Editing in Online News Organizations

As the news media catches up with modern times there is one obvious fact that is being yelled across the world: print journalism is dying.

With the Internet being used as the main source of news to most people information has become easily and, most importantly, readily available. "Breaking news" has been replaced by constant updates and to-the-minute reporting. Now a reader can be on the scene of their news story as it happens.

While these innovations can be a source of comfort, the constant errors that are made in online journalism makes this media unreliable and sometimes inaccurate. Mistakes in news reporting can be disastrous, and these mistakes are seen more and more in online reporting. Immediacy replaces accuracy in most situations. While some errors are not as destructive as others, they are still clear and take away from the viewer's experience.

I believe that with the revolution of online news there should come a new business strategy for those media outlets. Where I see flaws are in the ways those outlets handle their news staff and their deliverance. There can be immediate news, but there can also be immediate and accurate news. Personally, I don't take up-to-the-minute news stories as the full truth. When I see a story like that I will either research other sources or wait an hour or so to get a clear story. If I do read a full story and there is a spelling error or other flaw, I think the sources credibility flies out the window. It is as if I am reading a first draft of a writer's work, and no first draft is ever perfect. I don't think any of this is acceptable in today's online media. For online news organizations to succeed there needs to be a new, cleaner way of handling stories so that readers understand and trust their organizations.

If I were in charge of a major news organization I would implement a new form of staffing to ensure news accuracy. I would create time zoned staffs, meaning a set of staff that functions at only their allotted times. For example, I would have one zone working from 8 am to 4 pm, then a new zone working from 4 pm to 12 am, then one final zone working from 12 am to 8 am. Each zone would have an editor, several staff writers, and several copy editors. When a story would be received it would be written by the writer, checked by the copy editors then approved by the final editor before being published. This could be accomplished quickly and be posted accurately. Because this is their only task on hand immediacy will be unavoidable. If anything the publication might lose ten minutes in the extra process, but this will be nothing compared to the accuracy that will be produced.

It is time for online news organizations to clean up their act and begin delivering fast, reliable news. After all, without reliability what is the point of news media?

My Biosketch

In the twenty years that I have been alive I have been given so many amazing and crazy opportunities that I barely even know where to begin when I talk about my life.  So I guess I'll start at the beginning...

I was born in Sayreville, New Jersey, the hometown of John Bon Jovi.  My family and I, including my two parents, my twin brother, Mike, and my older brother, John, packed up and moved down to Mount Laurel, New Jersey when I was around seven-years-old.  We've been there ever since.

I graduated from Lenape High School in 2007 and moved onto Montclair State University that fall.  Montclair State was not for me; I didn't find the classes to be challenging enough for me, and I wasn't happy.  After one semester in North Jersey I packed up and moved back down south to Rowan, where I still am today.

I love Rowan.  My parents met here in the '80s, my aunts and uncles went here, and all of my friends are here.  There's a great comfort in coming to school for me, something that I have looked for all my life.

When I first transferred, I was a graphic design major.  I have always been a very creative person, and when I graduated high school many people told me that my talents in art would take me very far.  As much as I enjoy making art, I realized that I would not enjoy it as a career path.  I was reminded that I had been considered a strong writer in high school, and decided to try writing an article for Rowan's newspaper, "The Whit".   I had never written a newspaper article before, and I was completely sucked in.  I immediately transferred majors to Journalism.

Last spring, exactly one year from today, I made the biggest journey of my life when I decided to study abroad in London, England.  I was abroad for 5 amazing months, and I miss it every single day.  I had the opportunity to travel to Ireland, Scotland, Wales, France, Italy, and Greece.  I was there for some fascinating festivals and occasions, and I even got to meet the actors Ben Stiller and Ricky Gervais while in London.  I was in Rome during the great earthquake in the spring of 2009.  It was a whole new experience, feeling the earthquake, and then experiencing the aftermath.  I'll never take life for granted after that.

The best gift that Rowan has given me was the opportunity to meet my boyfriend, Alex.  We met in Journalism Principles and Practices when we were sophomores, and have been together for seven months.  He's my best friend and one of the most important parts of my life.  Alex is currently in London studying abroad like I did, and I really miss him.  This semester will definitely be a new journey for the both of us.

When I'm not at school I love going outdoors.  I work as a naturalist at the Palmyra Cove Nature Park in the summer time and spend all day outside in the middle of nature.  My favorite place on earth is the beach, and when I graduate I plan on moving to Hawaii for a year or two to experience life there.  I love traveling, and being in new places.

I feel so lucky to have the life that I have.  Every day is an adventure, and a gift.