An online newspaper, also known as a web newspaper, which exists on the World Wide Web or Internet,
either separately or as an online version of a printed periodical.
Going online created more opportunities for newspapers, such as competing with broadcast journalism
in presenting breaking news in a more timely manner. The credibility and strong brand recognition of
well-established newspapers, and the close relationships they have with advertisers, are also seen by
many in the newspaper industry as strengthening their chances of survival.[1] The movement away from
the printing process can also help decrease costs.
Online newspapers are much like hard-copy newspapers and have the same legal boundaries, such as laws
regarding libel, privacy and copyright,[2] also apply to online publications in most countries, like in
the UK. Also in the UK the Data Protection Act applies to online newspapers and news pages,[3] as well
as the PCC rules in the UK. But the distinction was not very clear to the public in the UK as to what was
a blog or forum site and what was an online newspaper. In 2007, a ruling was passed to formally regulate
UK based online newspapers, news audio, and news video websites covering the responsibilities expected of
them and to clear up what is, and what isn't, an online publication.[4]
News reporters are being taught to shoot video[5] and to write in the succinct manner necessary for the Internet
news pages. Many are learning how to implement blogs and the ruling by the UK's PCC should help this development
of the internet. Some newspapers have attempted to integrate the internet into every aspect of their operations,
i.e., reporters writing stories for both print and online, and classified advertisements appearing in both media;
others operate websites that are more distinct from the printed newspaper. The Newspaper National Network LP is
an online advertising sales partnership of the Newspaper Association of America and 25 major newspaper companies.
Online-only newspapers :
The true online only paper is a paper that does not have any hard copy connections. An example of this is an
independent web only newspaper, introduced in the UK in 2000, called the Southport Reporter. It is a weekly
regional newspaper that is not produced or run in any format other than 'soft-copy' on the internet by its
publishers PCBT Photography. Unlike blog sites and other news websites it is run as a newspaper and is recognized
by media groups in the UK, like the NUJ and/or the IFJ. Also they fall under the UK's PCC rules. Another example
is the Atlantic Highlands Herald, a New Jersey based web-only daily newspaper published in the US since 1999.[8]
But even print media is turning to online only publication. As of 2009, the collapse of the traditional business
model of print newspapers has led to various attempts to establish local, regional or national online-only
newspapers - publications that do original reporting, rather than just commentary or summaries of reporting from
other publications. An early major example in the U.S. is the Seattle Post-Intelligencer, which stopped publishing
after 149 years in March 2009 and went online only. In Scotland, in 2010, Caledonian Mercury became Scotland's
first online-only newspaper with the same aims as Southport Reporter in the UK, with The Yorkshire Times following
suit and becoming Yorkshire's first online-only paper in 2011.
In the US, technology news websites such as CNET, TechCrunch, and ZDNet started as web publications and enjoy comparable readership to the conventional newspapers. Also, with the ever-rising popularity of online media, veteran publications like the U.S. News & World Report are abandoning print and going online-only.
