If it's true that money drives actions, then Second Life will be short lived.
According to Cybergrrl Oh, a veteran journalist and "newbie" in Second Life journalism, the average salary for a news article on Second Life is between 4-8 U.S. dollars. Though individuals in other occupations report that Second Life has been profitable, it's difficult for journalists to say the same. For this reason, and many others, it's difficult to imagine Second Life becoming a haven for quality journalism.
Another challenge that virtual journalists will encounter is the difficulty of finding news and reliable sources for stories. In the BlogHer report on "Covering a Virtual World", several virtual journalists noted the difficulties of building large networks of virtual friends - a necessity for journalists looking for word-of-mouth story leads. After uncovering stories, virtual journalists will find even more trouble when attempting to confirm the validity of a source.
Can a story based on questionable sources really be considered quality journalism? I think not.
Perhaps the biggest question surrounding Second Life journalism is whether the ability to teleport offers virtual journalists an advantage over traditional journalists who often require travel to speak with sources. In a time of almost unlimited communication possibilities, real-world journalists shouldn't be at much of a disadvantage. Email, cell phones, video conferencing and countless other methods of communication offer traditional journalists a valuable arsenal of communication means that match up well against a virtual interview with a virtual source.
As Second Life will soon find out, there's no room in journalism for a profitless and questionable medium of news.