According to an Editor & Publisher survey, all of America’s largest newspapers have Web sites. Out of the top 150 newspapers, 148 offer all or most of the news stories that appear in their print editions. Many smaller, local papers are also online. Newslink.org, a site that links to newspapers around the country and the world, reports that there are over 4,000 newspapers online from the United States alone. Which newspaper sites should you consult?
The publishing industry and individual entities present awards to the best news sites on the Web. PC Worldnamed theNew York Timesat nyt.com as the top site in 2002. The site, free to access with registration, received the honor because “When the most important news story in decades changed our lives overnight, nothing mattered more than expert reporting and analysis.”17Of course, opinions vary. In the same year the Newspaper Association of America awarded theWashington Postat http://www.washington post.com its highest honors in its annual “Digital Edge Awards” for best news presentation for a paper with over 250,000 circulation.18 Editor & Publisher magazine gave its “EPpy” awards to the Los Angeles Times (http://www.latimes.com) for “Best Overall U.S.
Newspaper Online Service in the national with daily circulation over 250,000 category.” Individuals in search of excellence in online news may wish to look at the entire EPpy list at http://www.editorandpublisher.com/editorandpublisher/
eppys/index.jsp. Earlier winners of the EPpy are also good bets.
They include the Washington Post and the Chicago Tribune (http://www.chicagotribune.com). Other news Web sites fre- quently mentioned at award ceremonies include Kansas’s the Topeka Capital-Journal (http://www.CJOnline.com) and the
Christian Science Monitor’s Electronic Edition (http://www.cs monitor.com).
Free Sites with High Standards The New York Times
http://www.nyt.com
Winner: 1998 “EPpy” Best Overall Online Newspaper Service (100,000+ circulation). Editor & Publisher magazine.
1998 “Digital Edge Award” Outstanding Achievement in Interactive Newsgathering. Newspaper Association of America.
The NYTsite offers incisive coverage of world and national news plus its renowned New York Times Magazine. A remarkable site, it excels in its use of the Web’s ability to blend text, sound, video, and graphics. For example, a retrospective on Stanley Kubrick’s film
“The Shining” included high-quality video of scenes relevant to the article, along with links to other pertinent information about the movie. A relatively new “Multimedia” section on the site fea- tures Pulitzer Prize winning photographs, audio interviews, news videos, slide shows, and interactive music videos. Once you have registered, you can access book reviews, search for news and reviews from 1996 to the present, and receive free e-mailed newsletters on “Your Money,” “Circuits” (the technology section of the NYT), “Movies,” “Vital Signs” (health), and several others. The daily Web-based NYT is free. Articles a week old and less are free.
Articles from the archives, except reviews, are available for pur- chase. The cost is nominal, and different types of premium content passes are available. The famous NYTcrossword puzzle is a pre- mium (pay) feature available for $19.95 a year.
The Washington Post
http://www.washingtonpost.com
Winner: 2002 “Digital Edge Award” Best News Presentation (250,000+ circulation). Newspaper Association of America.
2001 “EPpy” Best Overall U.S. Newspaper Online Service (250,000+ circulation). Editor & Publisher magazine.
TheWashington Postis 125 years old, but its site is as current as any on the Web. Use of the site is free; registration is required for some extras. Extras include “MyWashingtonPost” where users can personalize the online paper. The personalization process—not unique to the Post, many other sites offer it—allows registered users to choose the types of news they want to view upon access- ing the site. For example, if you just want the sports and weather, those items will display first. The “Live Online” section features live Webcasts on various topics and maintains a video archive of past
“Live Online” presentations. Discussion forums are also available;
individuals interact via message boards on various topics based on the content of the news on the Web site. Free newsletters on sports, politics, travel, home, entertainment, and others are available to registered members via e-mail. Articles from the most recent 14 days are free, and you can search the archives back to 1977. Articles older than two weeks are available for purchase.
The Los Angeles Times http://www.latimes.com
Winner: 2002 EPpy Best Overall U.S. Newspaper Online Service (250,000+ circulation). Editor & Publishermagazine.
Part of the Tribune Company, which also publishes theChicago Tribune, Newsday (New York), the Hartford Courant, and Hoy (a Spanish-language newspaper based in New York), the LA Times Web site offers almost all the same content as the paper with the exception of some copyrighted photos, cartoons, syndicated columns, and some tables in very small fonts. Conversely, the Web site provides free material not in the paper, including Web-only entertainment coverage, specially organized special reports, searchable classifieds, and audio and video content. Articles are available for seven days, after which they are archived and require
payment for access. To read most current articles, users must reg- ister, but registration is free. Registered members may also person- alize their news, receive focused newsletters on topics of interest, and share opinions on the site’s Discussion Boards.