Normative dimension: ethics and a commitment to public service
Perhaps the most persistent criticism of online journalism, and the clearest
line traditional journalists have sought to draw between themselves and those
working online, has involved ethical behavior. There seems to be ‘a generalized,
unspoken notion in some newsrooms that online journalism is the
gangly, misfit cousin of “real” journalism, that the Internet is a breeding
ground for kooks and charlatans, and that perhaps Web journalism operates at
a level below the standards of traditional news media’ . Matt
Drudge – who says he hates journalists, brags that he is not and never will be
one, and proclaims journalism to be a fraud – has become the poster child for
much that is threatening about online information delivery. Drudge, perhaps
most famous for breaking the story about Monica Lewinsky’s fling with Bill
Clinton in his online ‘Drudge Report’, flamboyantly ignores professional
norms that call for a commitment to fact-checking, fairness and accuracy as
paths to serving the public. He prints what he hears instantly without
worrying about veracity, claiming a demand for ‘unedited information’ – then
thumbs his nose at journalists by declaring that his brand of free-wheeling,
globally disseminated gossip is what is keeping ‘a free press alive and well’
. In short, he is extremely annoying.