by Cody Hodge

Created on: July 23, 2009

When it comes to journalism, there are two main areas in which you can get your work printed. You can either decide to publish your work on-line, or you can choose to pursue a print avenue to getting your work published. However, with most sources going both with a print edition, and an on-line edition of the same copy, you might find yourself writing to both avenues anyway. Whatever you decide to do, there some differences that you should be aware of when it comes to print journalism, and on-line journalism.

When you are writing for a print source, you are writing a one-way piece between you and your audience. What I mean by that is when you write, and then the article gets printed, there are limited ways to get feedback, and there is almost no way to get any instant contact with your readers. Sure, a reader can write a letter to the editor, but that could take up to a week to reach the editor, and then get put into the magazine, or newspaper. That type of journalism means that the author has more control over the message that they want to get out.

On-line journalism is different in the way that when you post an article, you can get instant feedback on it. The reader really decides what they think of it, and they can get back to you in a matter of seconds. If an article is no good, or doesn't seem fair, the reader can call you on it right away. Not only that, but the reader and the author can engage in a dialogue through the Internet, and the author can really ask for reader feedback on a real-time basis.

Say I was writing an article about Sarah Palin resigning. I can write how I think she is hiding things, or how much I regret that she is leaving her position as governor of Alaska. Whatever side I take, I can write whatever I want, and the audience is pretty much stuck having to read what I write. It's almost like watching a game on TV. You can yell and scream at the coach all you want, but you aren't going to be heard by anyone other than the guys sitting near you in the living room.

Writing an article on-line is like being at the game in person. Sure, you might not be able to influence the decision that the coach makes, but you can yell and have your voice heard if you don't like the play call. That's what happens when you have an article on-line, you might not be able to change the words being written, but your voice is going to be heard when you put your opinions into the comments section after the article.

When you are writing an article in print, you are going to be able to control the message a little better, and you aren't going to have to deal with feedback for a few days. If you write an article on-line, you open yourself up to dialogue, and you allow the reader to voice a real time opinion to the writing. That is cool, and is what journalism is supposed to be, a dialogue between the writer and the public that wants to know what is going on.

Learn more about this author, Cody Hodge.
Click here to send this author comments or questions.