I suppose this will always be the problem with news from war zones. Everyone there is- understandably – panicking and the news wires are buzzing with the latest news, which journalists are hurriedly putting on to web pages.

This is where the saturation of the news market is good in that we have 24 hour news from multiple sources. Yet it’s a minefield and who do we believe? I will always rely on the proven news sources, I have just been reading the BBC news website and Reuters. But they are not on the ground, or if they do have reporters there, they will not have the same accounts as the locals, whose families are involved or caught up in the violence. This is where citizen journalism comes into its own.

However, looking at  Adrian Monck‘s blog, he has linked to a call for people on Twitter to “Please stop tweeting” about the Mumbai police operations. From what I gathered from my course mates this is for security reasons. Which raises the question which I’ve asked before, does citizen journalism do more harm than good? It can get its facts wrong, creat unnecessary panic and even harm state security!

Neil, who is Head of Editorial Development at the Guardian, spoke to City University students in a lecture today about innovation online, what the Guardian has done and what its future is.

As students we are told that journalism is becoming increasingly digital and we need to keep ahead of the game to succeed in our chosen field. This can be difficult, it means keeping your finger firmly on the pulse when new technologies are developing all the time.

Interestingly though, Neil said that straight forward reporting of stories on the Guardian’s website still receive more unique visitors than Twitter updates or live blogging from events. This suggests that although news websites are catching on to the fact that they need to transform themselves, users still prefer good, old fashioned news information. This is heartening for us student journalists, it shows that there is a valuable place for us in this new world as people who are trained to write well and also have a good understanding of new technologies.

Neil also said that when the last printing press was bought by the Guardian, its editor, Alan Rusbridger said  that it would be the last one the paper buys. Neil said that printing presses last 20-25 years and then the paper may share one with another title. This indicates that print is not dead. Neil said that it still has a market as long as it is prepared to change. I believe this is true, it will still be read on the commute to and from work and by people who want to consume news in bigger chunks and reflect on the days events. This is what newspapers need to adapt to and I think they are starting to do that, the morning’s papers often develop last night’s story in a way which websites do not cater for.