Because of the prevalence of the internet in today's society many thousands of papers now
publish an on-line edition. It is through the use of this medium that they wish to make
in roads in the communications market. It is seen as a necessary step by many because of
the loss of readership due to the internet, broadcast journalism and radio. In my review
I will examine an on-line edition of a newspaper from each of the continents. I will
comment on some of the technical aspects each employ. I will also discuss the tools many
of the papers are using, that not only make them a hybrid of broadcast, radio and print
journalism but also establish them as the only medium that is using interactive
reporting.
Representing the continent of Asia and the city of Hong Kong is the South China Morning
Post. It is one of only a few English language news papers in the republic. The post has
an air of journalistic freedom the other news papers do not seem to have. One of the lead
articles outlined this concern and dispelled the rumor that China would censor the paper
when the city is turned over in July.
The Morning Post is a very up to date paper that features an updated breaking news
sidebar. A very useful and inviting feature which enables it to keep up with and often
scoop the broadcast media. The newspaper also had a technology section which caters to
the on-line user. The post also utilizes the use of java script to make it seem more like
an interactive medium.
Of the papers available from the continent of India the Times of India is the one of the
finest. It features an archive that is quite extensive, a metropolis section which
features two cities a day, an easily accessible reprint section for syndication of
articles and a career opportunities in India section that is aimed at the overseas
applicant. It has some draw backs though, the world section although very extensive is
more of an overview of the continent and the region rather than the entire world. It is
not as inviting as some of the other on-line news papers it has a uninviting look to it
which lends it to be a little less reader friendly.
Business Day is the best offering of dailies for South Africa. It takes a little longer
to load the page but that is due to a very dominate graphic which clearly outlines all of
the major markets of the world. The major market graphic is the most impressive of the
elements of this on-line newspaper. Coming in second is business days entertainment
section. It has well written and intelligent reviews of cinema, books, theater, wine and
food. As a whole the paper has some major drawbacks, there are no pictures, essentially
no world news and the front page contained a spelling error.
The Times of London is the signature paper of Europe. It is not only very easy to use it
is also very insightful and timely. It has a crossword puzzle, a first among all of the
newspapers that I reviewed for this assignment. It has a true world news section which
has comprehensive coverage of the world. It has a very slick look that is complimented by
many color and black and white pictures. Many of the stories incorporated graphics which
lead to a very contemporary wed designed look. The most compelling aspect of the paper
was the feature "personal times". Personal times, is a customized news paper designed
from the readers general interests. The feature was one of many which distinguished the
times from any other I reviewed. Overall the times was a very exciting newspaper and one
which is very insightful into its readers needs.
An extremely modern looking design dominates the Christchurch Press, one of the three
on-line papers from the small island. It has the distinction of being the only paper I
could find that had a photo gallery. The gallery was a very welcomed find amongst the
many papers on the internet that all but abandon photojournalism for more graphics and
text. Surprisingly, it does not have a world news a section. It has some unusual fare
for an on-line news paper, such as, a motoring section, a teen section, a TV guide and a
computer tools section. It also distinguishes itself from other on-line news papers by
offering sound files. The sound files demonstrate how the medium of on-line news and
broadcast will probably be a merging and gray area in the future.
The Vancouver Sun is my installment for the North American continent. It is a very
efficient news paper that maximizes all the space it uses and loads very rapidly. I has
distinct departments such as: a net guide, a personal finance section and a trivia page.
It is similar to other western papers in that it has an extensive world news section that
is very comprehensive. In the world section is a scrolling synopsis of the days news that
is very attractive to the on-line reader. Overall the Vancouver sun represents some of
the finest North America has to offer in the form of the on-line newspaper.
In my search of the news papers of South America I did not come across one that was
printed in English or gave you the option of choosing one in English. I choose The
Gazeta of Brazil to review because it seemed to be the most modern of the South American
newspapers. although I could not read the features or the news articles it seemed to have
an extensive listing of all categories as well as a large world news section.
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