Fundamentals of web newswriting and reporting in the hybrid media system

Resumen

Students on Communication degree courses –and specifically those doing a Journalism degree– find themselves having to demonstrate their knowledge and writing skills for each of the existing media forms each successive year. The first year of the course is designed to furnish them with basic theoretical and practical knowledge concerning newswriting, with a focus on applying those skills to the print media.In the second year of the course, the same students then have to apply everything they have learned to online media – the issue that concerns us here. This requires them to have a good grasp of the lessons on newswriting from the previous year. At the same time, the online environment also requires knowledge of the principles and values involved in the professional practice of journalism. Students tend to show significant shortcomings concerning these core questions.The Web medium requires the journalist to make an extra effort to respect the absolute rule of distinguishing news (objectivity) from opinion (subjectivity). At the same time, the medium demands a good knowledge of the basic principles that govern the creation of quality content, closely linked to the ethics of the profession (truthfulness, precision, rigour, etc.) The Web is an environment where all types of news –good, mediocre and bad– coexist, and it is important for quality online media outlets, in their role of serving society, to do everything in their power to stand out from the rest and provide reliable information.