The introduction of the printing press meant a whole new medium for current affairs to be broadcast through the world by the form of the broadsheet newspaper. This was the most modern way for people to read up on what has happened that very day and keep up to date with the news in the world and has been for years. However, with the internet came an even more modernised way to receive news—the online newspaper.
The introduction of online newspapers and news articles has thrust the newspaper companies into the modern age, with internet users being able to read the latest news article at the click of a mouse button. The online news eliminates the time spent thumbing through a broadsheet to find a reader’s personal niche area, making browsing for current news much easier. Online news articles also means that current affairs are being brought to a younger audience, with many newspapers having applications on social networking websites such as Facebook—with articles directly related to them and their interests. This gives the newspaper businesses a new and refreshing demographic to cater for.
A further advantage of online newspapers is the seemingly unlimited amount of storage for past stories. Therefore, if someone wanted to refer to an online article published last week, they only have to type words into a search engine rather than hunt through back issues of newspapers.
However, the idea of online news does have its drawbacks. The internet now supplies the average person with everything they could ever need at the touch of the button. This is undoubtedly revolutionary, but could possibly lead to increased laziness. For many, the action of sitting down with a cup of tea and the Sunday paper is a habit that some are unwilling to replace with tea and a laptop.
The printed newspaper has been around for over five hundred years and has had little impact from the online newspaper revolution. Many who have always bought newspapers will continue to do so, and the printing press remains one of the UK’s most prestigious inventions to date, with both newspaper and digital printing businesses thriving. Magazines are still printed every day even though many of their articles appear online, with the digital printing business being largely unaffected by this.
Both forms of news reach their different audiences in different ways–and reading different newspapers means reading different viewpoints–so if both the broadsheets and online newspapers work together, they could help create a better informed and more democratic society for tomorrow.
