As obvious and well-known as it is that newspapers are struggling and dying, it is even more clear that people are turning to the Internet to get their news. Online news journalism is an ever-expanding field, thriving at a time when few news outlets are. The unlimited potential and capabilities of the Internet are the main reasons that both journalists and readers are flocking to online news sources.
The Evolution of the Already Evolved
In an effort to attract as many readers as possible, newspapers are attempting to evolve and change, with rather minimal and limited degrees of success. Even though the Internet news sources are at the top of the food chain, they too must constantly evolve and change and try to one-up itself. The unlimited possibilities that the Internet allows means that different websites can constantly come up with new and exciting things to attract viewers.
Why Aggregating is Aggravating
The newest and most contentious way that online news sources are attempting to attract viewers is through the use of links, particularly to competing news sources. In many cases this means that a news website will have its own content yet include links to the websites/news stories of competing hosts. One many go to the Washington Post website and find themselves face to face with either a story from the New York Times or a link that will take them to the website.
Many newspaper and website editors are having a hard time accepting this idea, let alone allowing their paper or site to do it. They are worried that by doing so they will:
1. send their valuable readers to a competitor
2. lose ad revenues because readers will not stay on their site long enough
3. remind their readers that there are other places to get the news, and some of these places might even do it better.
Linking to Success
More and more editors are beginning to see past their initial displeasure in the idea of links and see the success that it offers. Linking to other material is very similar to the initial role of the newspaper: to filter news and tell the public what is important in the world around them. Websites that specialize in linking, like Drudge Report, do just that. Newspapers and news-websites should act as filters of all of the information bombarding readers, a job most editors are very familiar with today.
The success of Drudge Report also shows that links to outside content is what readers want. Drudge Report is almost, if not entirely, made up solely of links. It is also one of the most successful and widely read websites out there. The reason? The linking is done well. Readers have begun to rely on the Drudge Report to show them what news is important and worth knowing about. It is linking that has made the Drudge Report the success that it is to this day.
No Linking=Direct Link to Unhappy Viewers
As more and more websites begin to utilize linking, viewers begin to expect it. One of my favorite aspects of CNN.com is that it often contains links to either newspapers or TV news channels that have featured an interesting or pertinent story. This allows the viewer to get a wider range of stories. It’s also particularly helpful when the website links to the local coverage of an important event, such as a hurricane or flood.
Links have recently become something that viewers expect and want to see. When a newspaper or website ignores its ego and links to a competitor, it shows the reader that this site’s main concern is ensuring that the reader is getting as much information as possible about as broad a range of topics of possible. It also improves the credibility of a story, as showing that other renowned papers are discussing the same topic gives it an air of importance.
As the saying goes: you can’t have too much of a good thing, and linking is the perfect example of that!
In honor of the wonderousness of linking, here are some links to websites with similar content regarding the use of links in today's news
• http://news.cnet.com/2100-1023-954612.html
- http://www.readwriteweb.com/archives/link_journalism.php
- http://www.publish2.com/about/what-is-link-journalism
- http://publishing2.com/2008/09/21/how-newspapers-abdicated-the-front-pages-influence-and-how-they-can-get-it-back-by-linking/
- http://publishing2.com/2008/10/16/mainstream-news-organizations-entering-the-webs-link-economy-will-shift-the-balance-of-power-and-wealth/
- http://www.nytimes.com/2008/10/13/business/media/13reach.html?_r=1&oref=slogin
