Cyber journalism: bridging the gap between professionalism and epistemology / Faridah Ibrahim

Cyber journalism is a term coined following the convergence of various
traditional media brought about by the proliferation of media industries due
to current influx of new technology and globalisation. Cyber journalism is
made possible by the internet technology and globalisation. Cyber journalism
has gained importance over the past years and new terms are attached to
it – some popular ones are internet journalism, online journalism, blogs and
citizen journalism. Cyber journalism is functioning as a pervasive medium
along with the traditional media such as print and electronic. However, cyber
journalism has created a big vacuum in journalism education and training since
it is a recent development in journalism and journalism educators are caught
unprepared. Whilst journalism educators are well groomed and prepared towards
the epistemology of journalism education and well aware of the demands of
professionalism in the real world, the emergence of cyber journalism has brought
new challenges to schools offering journalism courses. Journalism educators
have to strike a balance between the demands of new journalism knowledge
and professionalism. Furthermore with the onset of new technologies, the
definition of cyber journalist has gone beyond the realm of journalistic education.
Anybody who is techno-savvy can become a cyber-journalist. The question of
epistemology, professionalism, responsibility and credibility have now become
an epitome of cyber journalism. This paper will discuss the fundamentals of
cyber journalism and strategies in bridging the gap between professionalism
and the epistemology.