Interactive elements and customization

The ability to present multiple interactive elements is one of the most salient features of e-newspapers (Spyridou & Veglis , 2008). Interactivity can be broadly defined as the reader’s use of tools to control his experience with the web page, as well as send feedback. This allows many-to-many communication in a medium that has been traditionally one-to-many (Chung, 2008). Some of the most commonly used interactive elements in e-newspapers are navigation tools, forum, comments section, and chat room.

Among these elements, a distinction could be made between those that involve the reader and the interface as opposed to those that involve more than one reader. Bucy (2004) defines these two distinct kinds of interactivity as user-to-system interactivity and user-to-user interactivity. Similarly, Chung (2008) divides interactivity into human interactivity and medium interactivity. Forums and chat rooms are examples of human / user-to-user interactivity, whereas using the navigation tools is an example of medium / user-to-system interactivity. Bucy (2004) includes customization to user-to-system interactivity. Chung (2008) points to the fact that these different types of interactivity attract different types of audiences; therefore having multiple interactive elements is a good approach for newspapers.

For e-newspapers, interactive elements provide a competitive advantage by inviting readers to the page, keeping them there for a longer period of time, and making them return at a later time (Bucy, 2004). Readers, on the other hand, enjoy interactivity because of the freedom to filter the news according to their own interests and the opportunity to evaluate and give feedback on the stories, which creates a feeling of empowerment (Spyridou & Veglis, 2008). In contrast, journalists might have a different standing. According to Domingo (2008), the very basic of interactive elements which give power to the audience to voice their opinion does not fit in the basics of journalism, where the expertise is the source of reliability. Domingo’s study (2008) shows that journalists and news creators generally see participation as a problem rather than one part of the news creation.

The ability of interactive elements to give voice to ordinary people and to connect them to one another is clearly an empowering factor. However, customization, which is cherished as another empowering novelty brings some questions. Unlike user-to-user (or human) interactivity, customization as user-to-system interactivity might serve in isolating individuals rather than connecting them. Schoenbach (2007) points to the fact that the ability to select and filter the news in the way that one wishes does not necessarily empower the individual or the society. Rather, it enlarges the gap between those who are actively participating and interested in the policies and events surrounding them and those who are not.

An overview of the history and current state of e-newspapers in regards to design, interactivity and content reveals that they are at the beginning of their life as a medium. In regards to their design, e-newspapers have not yet found a balance between the freedom and guidance they offer to their readers, as well as their attractiveness and ease-to-use as an online product. A similar balance is needed between the levels of interactivity and editorial quality. The ability to provide fast and easy access to news is one of their largest advantages over print medium, but it also has to be in balance with credibility and editorial quality. Only then, can e-newspapers mature and offer a unique identity of their own.

Although their use is rapidly growing, considering the multidimensional maturing process, it is reasonable to expect that their impact in the news industry will be an evolutionary, rather than a revolutionary one.

Assignments

1. Present the history of e-newspapers briefly.

2. What are the main factors of print design?

3. What does the term ‘e-newspaper’ mean?

4. Tell about pros and cons of “e-newspapers”.

5. Discuss the interactive elements and customization.

6. What other empowering factors can you name, besides the ability of interactive elements to give voice to ordinary people and to connect them to one another?

7. What technologies are used to publish e-newspapers?

8. What is typical of e-newspapers today?

9. Do you agree that the ability to reach the news quickly might be considered more important than the presentation?

10. Summarize the text.

Text 8

ARE NEWSPAPERS DYING? YES OR NO?

By Tony Rogers[24]

Are newspapers dying?

That’s the raging debate in the news biz these days. Many say the ultimate demise of the daily paper is just a matter of time – and not much time at that. The future of journalism is in news websites, not newsprint, they say.

Hold on, says another group of folks. Newspapers have been with us for hundreds of years, and while all news may someday be online, papers have some life in ‘em yet.

So who’s right? I’ll outline the arguments on both sides, then you can decide.

Newspapers Are Dead

Newspapers are in trouble. Circulation is dropping, display and classified ad revenue is drying up, and the industry has experienced an unprecedented wave of layoffs. Big metro papers like the Rocky Mountain News and Seattle Post-Intelligencer have gone under, and even bigger newspaper companies like the Tribune Co. are in bankruptcy.

And where are newspaper readers going? To the web. A recent study by the University of Southern California's Annenberg Center for the Digital Future found that Internet users read online newspapers for an average of 53 minutes per week in 2008. That’s the highest level recorded in the eight years the study has been done.

The bad news for newspapers? The study found that 22 percent of users said they stopped their subscription to a printed paper or magazine because they could access the same content online.

Gloomy business considerations aside, the dead-newspaper people say the Internet is just a better place to get the news.

“On the Web, newspapers are live, and they can supplement their coverage with audio, video, and the invaluable resources of their vast archives,” says Jeffrey I. Cole, director of USC's s Digital Future Center. “For the first time in 60 years, newspapers are back in the breaking news business, except now their delivery method is electronic and not paper.”

Conclusion: The Internet will kill off newspapers.

No They Aren’t – Not Yet, Anyway

Yes, newspapers are facing the toughest times ever, and yes, the Internet can offer many things that printed papers can’t.

But pundits and prognosticators have been predicting the death of newspapers for decades. Radio, TV and now the Internet were all supposed to kill them off, but they’re still here.

And while many papers are still hurting financially, there are hints that the picture will brighten as the economy gains steam.

For example, the Inland Press Association recently reported that, contrary to expectations, many papers are still profitable. And advertising research firm Borrell Associates recently predicted that newspapers' print ad revenue will actually increase 2.4 percent in 2010, and 8.7 percent by 2014.

"That will be short of its 2008 level, but a long way from extinction,” Colby Atwood, Borrell Associates’ president, told Business Insider.

Rick Edmonds, media business analyst for the Poynter Institute, says the widespread newspaper industry layoffs of the last few years, while painful, should make papers more viable when the recession ends.

“At the end of the day, these companies are operating more leanly now,” Edmonds said. “The business will be smaller and there may be more reductions, but there should enough profit there to make a viable business for some years to come.”

And those who claim that the future of news is online and only online ignore one critical point: Online ad revenue just isn’t enough to support most news companies, not in the way print advertising does. So for online-only news organizations to survive, they’ll need an as-yet undiscovered business model.

As for readership, while it’s true that news websites are gaining ground on newspapers, Martin Langeveld, a columnist for Harvard’s Nieman Journalism Lab, recently found that more than 96 percent of newspaper reading is still done in the print editions. The online share of the newspaper audience only amounts to about 3 percent, he found.

Conclusion: Until someone figures out how to make online news sites profitable, newspapers aren't going anywhere.

Assignments

1. Do you agree that the future of journalism is in news websites, not newsprint?

2. Why did 22 percent of users stop their subscription to a printed paper or magazine?

3. Why do the dead-newspaper people say the Internet is just a better place to get the news?

4. What are the advantages of online newspapers according to the author?

5. Do you agree with the statement: “The Internet will kill off newspapers”.

6. Comment the following statement: “And while many papers are still hurting financially, there are hints that the picture will brighten as the economy gains steam”.

7. Do you prefer printed or online newspapers?

8. Do you agree that “online ad revenue just isn’t enough to support most news companies, not in the way print advertising does?”

9. Comment the following statement: “Until someone figures out how to make online news sites profitable, newspapers aren't going anywhere”.

10. Summarize the text.

Internet

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