Bibliography

Trade Journals
• Morton, J. (1998). Protecting the Local Franchise Online. American Journalism Review. 20(3) 60.

Morton looks at how newspapers can use their resources for information and their clout in local communities to capitalize on the internet. He uses the Durham Herald-Sun as an example of a newspaper that paired with local organizations and retained its brand name trust. He mentions Microsoft’s Carpoint and Sidewalk (which I’ve never heard of), and writes that these services will compete with newspaper classifieds.

•Palser, B. (2002). Web Surfers on Speed … And other misconceptions about writing for the Web. American Journalism Review. October.

“Good Web writing is newswriting 101.”
Palser writes that the standards for news writing hold true for online news, and dispels many myths about the “typical” web surfer. She also writes about the misinterpretation of advise from “usability pioneer” Jakob Nielsen. She touches on style differences from print versions, the “architecture of information” and formatting.

•Palser, B. (1999). Charting New Terrain. American Journalism Review. 21(9) 25-31.

Here Palser looks at the sites of mid-size newspapers in comparison to national heavyweights. She discusses codes of ethics and standards in “new media.” Again, she promotes the basics of journalism.

•Raeder, A. (1996). News Publishers on the Net. Searcher. 4(5) 48-54.

Reviews newspapers on the internet, evaluating sites for papers like the Boston Globe, Christian Science Monitor, the Los Angeles Times and the New York Times. Raeder explores the advantages and disadvantages of online news and examines the future of E-news. Although a bit outdated, this article provides insight to presenting news when the medium of the internet was new itself.

Academic Journals
•Arant, M.D. & Anderson, J.Q. (2001). Newspaper Online Editors Support Traditional Standards. Newspaper Research Journal. 22(4) 57-70.

The authors conducted a quantitative study, with a survey of online newspaper editors at U.S. daily newspapers. They found that online newspaper editors felt standards should be the same for the internet and print, but the internet makes it more difficult to meet those standards with increased publishing speed and lack of adequate staff. They interviewed editors from newspapers with circulations of 15,000 and under to more than 200,000. They cite a 2000 study that found 99% of the nation’s largest newspapers and most medium-sized newspapers have an online presence. The authors’ survey looked at how often websites were updated, how many staff members worked on the online edition, how much of the news content from the print edition made it online and how this content was changed for the internet. They also touch on correction policies for online content. The authors suggest newspapers find journalists with web training or establish protocols that address online journalism dilemmas.

“Although the new medium demands some changes in protocols practiced in print publishing, newspapers cannot abandon any of the rigor of their standards of accuracy and integrity as they move from print to the online product. Otherwise, the online offspring could damage newspapers’ reputations and reduce reader trust in the parent publications (67).

•Lowrey, W. (1999). From map to machine: Conceptualizing and designing news on the Internet. Newspaper Research Journal. 20(4) 14-

The authors conducted open-ended, in-depth interview with creative directors who agreed that content must drive design and design must be kept simple for the web. The authors interviewed four individuals, all who work with newspapers on how to design for the internet. They were the creative director for the Chicago Tribune’s online edition, a creative director with Knight-Ridder new media, a former creative director for online news source Access Atlanta and former president of the Society for News Design. The author cites professionals and a researchers on what web strategies work best. The general consensus, he finds, is that design should follow content. He offers a list of remedies for online challenges.

“Many web papers parrot modernist newspaper design, which has become nearly universal in the print industry over the past 20 to 30 years. The modernist layout is a road map in which the route markers are headline size, dominant imagery, story placement and story length” (14).

“Newspaper designers are restricted by industry tradition and conventions and newspaper editors tend to be more narrow minded about design” (20).

•Peng, F.Y., Tham, N.I. & Xiaoming, H. (1999). Trends in Online Newspapers: A Look at the U.S. Web. Newspaper Research Journal. 20(2) 52-64.

The authors found that most editors see the internet as a way to open up new opportunities for the newspaper industry. They look at advantages of the internet – websites can gain additional readers and offer new services and greater interactivity. For an existing newspaper, the costs of adding an online component are minimal. Very few online newspapers are making money, however, according to the study in this article. Small newspapers, in specific, find it difficult to generate advertising revenues.

“The future of a new medium depends on whether it is simply a replica of an existing one and to what extent it can add value to it” (58).

•Randle, Q. (2001). Evolution of U.S. daily newspaper brand names into Internet URLs. Newspaper Research Journal. 22 (3) 89-92.

A content analysis of daily newspaper’s URLs. The author looks at the static brand, the evolved brand, new brand and “other.” The study looks at a directory database from Editor & Publisher and codes the URLs into these categories. The author finds that 79% of daily newspapers have websites. The most popular URL type was the evolved, followed by the static brand. The most frequently dropped or condensed words in titles were “sentinel,” “chronicle,” “evening,” “tribune,” “review” and “daily.” The author concluded that newspaper are using adaptive behaviors for the web.

•Singer, J.B., Tharp, M.P. & Haruta, A. (1999). Online staffers: Superstars or second-class citizens? Newspaper Research Journal. 20 (3) 29-47.

The authors looked at the affects of small online newspaper staffs on the perception of the staff. They conducted a mail survey of online and print editors at all U.S. daily newspapers that have been online at least six months at the time of the survey in 1998. They received responses from editors at newspapers with circulations of 3,500 to 2 million. They found that most newspapers have little crossover in print and online newsrooms. (Although editors at larger newspapers make up the brunt of this group – most editors at smaller newspapers said there was no staff that was online-only.)
The largest newspapers, which had separate online staffs, were more likely to produce unique online content.

•Weir, T. (1999). Innovators or Newshounds? Newspaper Research Journal. 20 (4) 62.

Conducted an online survey of readers of an electronic newspaper to find out who is reading it. It turns out online newspapers are not reaching younger audiences.

Books

•Meyer, P. (2004) The Vanishing Newspaper: Saving Journalism in the Information Age. Columbia: University of Missouri Press.

Meyer discusses strategies of newspapers to remain profitable as readership declines, both best and worst case scenarios included. He focuses on newspapers’ strength, which is influence. In order to survive, he writes that newspapers must do more than replicate their print version online; they must offer something new. Meyers writes that a lot of it is trial-and-error and improvisation. He uses Reuters partnering with Yahoo as an example of a success story.

“If a newspaper company’s main product is influence, it is important to know how its Web presence contributes to that influence. It is equally important to extend the influence created by the newspaper’s brand name to the Web product” (222).

•Black, R. (1997) Web sites that work. San Jose: Adobe Press.

A veteran designer for magazines and newspapers demonstrates which elements are universal and which strategies don’t translate well from print. Black discusses his transition from print media to the Web. Mostly a guide, and a little outdated, but it will provide useful information relating to newspapers’ move to the internet.

Internet

• Lynch, P. & Horton, S. Web Style Guide 2 (New Haven, Conn.: Yale University Press, 2001). Also available: http://www.webstyleguide.com.

This style guide can be used to create a list of criteria for websites. The authors outline elements necessary for a successful website.

• Morkes, J. & Nielsen, J. “Concise, SCANNABLE, and Objective:
How to Write for the Web” (1997), available: http://www.useit.com/papers/webwriting/writing.html

Morkes and Nielsen provide a catalog of internet users’ likes and dislikes and recommend effective web strategies. Their usability studies present evidence for what works and what doesn’t. These elements can be used as a checklist of criteria for a website.




Common themes

- No hard and fast rules to publishing news online.