There are not many books on the topic published in the UK as yet, despite an ever- expanding range of material available online, including the website of my Kingston colleague and multimedia journalist  Adam Westbrook or Paul Bradshaw’s online journalism blog.

Andy Bull’s book, published by Routledge, is a refreshing relief from much of the hyper-evangelical hysteria that pervades some of the new media camp in the UK. There are too many media trainers who just offer crude imitations of US digital missionaries like Jeff Jarvis and Clay Shirky. Not Bull, if this book is anything to go by.

Bull’s calm and practical book is ideal for beginners and undergraduates, as it mixes the fundamentals of basic reporting practice with highly accessible information on multimedia equipment and resources.  It includes really useful exercises for the classroom and well-selected case studies of multimedia practice, including many examples from UK local and regional newspaper websites, rather than the usual US-centric coverage. There is also a website (and web community) to go with the book.

The majority of attendees, including myself, voted in favour of the motion. Allowing people to freely ‘have their say’ online can broaden the political debate by making it more inclusive and representative beyond the usual boring shades of red and blue.  The opportunities for unregulated political comment also provide a useful fly-trap for would-be  politicians who cannot resist the temptation to get down and dirty among the little people. Just look at the case of Paul Wiffen, UKIP parliamentary candidate for Ilford South, who was suspended (albeit briefly) for what was described as a “racist comment” on the Community Care website. He has now been reinstated, to the ire of blogger Outside Left.

I think the Wiffens of the political world should have their say in full technicolour online because they shoot themselves in the foot, exposing themselves Wizard of Oz-style as mere little ranting men hiding behind a giant screen of smoke and mirrors. Over-regulation of such comments would not be in the public interest, because the public need to know who these people really are, and what they stand for – that’s what I call democracy. Community Care’s website has a community moderator, who evidently chose to keep Wiffen’s comments up for the right reason.

For many journalists, the message is the same – journalism on the internet is all about speed and the visual/audio quick fix,  giving readers the information they need as fast as possible.  So does this mean in-depth coverage and rigorous analysis is on its way out? Has the internet led to a culture of bite-sized journalism, where breaking news is all?

It will take time for the balance to change. Mercedes Bunz, outgoing reporter for Media Guardian has written about some interesting examples of  how the internet can benefit investigative reporting.