Dangers of online journalism noted

HONOLULU (PIDP/CPIS) — Digital technology, such as the Internet, has presented a variety of opportunities for journalists and news organizations in the Pacific. But it has also raised serious ethical concerns for the media in the region.

That’s according to John V. Pavlik, executive director of The Center for New Media at Columbia University.

Pavlik was among a panel of media and technology experts who spoke at the annual Pacific Telecommunications Council meeting being held in Waikiki this week.

Pavlik said the Internet has changed the way journalists worldwide, not just in the region, do their job.

“One of the greatest advantage for journalists in the digital age is to easily see what other (journalists) are reporting on breaking news events,” Pavlik said. “You’re able to go online and get a lot of current information from not just one source but from many sources reporting from many different perspectives and putting it into one context.”

Breaking news events, such as the coups in Fiji or the Solomon Islands, led journalists to scramble for the latest breaking information. The pressures to meet deadline and to scoop the competition led to a barrage of stories, some of which were accurate and others that had misinformation.

The Internet has also made it easier for journalists to see what other journalists are reporting on and “rightfully or wrongfully to plagiarize the works of others,” Pavlik noted.

“With a little digital modification, the original work can be almost undetectable, even to the trained eye or ear,” he said. “The temptation to plagiarize can be almost irresistible, and the ease of digital copying makes it a serious ethical issue for journalists in the Pacific and elsewhere. A journalist should always clearly cite anyone’s work they may use in their own reporting.”

Pavlik said new technology, such as a digital signature or watermark, can help prevent or at least make plagiarism detectable.

Despite the ethical dilemmas, Pavlik said journalists in the Pacific should not shy away from using the Internet as a publication or research tool. In fact, he said, journalists have an ethical mandate to assertively use the Internet as a medium to publish their news reports.

“This is especially true with regard to political and environmental journalism, two topical areas where in some Pacific nations there has been pressure to limit the free expression of journalists and others,” he said. “For example, in some Pacific nations, where there is great interest in developing the region’s economy, environmental concerns have sometimes been short-circuited. Journalists have sometimes been pressured to distribute via the Internet more positive and less negative (stories).”

The Internet is the best medium yet invented to distribute such vitally important stories to regional and worldwide audiences, he added.

While journalists in the Pacific are growing increasingly reliant on online sources for newsgathering, Pavlik added that they should not become too dependent on the Internet.

“Journalists should make sure they continue to use ‘Good old shoe leather reporting’ to cover stories,” he said.

Although the Internet is necessary in accessing public records and other tools for developing leads and background material, journalists should not forget the art of interviewing and talking to sources as a way of reporting stories.

The Internet has also raised ethical issues in the area of press freedom.

Pavlik said Japan and Australia have relatively well developed media systems that allow extensive press freedom. Communist China, however, has less freedom of the media and a relatively undeveloped digital infrastructure. And Hong Kong, which enjoys relative autonomy journalistically from Beijing, has virtually no restrictions on online speech. Hong Kong media organizations, however, have a self-imposed form of censorship on news directed to Mainland China.

Among the most pressing issues raised by digital technology for Pacific Island journalists is the potential for manipulating photos, videos and audio on the Internet.

Pavlik said no content should be manipulated in any fashion that may distort its meaning to the audience.