Perspectives of the teaching, learning and research of cyberjournalism for an emerging Internet society

Since only very recently, we have begun to establish the characteristics and behavior of a new generation, now already widely known as the Cyber or Net generation. Since 1995, we have been witnessing the birth of a generation that is starting to spread throughout all layers of society. But it is as of this millennium, and specifically the last three years, that this generation's true importance has become apparent. Against this background, the impact that information and communication technologies generate in the journalistic profession implies that the professionals that provide this information must take a fundamental role in assuming new challenges if they wish to continue to play a leading role in the processes of information and communication. A need has therefore arisen that implies a substantial change in the way future journalists and reporters are trained. The paper seeks to analyze, on the one hand, the challenges faced by teaching and learning in the training of cyber journalists in meeting the demands made by media companies of a generation that is accustomed to the use of ITC, and especially the Internet; and on the other, seeks to provide initial guidelines for lines of research into online journalism.