Taming the Internet

“The Internet has changed the world and changed journalism, not necessarily for the better” – Julian Sher, award winning TV documentary producer and Internet journalism expert

In the past 10 years the Internet has had a dramatic effect on how people from many walks of life – from business and national security to journalism and ordinary folk – operate.

It takes no heed of national frontiers, bringing information and other facilities to an increasing number of people from diverse countries, including some of the most conservative and closed nations. And its power continues to grow.

The multiple sources of information on the Internet can be baffling for both consumers and journalists alike. The web is viewed as an effective tool for investigative journalism, with some of the best news sources readily to hand. But there are problems.

“The Internet has changed the world and changed journalism, not necessarily for the better,” said Julian Sher, a Canadian expert on Internet journalism who founded www.journalism.net

“The problem with the Internet is that it has made journalists lazy. It does not make brighter journalists brighter and it does not make dumb people smart. Google makes no value judgment between truth and gossip, propaganda and good news reports. It can be risky.

“I want websites I can trust to give guidance or to see what other professional journalists are saying,” said Sher, an award winning TV documentary producer and Internet journalism expert.

There is no doubt that, in some ways, the Internet has made journalism easier, such as during the first hours of last December’s devastating tsunami in Asia, with contributed web information from ordinary people on the spot.

Ten years ago in Indonesia, when hardline General Suharto was still in control, one major news agency used the Internet to correspond with freedom fighters in East Timor. This annoyed the Indonesian generals but was finally accepted by them and resulted in the army going firmly on-line.

In his presentation, Sher gave an often amusing look into how to use various websites to find news, news alerts, people behind various web pages, how to spy on chat mail and how to determine the authenticity of who was behind individual e-mails.

All this and much more.