Interactivity and journalism's changing social role: two Australian case studies

Abstract

Domingo argues that interactivity has always been 'at the epicentre of online journalism myths' (685) - often held as an ideal, but rarely adopted in practice. Given the centrality of interactivity to discussions around the potential of the internet in general, and online news in particular, this paper adopts this topic as a lens through which to examine the changing news business and practice of journalism. Through the consideration of two Australian case studies - The Age Online and Crikey - this paper argues that the adoption of interactive features at online news sites needs to be understood in relation to the broader political and economic changes in which news and journalism operate. In this framework, discussions of interactivity are refigured from a matter of technological consideration to the negotiation of journalism's historical social role