Journalism in the United States in the Digital Era – State of Discussion
Alicja Jaskiernia
Pełny tekst artykułuJournalism in the United States is at a breakthrough moment, which is the end of an era dominated by the press and influential television networks, and the time of constructing a more dispersed system of collecting and disseminating information. How to protect the quality of journalism is a fundamental issue at a time of media “plunging” into a digital world in 21st century, when traditional functions of journalism are being redefined, so far is the concept itself. The current trend, in which the Internet looks down on traditional media, for some signifies the deconstruction of the most important values and functions of journalism, while others see this as the future of media. A situation in which professional journalists are no longer the only observers and commentators analyzing and commenting the world, causes concern over the fate of professional journalists, traditional newsrooms and old media organizations. Americans hold reporters in low esteem and may associate them with rich and powerful personalities from television. Some may be skeptical about the notion that a decline in the number of journalists could shift control of information away from citizens and toward the powerful. In the United States, a debate on this subject has been taking place for two decades now, until more and more powerful Internet media have become a real threat for traditional media. The article relates to key issues of the debate in the American research environment, in the context of the functions of media in a digital age.
KEYWORDS
media system of the United States, quality of journalism, functions of journalism, blogosphere