Leonard Downie, Jr., longtime executive editor of The Washington Post recently discussed the ethical and moral obligations of journalists online. Downie questions what journalism consists of in the digital world and how journalists can remain accountable. These questions are becoming increasingly important when anyone can publish anything on the Internet.

However, contrary to many, Downie believes that "the best professional American journalism may be better than it has ever been." He feels that "journalists today are better educated, better trained and more expert in the subjects they cover. They use better technology and they work to higher professional standards." In addition "the web has actually provided journalists with better tools for research and reporting, and it has enabled them to present their journalism in multimedia and interactive forms with greater impact than just print."

Downie believes that the Internet has been a valuable tool that has 'helped make journalists more accurate and accountable." This is because "the blogosphere pounces on every mistake, so it is much more difficult to get away journalism that is not rooted in fact now." And even when there is false information floating around it is up to the mainstream media to "investigate those rumors and report the facts."

In addition "more people now consume what the old-media newsrooms produce than ever before." And although the major news organizations no longer have a monopoly they are still the top 10 most visited news sites. Other sites such as the Huffington Post are in the top 10, but aggregate from old-media sources.

Downie also points to the fact that bloggers are also bound by the same rules as journalists when it comes to violation of copy rights, invasion of privacy or libel suits.

Downie is a firm believer in the first amendment and does not believe that "journalism can or should be regulated by any one in this country." Therefore "the moral and ethical obligations of journalism in the digital world are those that journalists impose on themselves and that their readers expect from them."

He sees several key factors in measuring accountability and responsibility for journalists online, including identity and full disclosure of financial sources. Downie emphasizes the importance of "serving public interest rather than the personal whim of bloggers or special interests of any kind." To him, "the most important journalism for me is accountability journalism, the journalism that holds those with power in society accountable to everyone else."

He does not see the digital world as an "alternative universe" to journalism, rather it is a different medium with very different possibilities for those involved. Most importantly, he believes that "too much concentration on the philosophical questions about journalism in the digital world runs the risk of ignoring the most important question before us. Who will pay for the news?"

Source: Nieman Journalism Lab