In today’s world, many people have become critics of the media and are creating their own content. Citizen journalists I applaud you for your bold foray into the media realm, but let’s not forget the qualified journalists who are losing their jobs.

The conversion of news from print to the Web is well underway, but it’s not the end all to the problems of the media. Many accuse the media of agenda setting and faulty reporting; so through citizen journalism they have solved those issues right?

Wrong.

Professional journalists across the nation are losing jobs. Hundreds of writers and editors who have been trained to accurately and precisely report the news are packing their bags. If people complain about the media now, imagine the complaints if all there is to read is Twitter posts and personal blogs?

The problems and complaints regarding journalism are not going away because of blogs and interactive user-generated content. Some news organizations are attempting to transform the brick and morter newsroom to an entirely online operation. Easier said than done.

I enjoy the fact that readers can contribute to news stories and express their opinions, but they should not take the place of trained reporters. You can’t become a journalist overnight.

Apparently readers need to be wary of their news sources as well. Spoof Web sites that mimic news sources are diluting the truth and intentionally trying to trick readers.

The Web is allowing instant access to news across the world, but not all of the information is valid or authentic. Website spoofing is when a popular Web site is mimicked and changed slightly in hopes of fooling readers.

Web sites such as the nytimes-se.com are created to intentionally fool readers and trick them. The design of the pages are usually nearly identical and can be hard for the untrained eye to notice that the page is a spoof.

Many readers have become scavengers on the Web, finding various news outlets and following the trail of blue links.  Studies show that readers are avoiding traditional newspapers and local television broadcasts, and spoof news sites do nothing to help buck the trend.

If a reader is already skeptical of traditional news and is finding new news sources, imagine how they feel when they are tricked by a ridiculous spoof headline. They may doubt the credibility of any news they read, real or not.

Not only can spoof sites be deceiving, they can be damaging to readers. Phony news headlines are often sent out and clicking on them can have a hidden effect of viruses.

Much like a journalist double checking sources, Web readers are learning to double check their own sources. Spoof Web sites do nothing for journalism but reinforce the importance of good reporting and fact checking. Credibility is becoming as important as ever.

While most would agree that the Web is an integral part of society and has benefited our world greatly, its range of influence is not infinite. While Lee and the consortium’s motto is, “If it isn’t on the Web, it doesn’t exist,” not everything can and should be incorporated to the Web.

Web advocates like to point out that one of the main benefits of the Web is the ability to include everyone in the conversation and thus improve the creativity of the forum or discussion. While the Web is good at including those with access, it excludes those without the access. It’s no secret that parts of society refuse to accept the Web and others simply can’t afford the technology.

Lee envisions a Web that will host not only finished products, but  rough drafts and the entire creative process. While sure it would be interesting to read the personal notes of your favorite journalist, it would take away from individuality and creativity of the journalist.

Web users are already notorious for stealing information, pirated movies and music for example, so why should artists and professionals risk their secrets being hijacked? Artists are tired of losing their money and the government is even getting involved.

Lee’s rosy vision of the Semantic Web is honest and genuine in theory, but some aspects of life are better left off the Web. Arguments should not only take place online because the aspect of human interaction is not involved. Creative works of art are sometimes better off being enjoyed on paper and in museums.

With all of the technological advancements in today’s society, it’s important to remember that not everyone can or will embrace the technology. Traditionalists must be included in the Web 2.0 discussion.

From browsers and named anchors to spyware and viruses, it all equaled techie speak to me; note the past tense. While I admit I don’t know the most about computers, I have taken a positive approach toward learning some basic skills.

Today as the Web continues to improve and affect all aspects of our culture, befriending a techie and learning some Web skills can do a body good. Embracing the Web and its basic fundamentals is the key to understanding the online world, and can help get you a job.

For many journalists learning and adapting to the Web can be a scary process. But if writers want to keep their jobs they must be open to learning the Web, and it’s easy to find help.

Nearly everything we do today is done online, and if something isn’t, it will be in the near future. Being able to survive and advance in the workplace will be dependent on the employee’s ability to use the Web to his advantage.

Imagine graduating from college and looking for your first entry-level job. You show up to the interview with your resume and nice suit, and the employer asks to see your Web resume. Oh, you don’t have one?

If you are confused by the simplest of Web terms, stop by Webopedia and catch up to the rest of your peers. Your future may depend on it.

The answer for most readers according to Jakob Nielson is no. People do not read online, they scan. It’s official, the attention span of today’s online readers rivals that of a five-year-old.

The Web has not only changed the way readers get their news, think declining newspaper subscriptions and their broke conglomerate owners, it has changed their reading habits as well. Print newspapers are being passed over for more user-friendly blogs which allow readers to get the news with little effort.

Readers are taking advantage of Web-style writing which condenses sentences, provides catchy headlines and interesting links. Flipping through newspaper pages to follow a story is being replaced by clicking on blue links that enhance the article.

People no longer want or need to read 2,000 word features when they can read the headline on Yahoo! and get the most important points in bullet form.

The Web has furthered the decline of newspaper circulation, along with cable news, and vastly shortened reading habits.

Take the popularity of blogs for example. Blogs are exploding because they get right to the point and give readers external links to further their reading. Newspapers stand still, while the Web moves.

It would be easy to say nobody reads anymore, but that simply isn’t true; they just don’t read the entire article. Heck, why should they, the neat bullets underneath the lead allow them to move from golf to U.S. foreign policy in a couple minutes.

Click on!

With the popularity of blogs and citizen journalism, professional journalists should and need to be cognizant of their amateur, yet beneficial counterparts. In order for journalism to compete and adapt to the social change being initiated by the Web, it must give up some original ideas for the innovative ones taking place online.

A new type of live blogging has become popular with both amateur and professional journalists. Bloggers attending high profile events such as the NCAA Final four, are recording their thoughts and observations live online.

Live blogging gives instant detail and observations that readers can’t get from live television. Not only are users watching the event live, they are following blogs and responding to the games as they happen.

One of the main benefits of blogging is its ability to break news before anyone else. Bloggers work on essentially their own deadlines are free to write the news as soon as it happens. Bloggers are able to skip many of the steps professional journalists must go through in order to publish material, and thus bloggers often times reach readers quicker.

Another appealing aspect of blogging is the accessibility it allows ordinary readers. Most blogs encourage and thrive off of reader participation and thus readers feel involved in the news.

Major news sources are encouraging and allowing user generated content, such as CNN’s iReport.com. Giving users the chance to contribute scores points with Web 2.0 users and in turn attracts attention to CNN.

Journalists must realize that their target audience has also adapted to the technological changes the Web has initiated. Readers no longer have to rely on a few sources for news, as a simple Google search will bring up numerous articles on the same subject. Journalists must follow the example of bloggers and continue to realize their audience demands both instant information and the ability to be engaged in the news.

Finding a balance between traditional journalism practices and the newer innovative changes will be key going forward for mass media.

While most were able to follow Tiger’s round online or live on television, my grandpa was probably getting ready for bed, dreaming of what incredible feat he would read about in the morning paper.

While grandpa and other Americans waited for the morning paper, the rest of the Web 2.0-hip world knew Woods advanced.

For myself and other sports aficionados, waiting for the print version to make a landing on my doorstep isn’t an option. Online news satisfies the 2-second attention span of our Web 2.0 generation and it doesn’t bang unnecessarily into my front door.

Aside from being a sports fan, my grandpa tends to be a penny-pincher. Imagine how many pennies he could save by reading the Chicago Tribune online, with live updates, instead of paying a monthly subscription.

Online news is instant and free and we should take advantage of it while we can. Some editors are actually calling for their employers to start charging for online content. Imagine that.

While it’s convenient to point and click and find out what’s going on anywhere in the world, holding the newspaper over coffee has a nostalgic feeling. It’s sad to think of a world without newspapers but it seems that’s where Web 2.0 is taking us.

Major dailies are suffering everywhere, from Chicago to San Francisco. Can you imagine the Bay Area without the chronicle?

Online news certainly has its benefits and it isn’t going anywhere. Wish I could say the same for the chronicle…

The advent of the blog and citizen journalist Web sites has allowed any individual to report news, regardless of their qualifications or accuracy of their work. Many are embracing this new style of reporting for its ability to give the common person a voice in our 24-hour news world.

Others aren’t.

Author and internet critic Andrew Keen is a vocal opponent of Web 2.0 and claims it’s destroying our culture. He says traditional news gatekeepers are no longer valued and instead miscellaneous bloggers are being allowed to report and push their own agendas.

Although Web 2.0 encourages creativity and provides an accessible platform for anyone to use, professional and established writers are being overlooked for teenagers and amateur journalists with no credentials at all. Credible news sources and stories are being traded for articles about trivial happenings written by someone on an iPhone.

Professionals are losing their jobs to anonymous sources. Essentially IP addresses lost in the Web 2.0 grid.

There is certainly no doubt that citizen reporting and blogging produce interesting and talented work at times, but it’s the lack of accountability and training that brings them down. Bloggers often spread rumors and compound their mistakes through a lack of editing process.

Several prominent sportswriters have joined the “crusade” against the new media, including the Washington Post’s Michael Wilbon and broadcaster Bob Costas.  These older and more experienced journalists have publicly denounced the ethics and accuracy of blogging.

In the context of T.H. Huxley’s 19th century writings, the monkeys are armed with typewriters and aren’t running out of paper anytime soon. It seems Web 2.0 has given the monkeys an infinite supply.

When major news breaks, speed pays. The sports-journalism world is no exception.

Saturday night a Sports Illustrated report– http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/2009/baseball/mlb/02/07/alex-rodriguez-steroids/ leaked news that New York Yankees shortstop Alex Rodriguez tested positive for a banned substance in 2003. By 2 p.m. Monday ESPN affirmed the news and just like that A-Rod was in front of Peter Gammons admitting his positive test.

Sports Illustrated comes out every Wednesday and is one of the most popular sports magazines in the country. Yet despite the fact that SI broke one of the biggest sports scandals of the new year, ESPN’s ability to put together an exclusive interview and air it within hours left SI in the dust.

Monday as millions of viewers were watching A-Roid’s interview, the SI staff was likely just putting the finishing touches on the magazine. My guess is that because of ESPN and the 24-hour news world we live in, there is plenty of this week’s SI with A-Rod on the cover still available.

Journalists must now compete with cable television news, bloggers and citizen journalist Web sites such as ohmynews.com. Being the fastest to the news is as important as ever.