Essay About News Media And Online Media

The Clinton Sex Scandal
Essay title: The Clinton Sex Scandal
The Clinton Sex Scandal
Rare is a person that crosses the path of the White House without some
emotion of envy or awe. This building epitomizes world leadership and
unprecedented power. This renowned leadership may be the only association
made by certain countries, while in the United States many see an other
significance: Watergate, Whitewater, Kennedys brutal and mysterious
assassination, and today, Clintons “zippergate” scandal. When the
President of the United States takes oath, he gives up a part of his life.
His private life becomes the publics life, and they feel the right to know
what happens behind the Oval Office. Now the Presidency must battle against
Newspaper journalists, radio personalities, televised news reports and now,
even more menacing: the Internet.
Presidents who are constantly reminded of their power and prestigious rank,
become exasperated because they cannot control the news media, even though
they can to a large degree set the news agenda. Media has expanded in its
presence, becoming widespread on the Internet, perhaps monopolizing the
domain, by becoming more powerful and more used than written, televised or
radio journalism. The Presidents inability to control the press exposes
their vulnerability and tends to question the actual power they can
actually exert. All presidents, at some time or another, became frustrated
at what they perceived as unfair treatment by the press, even while
acknowledging its vital function in a free society, and many presidents
have been a part of a scandal.
The current Presidential scandal with Monica Lewinsky had swept the Nation
overnight. It seems quite impossible to know just how it will all turn out,
and unfair to even speculate, but the media certainly seems to think they
possess that right. It is obvious that this story has changed the face of
journalism, has put online media on the map in a major way, and has made
life more difficult for newspapers forever.
First, lets take a look at how this story developed and how it acted on
the Internet. David Noack of E&P in his article “Webs Big Role in Sex
Controversy” does a great job of detailing the twisting path this tale took
from rumor to investigation to publication, and how the Internet played a
key part. Noack points out in his article that the “Clinton/Lewinsky”
scandal has drastically changed online media. He writes:
“A year ago, most newspapers and news magazines adhered to the hard rule
that they would not stoop themselves by putting breaking news on their Web
sites before it appeared in their print editions. But a rapidly-growing
public demand for almost “instant” Web coverage of breaking national news
stories has forced even the largest newspapers and magazines— like the
Washington Post and Newsweek—to abandon the old rule.”
“Out with the old, in with the new.” It is easy to think breaking stories
online could dilute journalists on-paper presence; now many have realized
that online media puts all journalists on equal footing with radio and TV.
So who drove this change, pushing away the status quo? Matt Drudge, author
of “The Drudge Report”. It is still