Introduction

Defining Online Journalism could be compared to finding the meaning of life. It is vast, complex and virtually undefinable. Using examples, definitions and research from other journalism scholars, online journalism can be explained but not fully defined to the user.

Online journalism is an experience and a journey without even leaving your chair. It is an interconnected cyberworld of information. Essentially, it is a virtual world, but a world where many inhabit nonetheless. It is a place some people visit every morning for their first jolt of news; their first "cup of coffee". A place where you can find anything about everything. More importantly it is a place to go to find out about the world that surrounds us, what is happening and what is changing. It is a 'wired society'. A place to stimulate your senses.

The computer is the doorway to online journalism and the entire cyberworld. Although it may only be a collection of wires and plastic, it is your data processor, your number processor and ultimately, your knowledge processor. The other doorway to online
journalism is the e-journalist. Like any reporter on a newspaper, the e-journalist must make informed, educated decisions about what content to provide their readers.

Aside from the computer being one of the most important devices in online journalism, content is the second in command only to the computer itself. Journalism schools will tell their students that 'content is king', and they are not lying. Content is the ultimate ruler of online journalism. Content is what informs, educates and tells the story.

Content is basically the only comparable component of online journalism to that of traditional journalism. To understand the differences, traditional journalism must first be defined. Traditional journalism is your average newspaper, radio or television news broadcast. While all three are no more important than the other, online journalism is soon becoming the one that readers more readily rely on. the good, the bad...