The rebirth of journalism in a free-market, digital world not only spells enhanced accessibility for readers and writers alike but ultimately asks readers to think harder about the news they're consuming - not so much if they agree or disagree with an article but whether what they're reading is actually true.