1. Discuss the impact of commercial pressures on print news media investigation at the local level. ( Study Program, Week 9 )

We perceive the daily press as an important platform in our democracies because it acts as a watchdog, informs, comments and scrutinises, and gives access to individuals and groups to have a public debate. For various reasons traditional mass media are likely to continue to dominate the political discourse, and as a society we wish newspapers to keep their special role in this.

Newspapers as carriers of content have had to yield various functions in the past century to radio and television services, and now there are other categories of information that might migrate, this time to the net. The printed paper risks losing revenue generators such as classified and personnel ads, and thus runs the risk of becoming less profitable. Unexpected competitors such as search engines and free homepage services, as well as the online directory services of television stations, now fight in the same arena for the user's attention and the limited advertising money available. New services, such as interactive features, guides to informati

On the Internet the pressure and competition might more closely resemble those in the commercial television markets than the printed press, including the effort to gain access to an audience that can easily hop from one news source to the other. As television prefers easy-to-follow problems and short soundbites, shocking images online can draw crowds. The present Internet audience tends to pick and choose from many sources and is not faithful to any one provider.

Some common words found in the essay are:
Program Week, Reflective Essay, Straus Giroux, Basic Books, Journalism Assignment, mass media, public debate, information offer, play role, revenue streams, printed newspaper, services online,
Approximate Word count = 1204
Approximate Pages = 5 (250 words per page double spaced)