What is the state of digital journalism? What progress are websites making to exploit the internet’s potential to go beyond what any one traditional medium might offer? What capacities are sites developing, and which are they not? These and other related questions are addressed in the Digital Journalism section of the Project for Excellence in Journalism’s annual report, The State of the News Media 2007.
The study was designed as a tool to help users understand news media options available on the Web as well as to assist news outlets in defining the capabilities they have developed so far, and explore where they might want to invest further.
PEJ studied 38 websites from a range of news sources. The goal was first, to identify which characteristics news websites were and were not developing online; and second, whether sites could be classified into groups based on these characteristics.
For a hands-on look at PEJ’s findings, visit the Testing Ground, where you can build your own graphs and compare sites based on PEJ’s rating categories for online media. These include:
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- Customization — the degree to which content can be tailored to suit users preferences;
- Participation — the extent to which users can participate in producing content;
- Use of Multimedia — the degree to which content is offered in different media formats;
- Story Depth — the ability of the site to add further information and analysis through the Web;
- Editorial Branding — how strongly the site’s own editorial standards, content and control are being promoted;
- Revenue Streams — the sources and level of financial support for the site.
PEJ found that online news media reflect the diversity of the Web itself. No single website has yet been able to tap the full potential of digital media, combining depth of coverage with user participation, multimedia features and the speed provided by the Web. The PEJ researchers found that most sites were only able to excel at one or two aspects of digital journalism. Though no single site encompasses all the Web has to offer, every site brings something to the table. Indeed, the internet is so rich in possibilities that sites may always be forced to make choices in how to present the news. This is one reason why the typical user is still reliant on multiple online bookmarks to gather the day’s news and may continue to choose to do so in the future.
One appeal of online media lies in creating a dialogue with readers rather than simply posting a lecture or report, and some of the sites studied excelled in incorporating user participation. Daily Kos, Digg, and AOL News were found to be the best at allowing reader input into their news offerings.
Other websites took advantage of multimedia. While digital journalism is still dominated by the text and still images found in newspapers, a few outlets have incorporated substantial video and interactive graphics. While most of these were TV based — ABC, CBS, BBC, Fox News — others like the Washington Post and WTOP go beyond their original media roots and expand their coverage through the tools that the Web uniquely offers.
The extraordinary depth offered by the Web gives media outlets the opportunity to expand their coverage by providing links to past reports, graphics, further analysis and more. As a rule, however, news sites scored lower on the depth criterion than any other area studied. One site, Google, was a notable exception with 900+ related links attached to the average lead news story, far more than any of the other sites studied. Global Voices and CBS followed with more than 10 related links.
Four websites were classified as “high achievers,” scoring in the top tier for at least three of the five content areas studied: CBS, Washington Post, BBC and Global Voices. These sites have little in common beyond the breadth of what they offer. None of these high achievers, however, were rated in the top tier for user interaction.
Online News Media
Here is a quick look at the 38 online media websites studied by PEJ. Websites were studied in September 2006 and again in February 2007. Since then, some have updated their sites. For the full report on all of these websites, see The State of the News Media 2007.
AOL.com’s news site specializes in telling users what everyone else thinks is news.
One of the more advanced sites studied, with lead headlines, followed by video and audio reports, but significantly more complex than most other sites.
The site speaks to the strengths and weaknesses of citizen journalism. Users are “empowered,” but not all that often (few updates).
This site is not about news of the minute, but users can access the personality-driven content without registration or fees.
The bulk of the content is a mix of narrative, still photos and videos (roughly 90%) with some use of slide shows, polls and interactive graphics from this Dallas-Fort Worth TV station.
CBSNews.com remains one of the Web’s most diverse and robust news sites. Upon opening the homepage, the user immediately perceives that there is a lot going on here.
Chicago’s tabloid daily has created an online identity that is clean, well-organized and very local, with a dash of sensationalism thrown in.
The CNN name is important on the site, but as with most news sites, depth takes second seat to timeliness.
The blog is ultimately a relatively straightforward Web diary of links and excerpts of other material, but differentiates itself with heavy use of video links.
The site does the usual linking and quoting one expects on a blog, but there is more original text and commentary mixed in. Essentially the site is about the mind of Daily Kos.
The content on the site is updated throughout the day and is extremely local. The majority of the copy is produced by the newspaper staff.
Digg is democracy in action. It is all about user participation. No editorial staff makes decisions on the content or appearance of the page.
For the Economist magazine, which prides itself on giving readers data and raw facts along with its analysis, the site is yet another way to extend the brand.
Foxnews.com still feeds off the identity and strength of the cable channel rather than embodying a distinct identity. Promoted here are the Fox personalities rather than individual stories.
The site is non-profit, with an emphasis on relating information from around the world that the staff editors find interesting, not on providing the top news of the hour (or minute or day).
No human can continuously cobble together a page of top news links from outlets around the world, but Google’s computer programs can.
The Seattle based network stands apart from the average local-TV Web site. Its content is highly local and it earned high marks for giving users several opportunities to customize news delivery.
Little Green Footballs is a blog for those wanting a conservative look at the news of the world.
LAtimes.com may not be a clean site, but its finds a place for everything – videos, photos, blogs and, of course, text.
Malkin’s blog is short on commentary, instead giving her fans and detractors a quick fix on her take on breaking newsrather than in-depth analysis.
MSNBC’s website has long been one of the top news sites on the internet. No one trait jumps out. It really is a jack of all trades.
Love it or hate it, there is little question that nypost.com brings the spirit of the tabloid paper to the Web, along with a great deal of the appearance. The site actually looks like a tabloid paper.
Merging the old with the new, the Times’ site retains the look and feel of its print version while offering users constant news updates and a growing selection of multimedia features.
NPR.org stands out in offering about 85% of its content simultaneously as textual narrative and audio streams or podcasts.
A hybrid of citizen journalism and news editing, the site’s approach gives users a lot of ways to contribute and be heard but with strong brand identification.
A lot like the program itself – it is focused on a few topics and doesn’t overwhelm the user with charts, graphs or information.
A website primarily dedicated to the latest news headlines, although a few key features — one of which is being opened to the public — move the website beyond the image of the age-old wire service.
The site is something akin to an online version of Mother Jones, with a few dashes of pop culture and sports thrown in.
The work is all by SFBG staff. Voice is clearly a main thrust of the site.
Pieces rarely stress reporting, rather offering different views on topics in the news. Slate seems happy to stake its position as the Web’s version of the New Yorker.
The strength of time.com is its willingness to reach beyond its own pages for content, a step toward a Web environment that is more than the magazine.
The site does not generate content, but is an aggregator plain and simple. The top nine headlines on the page may feature nine different news outlets from nine different countries.
The website carries over a lot of the newspapers look and feel, down to the color-coded section names.
Washingtonpost.com has gone out of its way – high tech and defined by multimedia – to create a different identity on the Web from the one it has in print.
The Week’s format, a weekly summary of news, takes little advantage of the internet’s unique capabilities. The site makes no attempt to break news or include daily staff-written content.
Produced by a Washington D.C. based station, the website provides an innovative look at radio news online, simultaneously local and national in scope.
A comprehensive “newspaper”-like page, but the news is segregated by outlet.
– Compiled by Richard C. Auxier, Pew Research Center
