Difference / Similarities with Contemporary Media

With print journalism seemingly on the brink of collapse, more and more are asking whether web journalism can replace newspapers.

The short answer is, not yet.

Web journalism encompasses a whole range of things, from the websites run by newspapers to citizen journalism and non-profit news sites and even blogs.

But aside from the newspaper websites, which are an extension of the papers themselves, few of these other online news entities can compete with newspapers in terms of the breadth and scope of their coverage.

The Problem? Money. Most online news sites don't have enough money from either advertising or deep-pocketed supporters to hire a newsroom full of professional reporters.

So they often rely on recent journalism school grads or interns who will work for cheap, and they typically employ fairly small staffs.

Even with limited resources and inexperienced reporters, these sites can do good work.

Some top notch journalism is being done by nonprofit news websites, which are typically funded by a mix of ad revenue and contributions from donors and foundations.

But the nonprofit sites also have fairly small staffs and must pick their targets carefully. They simply don't have the resources to do more.

Still, in a time when newspapers look like an endangered species, online news sites seem to be multiplying. And if they can discover a way to make money - the kind of money that will allow them to fill newsrooms with experienced reporters and editors - they may eventually become journalism's brave new world.

How does web journalism differ from Contemporary Media?

Multimediality: An online text can be enriched through sound, video, and graphics. The diversity of media options is what brings a text to life.

Interactivity: A user can contact the journalist and other users immediately, express his or her opinion or provide new information.

Reach: It’s called the World Wide Web, after all: an online presence is global in reach. If something is in the Internet, it can be read on the other side of the planet just as well as in the office next door.

Currency: The Internet involves publishing in real-time, practically without any time delay. However, what is current at the moment is old a few hours or minutes or days later and no longer current – but can still be read.

Non-limitation: The internet has no difficulty with spatial limits. Storage capacity and therefore publishing space is for all intents and purposes unlimited.

Non-linearity: A text or an offer need no longer be read from beginning to end, but creates links to other texts. The journalist’s job is to provide clarity.