After listening to the conference "Covering a Virtual World", I gained a better understanding of why journalists report "in-world". From the beginning, I was very skeptical as to why a real world journalist would spend time covering a story occuring "in-world". Cybergrrl Oh made a comment stating, " People 'in-world' have specific reasons for the things they do." She continued, later proclaiming, "Real people do real things - its real news". Her clarification offers the opinion that yes, it is necessary to report the happenings of Second Life. However, she did explain that there are hardships when reporting. "I have trouble finding stories", Oh exclaimed. She also informed the listeners on how little money "in-world" reporters earn, comparing it to the salaries of actual, real world journalists.
Yet, "in-world" news may supersede real world news. Being that avatars are able to virtually teleport all over the world in just seconds, offers them an enormous advantage. These "in-world" journalists are able to learn new information about a developing story at a fast rate. Real world journalists spend time physically traveling around the globe to learn the latest information. In Second Life, reporters avoid the middle-man, the hours of transportation, and learn the information in an instant.
To many people, myself included, Second Life may seem like a game. Nevertheless, through "Covering a Virtual World", viewers are able to understand the importance and relevance as to why journalists cover stories in Second Life.