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tech-note
Scooping with the Net
As the popularity of the Internet grows, newspapers will have to formulate a strategy to remain feasible. Andrew Smith looks at the choices brought about by this mushrooming Fifth Estate. He discusses the latest technology with experts on the Internet.
"Anyone with a computer and a modem can be his own reporter, editor and publisher - spreading news and views to millions of readers around the world." David E Dewit, in his Time article, "Battle for the Soul of Internet," reveals how all this is made possible by the Internet.
The Internet is the world’s largest computer network and the nearest thing to a working prototype of the information superhighway. It is a global network that links together the world’s biggest computer-communications services as well as smaller university, government and corporate networks. If one subscribes to the Net one gains access to all the networks and a mind-boggling world of information.
News on the net
The potential benefits of the Net to journalists are astronomical. With access to a 486 personal computer with a modem, journalists will be able to conduct all their research and background reading without leaving the office. The Internet is an information-universe: ever-expanding with an infinite variety of data at one’s fingertips.
One only needs to type in the name 'Nelson Mandela' to appreciate the depth of detail stored on the Net: archive photos of his sentence on Robben Island; a mountain of press reports dating back to his earliest days as activist; interviews; and extracts from his autobiography.
The Net also offers a number of news related services, often at no extra charge. ClariNet includes news generated from Associated Press, United Press International, Reuters, and opinions from respected columnists.
Another no-cost service is Electronic News-stand which offers select articles from the most recent issues of more than a hundred magazines.
Many of the world’s major newspapers are available daily on the Net. The Daily Telegraph, USA Today, The New York Times, The Chicago Tribune are all available in full text.
Some South African newspapers have also recently joined the ever growing list of on-line papers, including papers from the Independent group.
Demise of the print media?
However, there are important differences between catching the latest news with the Net, and reading a printed newspaper. Cathleen Black, President of the Newspaper Association of America explains:
"I can easily imagine flipping open my computer and looking at something that looks like a newspaper but is interactive; where I can get more info about a particular subject if I want; where I can place orders; where I can send news and opinions back to the newspaper and other readers."
The interactive nature of the Net is one of its advantages.
"The newspapers of the future will offer a selection of text, headlines and pictures, but they will not be static images as they are in print. As a reader delves into a story, he may be able to see more photos and hear from participants," enthuses Brad Templeton, President of ClariNet Communications.
Someone in the know is Peter Cole, editor of Cole Papers, a monthly newsletter on technology, journalism and publishing, and guest writer for Presstimes, the magazine of the Newspaper Association of America. He offers a number of reasons why newspapers of the future should be on the Internet.
Unlike the age-old problem of spacial constraints in newspapers, the Net has no space limit. A big breaking story can be accommodated with background information and opinion.
Furthermore, to get a server on the Net is cheap enough for even the smallest newspapers. So, unless your paper’s on the Net, you’ll be outdone by your competitors, small-fry as they may be.
The Net is also a way to increase a paper’s exposure to a potential market. If South African papers are on-line, readers around the world will be able to turn to them to get the country’s latest news, written by South African journalists in the middle of the action.
Another reason why papers should consider expanding their horizons on the Internet is that readership of newspapers in the United States indicates a downward trend. The public seems to show a preference for the variety offered by electronic media.
Finally, the Net offers immediacy and intimacy: the latest news where and when you want it and the ability to interact with the purveyors of that news. "It is definitely the way forward," says Cole.
Does the ever-widening influence of the Internet signal the demise of the print media? The potential threat posed by Internet journalism in the US seems clear.
Apart from companies, 12 percent of American households have personal computers equipped with modems. Why go out and buy the paper? They’re all waiting to be read at the push of a button.
The question remains: why would newspapers wilfully expose themselves to this threat?
According to Cole, it’s simply a matter of ministering to the needs of their readers: "If a major daily is not on-line, it will be denying its readers the opportunity to acquire information in any way they desire."
But has the South African print media met its nemesis in the Internet? Assistant editor of The Argus, Jonathan Hobday warns: "South African newspapers will ignore Internet at their peril."
However, the overwhelming sentiment in the South African newspaper industry is that the threat posed by the Internet is a toothless one simply because only a minuscule proportion of the South African population has access to it.
"In KwaZulu/Natal for instance, only three out of ten people have telephones let alone computers," says Abe Mathle of the Independent Broadcasting Authority.
However, news of the Internet is spreading fast: Bruce Cohen of Mail & Guardian reports that South Africa is the sixteenth most "wired" country in the world.
Furthermore the number of people registering on the Net grows at a rate of 35 percent, every six months.
Making cents from the Net
For South African papers, being on the net must be lucrative. Although adverts can appear on the Net, manufacturers producing for lower- to middle-income groups will not be attracted to this digital medium because the readership is limited.
"Publications on the Internet are financially a dead loss, world-wide," says Ton Vosloo, executive chairman of Nasionale Pers. He believes publications will not be placed on the Net in a spirit of competition. "It is a matter of getting involved from the start; putting our toes in the water," he says. Financial gain is, however, conceivable. Being on-line offers the possibility of enticing the Net surfer into buying or subscribing to the real thing, thereby expanding the readership - and attracting the industry’s bread and butter, advertising.
Furthermore, those who have access to the Net in South Africa form part of the upper income bracket and have purchasing power for up-market consumer goods. The Net inevitably has a captured target market.
Toyota found it profitable to advertise on the Net as a large proportion of subscribers were able to afford a new vehicle.
Future-shock
"Though the Internet may pose a threat to the popularity and thus continued viability of the print medium, newspapers will not disappear." According to Eliot Parker of the journalism faculty at Central Michigan University, "Newspapers do too many things well. They will, however, be forced to change their approach to news." Hobday concurs, "The trick is not to compete with the Internet but to complement it." As the popularity of the Internet grows, papers will have to formulate a strategy to remain feasible. Visual appeal will be essential.
Furthermore, articles will have to be well researched in order to compete with those on the Net.
Papers may even consider segmenting their readers by devoting more space to local content for the "street version", while focusing on international news for the "Net version". This will keep readers hooked.
And finally, even the wealth of information on the Internet cannot compete with a couch and the paper on Sunday.
Riding the info-highway
The Net is also a supreme information equaliser - despite the marginal percentage of the public having access to it. A small paper in the wilds of South Africa will have the same access to the hottest news as the most modern paper in New York, says Parker. The Diamond Fields Advertiser, for instance, will have the same access to ground breaking news as the staff of the International Herald Tribune.
Parker emphasises that "the difference will be the vision and the professionalism of the people dealing with the news." The ways in which newspapers use the Net will separate the big from the small fish on it.
Whether or not the Net threatens the future of newspapers, it is an increasingly indispensable resource for journalists. "Not having the Internet in 1995 will be like trying to be a cutting edge reporter in 1915 without a radio, or in 1955 without a television," says Peter Cole.
Feature writers, columnists, reviewers and editorial writers can cocoon in their office with the aid of the Net. "Internet offers a huge opportunity for journalists to be in touch with vast amounts of information. We stand to keep in touch with the specialists in all conceivable fields," says Lynne Danzig of The Star.
Super-highway navigation
But even if the information is all there, the trick remains finding your way around. American columnist Gary Gach’s description of the Internet as the "Wild West of Information" aptly sketches the reality of the Net. To a first time surfer, the Net is a vast, untapped, untouched, unmapped world of data. Some explorers have, however, done a great job in supplying other crusaders with charts of the areas they know.
Directories mapping out the Net, placing the enquirer in touch with the required information source, are easily accessed at the touch of a button.
For example, ProfNet is a co-operative of public information officers (PIOs) - professors, scientists, politicians and authoritative spokespersons in any field. They’re connected to the Internet to provide journalists and authors with convenient access to expert sources.
At ProfNet’s core is an Electronic-mail distribution list which enables the ProfNet staff to distribute a request around the globe. The procedure is as follows: Once the request is registered with ProfNet (profnet@sunysb.edu) it is distributed to over 2 000 PIOs representing over 800 institutions in 17 countries.
The reporter then gets responses by E-mail, fax or phone from PIOs who provide names, brief biographies, and phone numbers of experts in that particular field. It is then up to the reporter to make contact with the source.
Members of ProfNet are eager to co-operate in the hope that stories which develop will shed a favourable light on their institution. Others will reply out of sheer academic benevolence. ProfNet is free of charge and a request will be satisfied within 24 hours.
There are disadvantages to ProfNet, however. Often people are too eager to respond, and offer sources which are not qualified. But more often than not they will direct you to reliable information. People want to participate and share knowledge.
Apart from ProfNet there are in excess of thirty listed groups available to the journalist. China News Digest has, for example 30 000 subscribers offering their insights and articles via E-mail to any interested parties.
Another directory, CARR (Computer Assisted Reporting and Research), provides journalists with a wide range of topics - discussed in depth by a wide spectrum of interested parties. One can pose problems, ask for advice, muse over opinions or just sit and marvel at the magnitude of information at your finger tips.
E-mail is the superglue sticking the Net together. It makes interactivity possible and enables journalists to communicate with anyone on the Net. As Gary Gach indicates, "It offers the user not only point to point but point to mass, communication." Any request can find its way to literally millions of respondents.
E-Mail cuts through the red tape. Every entry on the Net requires the release of the contributor’s E-mail number. People are willing to give others access to their addresses because this facilitates free communication - so prized on the Net. It is also a handy tool for journalists struggling to obtain interviews. They can easily bait an interviewee on the Net and convince him to talk.
In addition to the E-mail approach, there are other ways to cover the globe. Easily accessible directories such as Gopher, Archie, Veronica, World Wide Web, Wais, Lycos and Web Crawler offer indexed search vehicles to guide you from a general to specific subject.
If one combines the facility of E-mail with the information stored in directories, the result is a highly mobile mass of facts, which can readily be sent to any subscriber on the globe. The power of this system has inspired people with similar interests to form so-called "newsgroups" - sites on the Net organised according to specific topics. Anybody who shares an interest can join the group, discuss and trade relevant information.
Usenet is the system organising the groups. It can be loosely described as "a world wide distributed conference and discussion system", the bulk of which is transported on the Internet.
The articles and comment are tagged under universally recognised labels or groups.
Freelance paradise
The Net is a freelance paradise. Gary Gach emphasises that the Internet doesn’t only satisfy a specialist interest, but can also spark an idea for a story. "It’s a gold mine of stories, sources and connections." Plugging into mailing lists and conferences gets you in the latest on almost any topic, days before the mainstream media.
Usenet also facilitates debate on controversial subjects. A word of caution though: netiquet is the name of the game. Random advice includes suggested limitations on wit and sarcasm - some readers may take offence. Don’t gossip about the comings and goings of anybody because you don’t know who may be tapping in. Freedom of speech has found its ultimate niche on the Net, but the perils are clearly spelt out to any newcomer.
The competition from the Internet will change the face of the newspaper industry and it will create a demand for better quality journalism. If news is available anyway, a newspaper will have to be of an exceptionally high standard to attract readers and advertisers.
But not everybody has caught on to the Net. Ken Owen, editor of the Sunday Times, says, "It is too early to come to any conclusions as to the effect of Internet on the newspaper industry." Africa time.
Now for some world news: "We and a few of our more enlightened editors are cooking in an unsettling stew of awe, hunger and fear," observes Dan Gilmour of Internet World. A more perfect summation?
There is none.
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