Use of Internet in News Gathering: A Blessing or a Curse?

The Internet and World Wide Web have become dominant newsgathering tools in a short period of time. While the body of research, particularly in the First World, has developed quickly along with the Web, many unanswered questions remain on how journalists in developing countries make use of the Internet for e-mail communication and for exploring information resources on websites. This study combined the social constructivist theory with the socio-organisational and cultural approaches to news production in order to critically investigate how journalists at The Post Newspaper in Zambia relate to, and make use of, the Internet as a newsgathering resource, in the context of Third World conditions. Using qualitative semi-structured interviews and observations the study established that while journalists at The Post acknowledged the Internet?s potential in newsgathering, factors such as unreliable telecommunications infrastructure, poor Internet skills, lack of local content on the World Wide Web, and organisational and occupational demands inhibited the use of the Internet as a journalistic newsgathering resource.