Cyber Media – Definition
Wiener used the term cybernetics, starting in 1948, to encompass a broad range of communications
between humans, between humans and machines, and between machines themselves. Within the scope of cybernetics he included the transmission of messages, especially those that exert control; the likelihood of information to degrade as time and distance intervene; and especially the function of feedback between humans and all the systems with which they have contact (Wiener, 1954). The ancestry of cyber media begins with Wiener, who said, "To live effectively is to live with adequate information."
Online Journalism
From the cradle of cyber space the concept of Online Journalism evolved. Though Internet journalism is still evolving, but its contours are getting more sharply defined. Online journalists (read globally) are increasingly becoming aware of the need to develop a new phrase for the medium. The media itself understood that the internet cannot be treated as an extension of the print media despite numerous similarities between the two. There are many advantages of this new entrant in the media bandwagon where a story can be told in three different ways – in the text format, in audio mode, and as a video clip. The medium further demands that stories be communicated in different forms – as a news alert; as a wireless headline; and as well as written story on the net. The medium further calls for knowledge links, audio and video skills, and some latest skills that go far beyond traditional reporting and editing requirements.
New Horizons
There are five unique areas where online journalism is different from its traditional counterpart “print”.
The five areas are follows:
-News Cycle
-Updating Frequency
-Packaging
-Knowledge Links
-News Vehicles
Principles of Online Reporting
There are some basic rules pertaining to this online journalism especially from a journalist’s point of view while reporting online. The media has emerged up for the busy people mostly, and for its global reach just with the help of a click.
While reporting online an online reporter should abide by the following rules:
-The news story has to be short and precise if it has to sustain the browser’s attention. A story that runs into two or more screens is not likely to hold readers attention for long. Word count continues to be an important yardstick in the case of net. The internet reporter must keep this fact in mind while writing the story.
-The Internet reporter must adopt the inverted pyramid format. It is the most rational storytelling format. The most crucial point is hosted, right on top of the story, the less important points follow. This saves the user the need to plough through to the last paragraph to find out what happened.
-The story must be updated as it breaks. The reporter cannot sit back and wait for events to unfold.
-The reporters writing for web media must learn to write short sentences using simple, common, everyday words that a browser will have no difficulty in understanding. Paragraphs should be short. Long paragraphs create fatigue and push browsers to reach for the mouse.
-The Internet reporter must develop the ability to break a story into short, fascinating side stories. The side stories enhance browser’s interest, and give more hits and clicks for the site.
-The net journalist must go through log reports carefully. He must understand which stories are being read on the net. This will help him work on stories that are likely to be read more. Successful sites are those that share browser behavior with their staff members.
-The Internet reporter should not ignore community stories. They have a browser base that spreads across countries. That is why in most of the cases the Internet is sometimes referred to as a medium that binds communities.
-The web journalist must understand that a mistake, even if it is corrected after it is omnipresent on the site, does not offer much comfort to the individual or the company that has already suffered loss of face on account of the error. A mistake will be deemed as a blunder in case of incorrect information.
Editing for the Net
The first and foremost precondition for internet editing is economy. A story must be reported in as few words as possible. The sentences should be short, easy to read and understand. There are 11 golden rules that are prominent for editing in print. All these rules are invariably crucial for editing on the net. Let us give a glimpse.
-Use short sentences.
-Avoid modifiers.
-Substitute wordy phrases with simple small words.
-Remove relative clauses.
-Avoid starting a sentence with a subsidiary clause.
-One sentence, one idea.
-Use active voice.
-Delete clichés.
-Proper synchronization of names and designations.
-Simple, short and familiar words.
-Avoid abstractions.
Conclusion
Reporting, writing and editing for cyber media is an art so as a science, where creative faculty has to submerge with the rational one. A proper style, along with the proportional amalgamation of traditional doctrine” the inverted pyramid” and the latest technique “search engine optimization” could take this media into zenith. The trend is already bullish; the only acceleration and proliferation factors are proper style, tools and techniques. Happy reading.