News

The development of the internet has transformed the way that the news media operate worldwide. As a result, newspapers and broadcasters in Britain have been forced to provide online content as well as their traditional offerings in order to remain competitive.

Traditional British Newspapers

More than 800 British newspapers and magazines (national, regional and local) publish online editions. Not only does this allow publishers to report news as it happens but it also lets them build up archives of their material and news digests that can continue to be widely accessed in the future. The internet also offers more ways for readers and publishers to communicate – using email, RSS feeds, the web and mobile devices. This communication is not simply limited to ‘letters to the editor’. Readers can send pictures and videos straight to a newspaper or broadcaster, which can then be made available online almost instantaneously. Readers can also take part in opinion polls and enter competitions online via newspapers’ websites. In addition, publishers can track the pages that readers view and their interactions with online advertisements.

Online Newspapers

Online newspapers and magazines (e-zines) have also developed across the internet. They do not have the overheads associated with conventional ‘dead trees’ publishers so their start-up and operating costs are considerably lower than those of traditional publishers. This form of publishing also allows niche publications covering specialised areas to flourish in a way that was not possible previously, in Britain.

UK Television & Radio

The movement of news content online has also affected television and radio. Like newspapers, the broadcasters are able to gather information rapidly from their viewers and listeners. Also, they are able to broadcast programmes via the web in addition to their normal transmissions. The introduction of digital television and radio is encouraging the convergence of transmitted and online media and this is having a significant effect on the style and content of news programmes.

News Agencies

Unsurprisingly, news agencies have been greatly affected by the online revolution. Whereas the traditional role of companies like Reuters and the Press Association was to gather news to supply to other news organisations, increasingly they are publishing news in their own right, via the web, enabling them to generate advertising revenue.

News Portals

News portals are specialist search engines that trawl and classify sources of news across the internet. They provide links to numerous online newspapers and other sources of news, in particular news sites that focus on specialist topics, such as sports or different industry sectors.

Personalised News

Nobody could possibly read and assimilate all the news that is available online nowadays. However, a number of news portals exist that allow the user to customise the news that they receive. Personalised news portals allow the user to select a number of subject areas and to search automatically for the news topics that they want to check. The information is then aggregated in an easy to monitor format. Many personalised news portals also offer users the option of receiving alerts by email on selected topics.