Much has changed for the
news
industry since the rise of the Internet. The Internet has had a drastic effect on the way people get their
news and as well as the timeliness in which they receive it. An example of this influence is shown by the
recent
readership of The New York Post’s Web
site. According to the Nielsen ratings, The New York Post’s Web site
has had a massive surge in readership over the last year. (1) The New York Post
recorded 3.4 million readers in December alone, and this makes them the fourth
most popular
online newspaper. These
numbers were up 40 percent from last month and 75 percent since December
2002. The New York Post has moved in
front of Newsday and Daily News’ online
newspapers and is steadily gaining on
the big three online newspapers, The New York Times, USA Today, and The
Washington Post. (1)
This
is an example of the growing trends in Internet newspapers. More and more people are turning to the
Internet to get their news. Many
newspaper’s online versions are receiving greater numbers of readership every
month. This allows even the smallest
papers to reach a greater audience and increase their readership base and even
compete with some of the major papers.
This happens because of the many benefits Internet gives to the news
industry. The primary benefit of
Internet newspapers is the currency that is available on news sites. (2) Unlike
print newspapers, Internet sites can be updated at any time and can have the
most up to date news. This is the
greatest benefit Internet newspapers have over printed news.
There
is also the advantage of being able to provide more information and other
sections that you would be unable to find in the print editions of the same
papers. For example, The
New York
Post’s Web site features a real-estate section, which has become one of the
sites most popular features. As Vin
Montuori, The New York Post’s vice-president of marketing and promotion, says,
“We’ve redesigned the site, and folks are flocking to it. We’ve made it friendlier, cleaner, more
intuitive. It’s easier to get around,
and there’s lots of new fantastic sections.”
He continues to mention how much of an effect the Internet site has on
their printed version. Montuori said,
“The idea of course is to sell more newspapers. The site benefits from the paper’s incredible growth.” (1)
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