On today's printing press discussion .......

                   Life isn't All Black or White

         The creation of the wooden printing press by BI Sheng and later the metal printing press by Johannes Gutenberg has had countless affects on both the history of Europe and the journalism within.  With the creation of the printing press, it became much easier for news to be mass printed and distributed to the public. This in turn, made news updates easier, more complex, and consistent. These revelations forced me to ponder, what other advances have been in play to influence journalism as we know it today?  Why what else if not the introduction of the internet of course?
         
       With the use of basic analytical skills anyone can establish that the internet has been one of the leading causing of countless advancements in the journalism we're familiar with. Of these advancements, one of the most major is more accessible distribution of mass media. With the creation of the internet hypothetically in today's era everyone can have 24/7 access of news. Updates are made in real time, and you can get several sources for nearly every news stories in a range of perspectives, to dig out the cold hard truth. Rather than the previous give-take formation of the news, nowadays it's all an interconnected, interactive unit. All voices have the opportunity to be known and everyone has hypothetical accessibility without the need of a local news station and fee. Be that as it may, the digitization of media has also brought forth a number of repercussions.

     First and foremost, there's the slight complication of print media. Nowadays nearly everyone chooses to get their news off of online sources, putting many traditional media outlets at risk or even out of business. This is made even worse because older journalists often have trouble adapting to the ever changing systems of online media.  Not to mention, with the growing connectivity of "news" almost anyone can be a journalist. This can be both a blessing and a curse. On one side of the spectrum, it may give us more access and perspective ; however, it also makes it harder to distinguish fact from fiction. We're left with a huge pool of  often opinionated sources and a hard time digging through it.

    Overall, we're left with but one question- has the internet done more good or bad in terms of it's influence on journalism? Honestly, I believe that depends on how you view it. An opinion question if you will. In my opinion I believe the answer is both. Personally, I can't generalize the internet as either good or bad. Life isn't all black and white and neither is this case. Regardless of what we believe, the internet is taking over the media world, and whether you believe it's for the better or the worse, all we can do is overcome, adapt, and as journalists (or audience) keep up our fight for truthful, readily available news.